greymouser7
Vagrant Vagabond “Veni Vidi Vici”
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is fiat going to scrap chrysler?
- Thread starter greymouser7
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rustycowll69
Well-Known Member
I hope not. The 300 was a great car for Chrysler, but it's long overdue for replacement. Why haven't they come up with a replacement? Ford is dropping a lot of their car lines, it would be a mistake for Chrysler(Fiat) to abdicate passenger cars to Chevrolet and imports.
I sure as hell hope so. It's long past time.
General Disarray
Well-Known Member
It's not a matter of abdicating passenger cars to other brands, it's managing to sell enough of what they're making to be profitable, which they are not. Call it what you will, the buying public does not find the Chrysler offerings an attractive buy. Whether it's design issues or model trends (SUVs / Trucks), Chrysler has missed the mark. Hopefully the Charger and Challenger can be saved.
WoodenNickle
Just Damn.....
Does this mean no more AMC?
Red63440
Olddawg
I see LOTS of Darts, Chargers, Challengers, 200,s and a few 300's every day.
Nearly as many or in equal numbers as the competition.
I also see a LOT of new Renegades, which I've been told didn't sell well enough to keep making.
I think "someone"...for a LONG time has been making poor decisions, like restyling attractive cars into unattractive face-lifts, waiting too long before adopting popular features, ceding markets once dominated, etc.
Nearly as many or in equal numbers as the competition.
I also see a LOT of new Renegades, which I've been told didn't sell well enough to keep making.
I think "someone"...for a LONG time has been making poor decisions, like restyling attractive cars into unattractive face-lifts, waiting too long before adopting popular features, ceding markets once dominated, etc.
If you ask me they should have scrapped Chrysler and kept the Plymouth division. Just think of a new Duster, Cuda, Roadrunner, GTX, Super Bird, etc. Or how about a new Cummins Trail Duster. Plymouth was always one step ahead of dodge. Starting with the gold and white rockets 56-58. I had a 58 3600 lbs. 350 2 4bbl with 410 gears from the factory. and a 150 speedo to boot. Side by side in the garage next to a 64 dart GT it was only longer by the bumper wings and about 2-3 inches lower. And that was just the start of the Plymouth performance years. To Bad for Plymouth who cares about Chrysler.
Red63440
Olddawg
Let’s face it guys, it’s always been about money and always will be. If you talk to the old farts on this site they will tell you about the days when companies actually cared about what customers thought, those days died a long time ago.
I'm an old fart. And to me it seams like they do care about drawing in the customers with performance like they did in the late 60's. Hence the new Dodge Demon. and all of its little sisters.
Chrysler has nothing to offer the young buyers of the future. Or for us old farts on this site who still are a lot faster than some of the young guns who think they will be young forever. I'm 63 and when I bought my trucks I opted for the Cummins 6 speed. The closest thing I found to an old big block torque today that my wife Had no clue of the power I was buying.
My programmer is set to 140 mph . most new HP cars top out at 105. I love seeing the face in the mirror of the young guys in their stock Mustangs , Camaros, and Challengers when I black them out on the highway . And sometimes with the trailer on . "Old Guys Rule" Race gas is to slow dance, Nitro / Methanol mix are to Rock &Roll
Most old Farts have what we need at home. Its either in the shed or above the bar.
Red63440
Olddawg
The gap between daily drivers and muscle cars is huge compared to our days where the difference was about $1,500.00. At 68 I can remember the Hemi cars that could be found on the car lots when the gas crunch of the early 70’s hit. I remember brand new chargers being taken to the strip where I raced to show the younger buyers that not only did they look good but they also ran fast, the cars still had their window stickers on them. Most car lots today are filled with boring pieces of sheet metal and plastic with nothing exciting and it’s gotten to a point where it’s hard to tell one make or model from another.
That’s one of the reasons classic cars hold value and interest. Walk through a parking lot and no one stops to look at a 2018 whatever but you will find a crowd around a 60’s car, muscle or not.
When I die just bury me in a junkyard filled with the remains of real cars.
While the Challenger and a few other vehicles using various Chrysler/Dodge /Jeep badges are commendable, Chrysler for me died after the Germans bought them out. Last Mopar I got excited about was a loaded left over1993 Dodge W150 Power Ram 4x4 that was listed @ $15,999 sitting on Koller Dodges showroom floor!... And then they quit making the old B-series van in 2003. And then the end of the old V-8's. 
Fiat should scrap Fiat...
rustycowll69
Well-Known Member
For me it died when I bought a 99 intrepid with the 2.7L engine. I had always been proud of Chrysler engineering, particularly their engines. I had no idea the water pump is"internal". When it starts to leak, and all water pumps leak eventually, it is unnoticeable and it dilutes the oil, there go the bearings. Next, the hydraulic tensioner loses pressure and the chain goes slack. There goes the valves, pistons, maybe rods, too. Catastrophic failure. When a simple water pump leak takes out an engine without any warning, that's poor design and engineering. When you sell tens of thousands of these potential grenades, which blow up right after the warranty expires, that's a PR bad dream which turns into a PR disaster when it's repeated a million times on the internet.
I hated when "they" redesigned the 2nd gen Dakota, then they decided to drop the Dakota altogether, ceding the entire market to the Colorado.
There have been a lot of bad decisions which brought them to where we are, today. Let's hope the next decisions are the right ones.
I hated when "they" redesigned the 2nd gen Dakota, then they decided to drop the Dakota altogether, ceding the entire market to the Colorado.
There have been a lot of bad decisions which brought them to where we are, today. Let's hope the next decisions are the right ones.
Krazykuda is right scrap Fiat. I made the mistake of buying one in early 70's when I got out of the Navy. I was living on a cloud, I think. Big mistake. Scrap Fiat.
Dave
Dave
Yeah, a lot of people are either too young or haven't read enough to know that they all used to have their own separate bodies, engines, drive trains......the whole shoot n match. They were completely different cars under the one Chrysler umbrella.
Red63440
Olddawg
You got that right Rusty, back in the good old days when they had to produce great cars.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
The cost disparity is all relative given inflation. A typical muscle car in 1968 was what $2800 - $3000 ? The more pedestrian versions being less money by $500 - $700. Now that doesnt mean i want to pay $50k for a new vehicle. Hardly. Hevk the more i look at new truck prices the more i like my 94 silverado. Its payed for, and been so for a long time.
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65wgn440
Well-Known Member
Can't even begin to tell you how much that statement pisses me off...........a foreign company deciding the fate of an American icon.
moparmat2000
Well-Known Member
Well if rusty is known for one thing around here it is abrasiveness, though he has toned it down a bit, he used to be much much worse.
Well, it's like this. Daimler was the ruination. Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge was dead after that takeover, but few people believed it. Mopar Performance was fading almost a full decade before Daimler took over. Now, Mopar Performance is all but gone. There is no Chrysler left. That's why Jeep and Ram are two separate entities.
Red63440
Olddawg
Hemi cars were over $4,000.00 but then the optional Hemi engine was only a few hundred dollars over the cost of a 440. If you look around a new pick up will cost you well over $50,000. A basic car was in the eye of the beholder because you could order it the way you wanted unlike the crap they offer today that either comes in silver, black, white, grey, gold or a multitude of red shades and loaded with everything to make people comfortable.......as I said, they all look the same, guess you had to be around in 68" to know what I mean.
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