Chrysler CEO: Several Intros Pushed Back; Dart Needs Improved Engine/Trans

[Perian]

The Wall Street Journal

January 16, 2013



Article Quotes:

Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Monday he isn’t satisfied with sales of the new Dodge Dart, but he added that the compact car will soon get a new transmission that should help boost demand.

The all-new nameplate, Chrysler’s first compact sedan in seven years, went on sale in June. In the Dart’s first six months of sales, Chrysler has sold about 25,000 of the cars, far less than its rivals in that size.

Still, Mr. Marchionne sees plenty of potential for the Dart, a car derived from an Alfa Romeo model designed by majority owner Fiat SpA of Italy.

Mr. Marchionne attributed the slow sales to the car being launched last year with a manual transmission, an option that appeals to only 5% of the marketplace in the U.S. He also said the engine and transmission options need to be improved, given the competition.

“We learned the hard way,” Mr. Marchionne said. “And we learned quickly.”

Chrysler aims to remedy the issues with a new nine-speed transmission that will eventually go into the Dart. Mr. Marchionne didn’t offer a time frame, saying only that the first allocations of the new transmission will go to a Jeep sport-utility vehicle arriving this summer.

Mr. Marchionne also said several other vehicles that were scheduled to be launched this year under Chrysler’s 2009 five-year plan have now been pushed back to 2014, including a compact car under the Chrysler brand.

[Perian]

You have to hand it to Mr. Marchionne. The man sees a problem, he goes all out until a solution is found. They say he works 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. People have compared him to Lee Iacocca, but while Mr. Iacocca was a good politician, Mr. Marchionne is a true leader, a true manager.

He will take the Chrysler/Fiat group far.

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Incentive Note: Looking for a compact car with a manual transmission? Chrysler will double the incentive on the Dart if you purchase one with a manual transmission.

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[bone]

You have to hand it to Mr. Marchionne. The man sees a problem, he goes all out until a solution is found. People have compared him to Lee Iacocca, but while Lee was a good politician, Mr. Marchionne is a true leader, a true manager.

I totally agree.

[rjc333]

[QUOTE=Perian;2635392]You have to hand it to Mr. Marchionne. The man sees a problem, he goes all out until a solution is found. They say he works 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. People have compared him to Lee Iacocca, but while Mr. Iacocca was a good politician, Mr. Marchionne is a true leader, a true manager.

He will take the Chrysler/Fiat group far.

QUOTE]

I completely agree on the last part. I've never been a big Mopar guy, but he is starting to make a believer out of me.

[mjd1001]

Chrysler has done a pretty good job making changes where they need to be made. Most car decisions they made in the last few years have been good (did just enough to keep the 200 and Avenger compeitive and profitable, good job on the 300 and Charger, gotten the Ram the 8 speed autos before the competition, telling people that further changes are coming to the Dart, etc.)

HOWEVER, they have to be careful to balance the need to 'get things right' and to push them back too far. Sure, you WANT to correct your mistakes and you WANT to make sure your product is 'just right' at launch, but you don't want to fall into the trap of waiting too long so the competition beats you to where you want to go....or even worse that you are afraid of that so you 'announce' your products and then make people wait too long to actually get them (otherwise known by outsiders of GM as "GM's engineering by press release.)

But as for as Chrysler goes lately...I am a fan so far. I have never been a Chryser guy myself, but we bought our first Chyrsler ever last year (a new 3.6 powered Avenger) and so far it has been the BEST new car--for the money (paid about $20k after incentives) we have had. My close cousin, who's last 5 cars up until this year had all been GM or Ford Vehicles, just bought a new Blacktop Charger and he is happier with that than anything he has had also.

[Evo69]

Good to see Marchionne recognizing a problem and is hands on in dealing with it. I wanted the Dart to succeed in the marketplace but it ran into a brutally competitive compact car segment. I hope Chrysler do the right thing with this car to make it a success.

[skylark68]

I'm just waiting on the Dart GT. It would be a good replacement for my wife's old Mazda 3s hatch.

[Dave B]

I like the looks ofthe Dart but the faster they improve the powertrain the better, and Marchionne seems on top of it.

[Butz]

SRT4 please

[CrunkedRL]

No votes by committee, no beaurucratic red tape, no mindless endless boardroom meetings to approve the smallest most insignificant things, just expedited rational judgement from a man that I would consider a maverick in his line of business. Glad to see Marchionne continue to make improvements where and when needed. This is how you run a company!

[MCGARRETT]

If this was the same situation with a GM car, people here would be gathering torches and pitchforks and cursing Dan Akerson.

[ryannel2003]

If this was the same situation with a GM car, people here would be gathering torches and pitchforks and cursing Dan Akerson.

Does GM pay you to be the ultimate fanboi? If so, you should be getting paid triple!

[MCGARRETT]

Does GM pay you to be the ultimate fanboi? If so, you should be getting paid triple!

I call em as I see em, if the harsh truth hurts, perhaps you should go somewhere else.

[jld]

They can call it an Alfa Romeo all they want. I see a Neon.

[ryannel2003]

I call em as I see em, if the harsh truth hurts, perhaps you should go somewhere else.

No people are sick of hearing the same excuses from GM that we were hearing 5 years ago before the whole Bankruptcy mess. Yes, GM has made tremendous progress with their cars but in the meantime we still don't have a flagship Cadillac with a proper V8 drivetrain, the Cruze still doesn't have a hatchback or coupe bodystyle, the Malibu is a mess, the Impala is overpriced, the SRX isn't the proper car for Cadillac, the CTS is old, etc. I mean I could go on and on.

What is great about Chrysler is that 5 years ago they were in worse shape than GM, and now I wouldn't hesitate to say they are now in better shape than GM is. GM needs to step and recognize what the market whats and needs and work on that to stay relevant.