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Revived 'Hemi' engine helps Chrysler boost sales
By SHOLNN FREEMAN
The Associated Press
4/30/04 8:58 AM
The Wall Street Journal
DETROIT -- Dodge has transformed the word "Hemi" from an artifact of automotive history into a brand within a brand. Now the Chrysler Group, which owns Dodge, is hoping the powerful, V-8 Hemi engine will boost sales of its Chrysler and Jeep models as well.
The ad slogan "That thing got a Hemi?" is becoming a modern catch phrase in car-lover circles. Sales of Hemi-powered Dodges -- which carry a premium price over regular Dodge models -- are running well ahead of the company's projections.
Dieter Zetsche, the former Mercedes-Benz executive who is Chrysler's president and chief executive, describes the Hemi models as the "jewels of the product side" at the No. 3 U.S. auto maker. "It's very, very valuable and important," he says.
Thursday, Chrysler Group said its operating profit in the first quarter nearly doubled to 298 million euros ($352.7 million), thanks in large part to stronger-than-expected sales of vehicles equipped with Hemi engines, which boost profitability. A spokesman says about half of all Dodge Durango sport-utility vehicles are sold with Hemis, "well above what we expected."
Some Chrysler rivals are looking to give their big engines a higher profile, too. Ford Motor Co. has a project in the works that could bring back its "Big Block" engine moniker from the 1960s. General Motors Corp., which in the early 1990s created the "Northstar" brand for V-8 engines used in front-wheel-drive Cadillacs, this year rolled out a rear-drive version of the engine and transmission for Cadillac's XLR sports car and SRX sport-utility vehicle. For the first time, a brand other than Cadillac got the engine, too, with the introduction of Pontiac's 2004 Bonneville.
Meanwhile, Chrysler is carefully trying to spread the Hemi's glow. The Chrysler brand gets a 345-horsepower Hemi engine for top-of-the-line versions of its 300 C sedan, which it began selling last month. The new Dodge Magnum "muscle wagon" also will have a Hemi in it. And the revamped Jeep Grand Cherokee, set to arrive in showrooms later this year, will be the first Jeep with a Hemi.
Mr. Zetsche says Chrysler Group isn't going to become the all-Hemi company. Only V-8 engines will get the Hemi name, he says. "We want to make sure we don't go through an inflation, putting the logo on toilet paper," Mr. Zetsche says. Using the Hemi name on smaller engines "would be the worst thing to do. It has to be top of the line."
Today's high gasoline prices, of course, could be a concern for the Hemi. To address that Chrysler is introducing a new fuel-saving technology that shuts down four of the engine's eight cylinders at cruising speeds.
The Environmental Protection Agency says a 300 C with the technology gets 17 miles per gallon under city driving conditions and 25 on the highway. But Chrysler engineers think the EPA didn't fairly take into account the fuel savings from the cylinder cut-off system. They believe the system is 10 percent to 20 percent more efficient than a comparable V-8 without the technology.
Last year, Chrysler sold 449,000 Ram pickups; half rolled off dealer lots with a 5.7 liter, 345-horsepower Hemi, the company says.
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By SHOLNN FREEMAN
The Associated Press
4/30/04 8:58 AM
The Wall Street Journal
DETROIT -- Dodge has transformed the word "Hemi" from an artifact of automotive history into a brand within a brand. Now the Chrysler Group, which owns Dodge, is hoping the powerful, V-8 Hemi engine will boost sales of its Chrysler and Jeep models as well.
The ad slogan "That thing got a Hemi?" is becoming a modern catch phrase in car-lover circles. Sales of Hemi-powered Dodges -- which carry a premium price over regular Dodge models -- are running well ahead of the company's projections.
Dieter Zetsche, the former Mercedes-Benz executive who is Chrysler's president and chief executive, describes the Hemi models as the "jewels of the product side" at the No. 3 U.S. auto maker. "It's very, very valuable and important," he says.
Thursday, Chrysler Group said its operating profit in the first quarter nearly doubled to 298 million euros ($352.7 million), thanks in large part to stronger-than-expected sales of vehicles equipped with Hemi engines, which boost profitability. A spokesman says about half of all Dodge Durango sport-utility vehicles are sold with Hemis, "well above what we expected."
Some Chrysler rivals are looking to give their big engines a higher profile, too. Ford Motor Co. has a project in the works that could bring back its "Big Block" engine moniker from the 1960s. General Motors Corp., which in the early 1990s created the "Northstar" brand for V-8 engines used in front-wheel-drive Cadillacs, this year rolled out a rear-drive version of the engine and transmission for Cadillac's XLR sports car and SRX sport-utility vehicle. For the first time, a brand other than Cadillac got the engine, too, with the introduction of Pontiac's 2004 Bonneville.
Meanwhile, Chrysler is carefully trying to spread the Hemi's glow. The Chrysler brand gets a 345-horsepower Hemi engine for top-of-the-line versions of its 300 C sedan, which it began selling last month. The new Dodge Magnum "muscle wagon" also will have a Hemi in it. And the revamped Jeep Grand Cherokee, set to arrive in showrooms later this year, will be the first Jeep with a Hemi.
Mr. Zetsche says Chrysler Group isn't going to become the all-Hemi company. Only V-8 engines will get the Hemi name, he says. "We want to make sure we don't go through an inflation, putting the logo on toilet paper," Mr. Zetsche says. Using the Hemi name on smaller engines "would be the worst thing to do. It has to be top of the line."
Today's high gasoline prices, of course, could be a concern for the Hemi. To address that Chrysler is introducing a new fuel-saving technology that shuts down four of the engine's eight cylinders at cruising speeds.
The Environmental Protection Agency says a 300 C with the technology gets 17 miles per gallon under city driving conditions and 25 on the highway. But Chrysler engineers think the EPA didn't fairly take into account the fuel savings from the cylinder cut-off system. They believe the system is 10 percent to 20 percent more efficient than a comparable V-8 without the technology.
Last year, Chrysler sold 449,000 Ram pickups; half rolled off dealer lots with a 5.7 liter, 345-horsepower Hemi, the company says.
Full Article Here
