fuzzymoomoo Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/chrysler/2016/12/01/chrysler-production/94783580/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 (edited) Anyone starting a pool on how long it will continue to outsell Alfa? Fiat? Edited December 2, 2016 by sullynd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 Well They're still selling Avengers somehow so my money is on >1 year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 They're still selling Avengers somehow so my money is on >1 year They've sold almost 7x as many Avengers as Guilias this year. (I know, that's unfair, but it's still funny) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
probowler Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Well, if nothing else... at least they nailed the tag line ("Imported From Detroit") which was a billion times cooler than anything the EcoSport Motor Company has been able to come up with I guess you need more than clever marketing and a little Slim Shady star power to sell cars nowadays Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Oy! Our resident MOPAR guy sees the iceberg. I fear at this point they may have juiced ahead so many sales that they're running out of customers right at the outset of a market downturn. Doesn't. Look. Good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Oy! Our resident MOPAR guy sees the iceberg. I fear at this point they may have juiced ahead so many sales that they're running out of customers right at the outset of a market downturn. Doesn't. Look. Good. Have they already hit the iceberg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Have they already hit the iceberg? Jack and Rose are hanging on the stern and propeller guy has already pinwheeled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Jack and Rose are hanging on the stern and propeller guy has already pinwheeled. The propeller guy is the Giulia 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 (edited) 200 and Dart are the biggest flops in maybe decades? [since Edsel?] All new car pulled in less than 3 years! Mopar's 3rd rate quality lingered since the 70's, and they couldn't charge full MSRP for the new cars, after decades of "buy a car, get a check". Fusion and Malibu are hanging in there, and less competition now. Predict that the Chrysler name wont see the 2020's. Can rename the Pacifica as a Ram, and maybe call the Charger the Ram Dodge Charger for cop cars? "Fiat-Jeep Inc" Edited December 2, 2016 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 Well, if nothing else... at least they nailed the tag line ("Imported From Detroit") which was a billion times cooler than anything the EcoSport Motor Company has been able to come up with I guess you need more than clever marketing and a little Slim Shady star power to sell cars nowadays I did think that tag line was pretty cool. Unfortunately it hasn't helped them much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzymoomoo Posted December 2, 2016 Author Share Posted December 2, 2016 I did think that tag line was pretty cool. Unfortunately it hasn't helped them much. investing almost zero into the brand after that didn't help either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 "Bring back the Neon and PT Cruiser!" is another quick fix by fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 200 and Dart are the biggest flops in maybe decades? [since Edsel?] All new car pulled in less than 3 years! Mopar's 3rd rate quality lingered since the 70's, and they couldn't charge full MSRP for the new cars, after decades of "buy a car, get a check". Fusion and Malibu are hanging in there, and less competition now. Predict that the Chrysler name wont see the 2020's. Can rename the Pacifica as a Ram, and maybe call the Charger the Ram Dodge Charger for cop cars? "Fiat-Jeep Inc" I think the Lincoln Blackwood is widely considered the biggest flop in US automotive history since it lasted less than a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I think the Lincoln Blackwood is widely considered the biggest flop in US automotive history since it lasted less than a year. but its also not a mass market vehicle like the 200 was either. They are abandoning a large chunk of the automotive market in the US...They basically don't have any mid to smaller cars (outside of Fiat, which barely sells any themselves) to offset larger products with poorer gas mileage...how is that going to work out when gas goes back up to $4 a gallon one day? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordtech1 Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I think the Lincoln Blackwood is widely considered the biggest flop in US automotive history since it lasted less than a year. Although a flop. I don't think people remember it enough to be considered a biggest flop. If production continued and it was killed after a year or two with thousands unsold and heavy discounts. Then that's a big flop. I personally think the 2002-2005 Thunderbird was a flop. However, both of those were niche vehicles. The bad part is the 200 is a pretty good looking car. It's a shame it didn't work out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbone Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Although a flop. I don't think people remember it enough to be considered a biggest flop. If production continued and it was killed after a year or two with thousands unsold and heavy discounts. Then that's a big flop. I personally think the 2002-2005 Thunderbird was a flop. However, both of those were niche vehicles. The bad part is the 200 is a pretty good looking car. It's a shame it didn't work out. It is disappointing to see the car fail, as I thought it was a nice looking car too. I love competition and I would not prefer to see Chrysler fail, not to mention the impact it will have on the employees. I'm surprised there hasn't been a coup to remove Marchionne, as there seems to be a number of questionable decisions under his watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BORG Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 (edited) but its also not a mass market vehicle like the 200 was either. They are abandoning a large chunk of the automotive market in the US...They basically don't have any mid to smaller cars (outside of Fiat, which barely sells any themselves) to offset larger products with poorer gas mileage...how is that going to work out when gas goes back up to $4 a gallon one day? There are many examples of this happening in automotive history, remember the period known as the "Great Dying" in Detroit when Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Saturn, Mercury etc. dropped dead along with many freshly minted mass market products. Ford also dropped the Taurus when it sold far more vehicles than their replacements ever would. This is hardly anything spectacular compared to what we've seen in very recent history. Ford has had a ton of underachieving products that they held onto regardless, 500/Freestyle/TaurusX/Flex/MKT/Taurus were all huge sales disappointments, but it's a company that can absorb those costs better than FCA. FCA is discontinuing those products but replacing them with more profitable volume from other segments. This isn't a bad idea considering FCA sells more SUV and Crossovers than Ford which is shrinking more quickly because of their unbalanced portfolio. Make no mistake, Ford has some big decisions to make here soon and they are already warning that they are about to start pulling products and shifting gears. I actually believe FCA is doing the right thing for it's business, leverage your best assets and get away from the saturated/diminishing segments. Edited December 8, 2016 by BORG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 (edited) The Blackwood was only created to give Lincoln dealers something to sell after they cancelled Continental and LS and Aviator and before Zephyr. Given it cost almost nothing to create it wasn't a bad business decision. Edited December 9, 2016 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Ford has had a ton of underachieving products that they held onto regardless, 500/Freestyle/TaurusX/Flex/MKT/Taurus were all huge sales disappointments, but it's a company that can absorb those costs better than FCA. FCA is discontinuing those products but replacing them with more profitable volume from other segments. This isn't a bad idea considering FCA sells more SUV and Crossovers than Ford which is shrinking more quickly because of their unbalanced portfolio. Make no mistake, Ford has some big decisions to make here soon and they are already warning that they are about to start pulling products and shifting gears. I actually believe FCA is doing the right thing for it's business, leverage your best assets and get away from the saturated/diminishing segments. Seriously? So your going to equate the "failure" of the D3 platform as the same as what FCA is doing? They don't have a midsized or even a compact sized car between their entire line up and the Fiat products are subcompact/B segment cars that sell in tiny numbers in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordtech1 Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 The Blackwood was only created to give Lincoln dealers something to sell after they cancelled Continental and LS and Aviator and before Zephyr. Given it cost almost nothing to create it wasn't a bad business decision. I really don't think the blackwood was a bad idea. I just think it was a little too soon and needed a real bed. Look at trucks now, 60k+ and selling like crazy. Btw everything was already available to Ford besides the bed. IIRC If you price a bed assembly from parts it's $45k. Fun fact is last time I checked vintage parts has stock of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 The Blackwood was only created to give Lincoln dealers something to sell after they cancelled Continental and LS and Aviator and before Zephyr. Given it cost almost nothing to create it wasn't a bad business decision. I think you're thinking of the Mark LT. The Blackwood was actually a rather intensive development concept... though it looks a lot like the SuperCrew of the day, it actually shared much, much more with the 1st gen Navigator. Truth time: I shop them used from time to time and just may end up with one at some point. The carpet lined bed with split swinging doors in lieu of the tailgate are quirky at best, but I love the damn things. Always have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 I think you're thinking of the Mark LT. The Blackwood was actually a rather intensive development concept... though it looks a lot like the SuperCrew of the day, it actually shared much, much more with the 1st gen Navigator. Truth time: I shop them used from time to time and just may end up with one at some point. The carpet lined bed with split swinging doors in lieu of the tailgate are quirky at best, but I love the damn things. Always have. Makes you wonder what a 2003 one would've looked like (the 2003 Navigator has always been my favorite). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 I think you're thinking of the Mark LT. The Blackwood was actually a rather intensive development concept... though it looks a lot like the SuperCrew of the day, it actually shared much, much more with the 1st gen Navigator. Truth time: I shop them used from time to time and just may end up with one at some point. The carpet lined bed with split swinging doors in lieu of the tailgate are quirky at best, but I love the damn things. Always have. Ah crap - you're right. I was thinking of the Mark LT. I remember when I bought my LS in 99 they were advertising a special - buy a blackwood at MSRP and get a Mercury Cougar for free! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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