Do you want to know Chrysler’s share in this massive car market? A measly 31,000 in 2010 and a projection for just 40,000 in 2011. Therefore, it is only natural that the American carmaker is looking for ways to increase its share in this rapidly expanding market.
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At first, Fiat-Chrysler’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, had revealed that that the Maserati SUV will be based on the new Grand Cherokee’s platform, which in turn is based on the quite capable Mercedes M-Class. However, Marchionne had also hinted that, like other Maserati models, it may get a Ferrari V8 –a very mouth-watering, and logical, proposal since the two companies belong to the same group.
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An off-road vehicle for the man who considers nature an enemy to be vanquished more than anything else, the Survivor draws its inspiration from the Jeep Bantam of WWII.
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The recall covers 11,351 vehicles and affects certain 2011 model year Dodge Journey crossovers, Jeep Wranglers, Chrysler 200s, Chrysler 200 Convertibles, Dodge Avengers, Dodge Nitros, Jeep Liberty SUVs, Dodge Calibers, Jeep Compass crossovers, Jeep Patriots, Dodge Grand Caravans and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.
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It takes a few minutes to load your song, and then the sound waves are somehow mapped to certain geographical features from around the world.
You end up with eight or so places, which for me included the Appalachian Mountains, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Ural Mountains and Colorado Rockies.
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The 1980's: Chrysler's heyday. Lee Iacocca said, "If you can find a better car, buy it." Nowadays that's one hell of a dangerous ad campaign to try. Counting the number of manufacturers presently building cars better than Chrysler involves counting toes... not a good sign. Chrysler; My God, what happened? For the past thirty years the smallest of the Big Three has endured a roller-coaster ride of successes and failures. Looking at the Cerberus-owned Chrysler of today and the Chrysler of 1979, not much has changed.1979 saw Chrysler begging the government for money, and now we see that history does indeed appear to be cyclical. Over three decades the company has not done much more than get sucked toward bankruptcy, come back up for a brief moment, and then immediately get sucked under again like that poor girl in the opening scene of Jaws.
It is hard to pinpoint the exact "uh-oh" moment for Chrysler; there are a few. After what appeared to be the end of troubled times with the introduction of the LH-Series cars (nicknamed the Last Hope), Daimler-Benz swooped in to buy Chrysler (for a moment forget that "merger of equals" mumbo-jumbo). This entire period, however, was a bit of a mess for both parties. While Chrysler offered relatively attractive models at the time, poor fuel economy and poorer quality of materials led to lackluster sales.
Then Mercedes tried rummaging through its own closet, first for parts and then entire platforms. Even this could not rejuvenate Chrysler in consumers' eyes, leading to Chrysler's unceremonious sale into the hands of its current owners, Cerberus Capital Management. Under Cerberus one could argue that Chrysler is at rock bottom, still hemorrhaging money and now with no magic closet to rummage through other than its own. Where did everything go wrong?
Ages ago Chrysler was a brand known for its radical designs. The boys from Chrysler would appear on the show circuit brandishing their weapons of choice: insane concepts never meant to appear on public roads. Then, when dared to build these absurdities, they actually did! The executives (apparently fans of Field of Dreams) realized that if they built them, buyers would come. That was fifteen years ago, and I can still remember going down to the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership as a child to sit in a Viper or Prowler. These were the cars that brought people into showrooms.
Today, the thought of walking into a Chrysler dealership is just depressing. The excitement options have dwindled, along with the money to build them. Chrysler LLC'S best-selling product is a Dodge Ram, and the brand's best–selling vehicle a minivan. Thrilling. This is a company not only with boring models, but a company that has seemed to lose its originality as well.
Once upon a time the question on everyone's mind was, "What craziness is Chrysler bringing to the show this year?" Now, all that goes through peoples' minds at a Chrysler booth is a collective groan of disappointment. One such groan came last year, when Chrysler rolled out some not-so-revolutionary electric vehicles based on – gasp - a Town & Country minivan, a Jeep Wrangler, and a Europa borrowed from Lotus. Hardly the cream of the automotive crop.
If it makes it through the next year, Cerberus will need to get some new ideas. As in, yesterday. The lesson to learn from the bungled and ill-received Sebring/Avenger failure is this: when trying to make a vehicle appealing to consumers, design by committee is not an option. No offense to the top-tier management-types versed in finance and economics, but you did not go to design school. Stick to your quarterly reports and let the professionals do their jobs. In fact, think of the design studio as a shark-infested pool. Do not go in the water.
But there is a ray of light yet; the Italians are coming! Hopefully this supposed partnership with Fiat will buy Chrysler some time (and that small car platform everyone is dreaming about), something it desperately needs to bring some flavor back into its brands. Chrysler, it's time to get out of the boardroom and hit the pavement. It's time to find out what consumers are looking for and to bring it to them. Trust me. If you build it, they will come.
By Phil Alex
Phil Alex was born in Rhode Island in 1985, yet for reasons unbeknownst to him moved to South Carolina. He graduated with degrees in Finance and German from Wofford College in 2007 and has had a strange obsession with cars and travel since he was a wee lad. He currently resides a stone's throw from Japan's international airport in Narita. All of this can be seen on Facebook, so check it out. He makes no apologies for his articles and welcomes all feedback, as long as it is adamantly worded.
In the event that Chrysler LLC makes it alive through this crisis, the company plans to introduce a total 24 vehicles during the next 48 months, or so the American automaker supported in its viability plan submitted to the federal government on Tuesday, February 17. Among the cars that will be launched are the next-generation Chrysler 300 (2010), Dodge Charger (2010), Jeep Grand Cherokee (2010) and Dodge Durango (2010), the all-electric, Lotus-based Dodge EV Roadster (2010), several Hybrids & EVs and a whole bunch of Fiat Group-based small and compact-sized models. 
In the new viability plan that Chrysler LLC submitted to the federal government today requesting another $2 billion on top of the $7 billion in loans it got the green light for at the end of 2008, the American automaker included a rendering of its forthcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee. If we are to take this official CGI into consideration - and we so no reason why not- the redesigned Grand Cherokee will get a more aggressive exterior styling that builds upon the current model's "squared" looks, as well as an all-new interior.Furthermore, Chrysler supports that the forth-generation Grand Cherokee that's expected to be introduced in late 2009 or early 2010 at the latest, will feature significantly improved fuel economy over the current model.
Via: Jalopnik , Source: Chrysler
Not that we were surprised, but a 55 percent drop in sales is something that should worry the hell out of Chrysler LLC officials. In January, the company sold a total of 62,157 Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep vehicles in the U.S. compared to 137,392 units the same month a year ago. To make matters worse, the company is quite pessimistic for 2009 as it believes that if the January trend for the SAAR continues, the industry could see 10 million units or fewer sold during the year down which is significantly less than the 11.1 million units it estimated in its submission to Congress last year."Consumer credit, versus consumer demand, influenced our January retail results. We saw a negative trend in December, we're seeing it again this month and we could see it for the year. Many more consumers wanted to buy a vehicle than could qualify for financing under the current credit conditions," stated Steven Landry, Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing, MOPAR Parts and Service.
This mishap goes to show you that accidents can happen anywhere and anytime. Despite of what you may think, the transmission of this heavily modified Jeep Gran Cherokee SRT8 did not explode into a thousand pieces during a quarter mile run, but as its owner supports, while the vehicle was idling in a parking lot! Surprisingly, and even though someone was sitting in the driver's seat when the accident occurred, no one got hurt by the mechanical and plastic debris that were flying left and right.
The cause of the spectacular transmission explosion has not been determined, but we gather that the fact that the modded Grand Cherokee SRT8's V8 delivered around 921HP to the tires might have had something to do with it.
Source: Modern Muscle Forums , Via: Insideline
As they say necessity is the mother of invention - or in this case, a wooden log that was transformed into a front bumper for a previous generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. Apparently, the Russian owner of this Jeep did not have the necessary funds to replace the bumper on his SUV so he used whatever was in hand. Well, if anything else, his approach to the problem was at least eco-conscious...
Via: English Russia
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