jasonj80 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Chrysler starts summer with employee-discount program DETROIT -- The Chrysler group has fired the first shot of the summer selling season with an employee-discount program for consumers beginning July 1. The company's Employee Pricing Plus discount plan was announced to dealers in sales meetings Wednesday, say dealer and industry sources. The program, essentially the same as the one the automaker ran last summer, allows all customers to buy Chrysler group vehicles at the same heavily discounted prices available to Chrysler group employees. Last summer, General Motors started the employee-pricing war in June, and Ford and the Chrysler group followed in July. The bloody discounting war between the Detroit 3 carried on through September. Last week, Chrysler group CEO Tom LaSorda said the company needed to do something to make room for new vehicles arriving in dealerships this fall. Chrysler dealers have complained they are carrying excessive inventories, particularly of big trucks and SUVs. Jonathan Steinmetz, an analyst for Morgan Stanley, predicted last week that the Chrysler group would be the first to launch such a program this summer. In a research note to investors, Steinmetz wrote that a move by Chrysler could test GM’s pricing discipline. "Such a move suggests other OEMs continue to view GM's new-found price discipline as a chance to grab market share rather than lift prices," he wrote. A Chrysler spokesman declined to confirm or deny the plan. You may e-mail Bradford Wernle at bwernle@crain.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I don't know if they are really thinking market share so much as they are thinking inventory glutt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 I don't know if they are really thinking market share so much as they are thinking inventory glutt. They are desperate to move product. No profits this year for the big 2.5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 They are desperate to move product.No profits this year for the big 2.5. Agreed.. DCX completely failed to cash on their recent successes and the profit they were getting .... they are seriosly bursting right now ... with the inventory as it is, their LX slowing down (and being dumped into rental fleets), their SUV messup and ever growing badge engineering.. and now the less than stellar Sebring - they will have tough times ahead... too bad.. I thought it would be nice to see what they will do with Gen 2 300 and other LX's ... but I will make my bet we will not see a new gen for about 8 years.. Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluecon Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 Agreed.. DCX completely failed to cash on their recent successes and the profit they were getting .... they are seriosly bursting right now ... with the inventory as it is, their LX slowing down (and being dumped into rental fleets), their SUV messup and ever growing badge engineering.. and now the less than stellar Sebring - they will have tough times ahead... too bad.. I thought it would be nice to see what they will do with Gen 2 300 and other LX's ... but I will make my bet we will not see a new gen for about 8 years.. Igor What is really scary is that they are far and away the healthiest of the big 2.5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 What is really scary is that they are far and away the healthiest of the big 2.5 That's because they're only ".5" now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 What is really scary is that they are far and away the healthiest of the big 2.5 yeah it is ... they were there.. in black and ready to roll, with the MB technology ready on tap, and the messed it up this bad... At least GM and ford are moving in the right direction and adressing their issues systematically Igor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted June 22, 2006 Share Posted June 22, 2006 DCX has had to deal with internal politics in tapping that "great MB technology". In reality, they just recently got a coherent strategy for parts bin sharing with MB and it is completely too late to have affected the Sebring and Stratus replacement. I feel that, the LX platform will give way to a shared platform with MB in a few years. Then, with the replacement for the Sebring/ Avenger, we'll see the C series platform shared with US Chrysler and Dodge. The only thing that I can see that may have gotten to Chrysler from MB is some patents that were used in the 6.5 speed tranny. Otherwise, I'm just not seeing the sharing. DCX should be sharing more engines, more platforms, and more hidden parts than they currently are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaBird Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 I have been waiting for a couple of years for one of the Big 3 to make another Mid Size 2 door to replace my 93 Thunderbird, but nothing. The Mustangs, pending Challenger and Camaro are a tad too small. I hate ugly 4 door cars, with the 300 and Charger the only ones that I would consider owning, so this may be a good time for me to get one. I will start car shopping after the 4th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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