Could Chrysler’s Move to Fix the Sebring Spell Curtains for Dodge’s Viper?
It sounds like the heads at Chrysler are recognizing the fact that the Sebring needs to step up its game, if its ever going to be a real player in the cutthroat midsize sedan segment.
With that in mind, sources close to Chrysler are saying that the company is planning to move resources away from other vehicles in an attempt to update and improve the Sebring, Sebring Convertible, and the Dodge Avenger.
(Click through the jump to read on.)
The reports are that all three cars will be getting interior redesigns, set to be ready for the 2010 model year. Said one unnamed source of the current interiors, “They got cheap on everybody and said 'the customer doesn't mind hard plastic and ugly grain [in the cabin]'.
Comments
Jeb
"if the Viper can’t deliver as a halo car, it could be discontinued"
It doesn't matter how flashy or bright the halo is if the stuff underneath is rotten. Talk about missing the point! If that's the way that decisions are made at Chrysler, then the company is going to continue to die.
Dan
Like I know anything about running a car company, but that sounds like a bad idea to me. It's not like they'd have to spend a ton of cash to keep the Viper in production, even if it wouldn't be competitive with the ZR-1. No one thinks of Chrysler as Neiman Marcus, but I'd hate to see them turn into Dollar General.
Russ Bellinis
"They got cheap on everybody and said 'The customer doesn't mind hard plastic and ugly grain [in the cabin]'"
That tells you what is wrong, not only with Chrysler; but the American auto industry.
When was the last time you saw an interior on a car from Japan that looked cheap? The body styling may draw a person to a car, but you live with the interior.
Having a nice interior is not a substitute for making a good reliable car; but a good reliable car with a cheap, ugly interior won't sell. Most people are not car enthusiasts. To them, a car is an appliance that must get them where they want to go comfortably, reliably, and economically. If the interior is ugly, or uncomfortable, that is a deal breaker; and nothing else about the car will matter! Unfortunately I don't think there is anyone in management at any American auto manufacturing company that has a clue about this issue.
Steve
Russ, I take issue with that statement... and point you to a plethora of products rolling off the General's assembly lines...
chris mich
"If the interior is ugly, or uncomfortable, that is a deal breaker; and nothing else about the car will matter! Unfortunately I don’t think there is anyone in management at any American auto manufacturing company that has a clue about this issue."
GM seems to be [slowly] improving with that issue. Look at all their new Cadillac models and the new Impala.
Russ Bellinis
My point is that finding the "exception to the rule" does not matter. If any company doesn't have 100% of their products meeting the criteria of having a nice comfortable interior, they get an "F". "Slowly" improving with that issue, means slowly stemming the bad reputation. If the victim is hemoraging, you don't put a bandaid on to slowly stop the bleeding.
I'm a GM fan, but the media has been complaining about GM's cheap shoddy interiors at least since 1990. If after 17 years they are slowly getting the message, maybe in another 15 years they will actually begin to overtake Toyota?
Paul In Jersey
Just make the dang Viper a four-door, and create a new market segment. Problem solved. NEXT!?
chartguy
Paul, do you own an oil company? How big is the market segment for 12mpg 4-doors?
stevedbmw
Based on the comments so far, nobody gives a rat's arse if the Viper lives or dies. OR, not Viperistas read this forum.
dante
Does anyone even buy Vipers anymore? Maybe it's the climate and crowded roads around here, but I see them languish on the local dealer's lot for months.
The Stig
I wonder how they're going to decide what qualities a 'halo' car should have. Not that I have access to Chryslers costs sheets, but I'd have a hard time being convinced that dropping a low volume car like the Viper would free up the nessecary cash to foot the bill for new interiors for the Sebring/Avengers. Seems the Viper went through a freshening a couple of years ago anyway, they set to release a racing version - how much money will this car really soak up?
On the side - I agree 100% with Russ. American interiors (with FEW notable exceptions) are still in the also-ran class.
detroit9000
Russ Bellinis, your thinking is a carbon copy of a 6 year old issue of Car and Driver, but it's not current. Not only are the American products getting better, many of the Japanese products have stagnated or are getting worse. And the Japanese pie is getting gobbled up by Koreans who are copying the copyists.
Now is a time where it's key to nurse powerful product roots, because sooner or later people are going to figure out that Toyotas are super boring and you're not getting the bang for the buck you thought you were when you read that 5 year old Car and Driver at the Dentist's office.
It is absolutely critical for Cerberus to maintain the Viper if they're to keep convincing people they don't suck. The Viper is what convinced people that Cerberus was relevant. The Viper was the fulcrum from K-car to now. If it's gone, that see saw collapses.
Viper relevancy is pretty straightforward. A little more press, a little more competition, and a little more marketing and it would easily shine up in the eyes of all wishers and wanters.
I think Cerberus is in bad shape, even without all of this. I just don't get how they're going to survive. Their products are behind Ford and GM, and their manufacturing isn't exactly going to make up for it (like it does for Toyota).
The question is whether there's going to be a bail out this time.
The solution for Cerberus is as simple as it is for Ford and GM. Focus on product, not cost. Bet the farm, hold on tight, and hope that Americans will turn the corner and start shopping on product instead of Toyota's shining, albeit somewhat undeserved, reputation.
mbslrm
That wouldn't be good.
SM
As a new Sebring owner, I can say it's a great car. All criticism made should be relative to price paid, Sebring is a great deal when negotiated well. Camry styling is an emotional as an tooth brush, Accord is over priced and looks like they picked up Saturn's L-Series styling from the trash bin.
The domestics are still paying a severe price for past quality sins, but that isn't a reputation currently deserved. Like a good stock pick, buy low. Camry/Accord are high priced based on their earned past quality, not not necessarily on their current merits of what the offer. Their earned quality is what is selling these cars, not their styling nor interiors.
Many people are into buying what the neigbbors have and don't want to "risk" buying a domestic, Chrysler needs to do more than offer lifetime warranty but to earn a quality rating second to none to eliminate the historical discount corner they have placed themselves into. It's this perception at the end of the day that perils the domestic industry vs any design argument.
Jonathan Fung
I love the Viper. So I would hope that they do not axe the Viper. That definitly was NOT one of the cars on the list of Chrysler cars that should die. I'm sure they have something else that can be sacrificed in place of the Viper if they really needed the money.
gino
Don't be surprised to see Cerberus-Chrysler on the block in the next few months if they can't turn things around.
Word has it they monitor cash flow and available funds more than a few times daily--not good.
Look at the Chrysler offerings. What do they have besides the Jeep and the minivans? The Sebring, despite a kudo or two above, is not something most buyers in that segment want to drive. The 300 is dated and do for a facelift. The Magnum wagon is dead. The Viper is threatened with extinction, as is the Jeep Commander--a mistake that shouldn't have happened. The Ram pickups aren't exactly beating the doors down in that market segment. The
For a company that formerly was on the forefront of fresh ideas and new designs, Chrysler has lost it and if Robert Nardelli, the former CEO of Home Depot who left that company in some disarray ("Don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out, Bob") can't get Chrysler moving, you won't have to be concerned about the Viper because Auburn Hills will have a "For Sale" sign hanging on the front doors.
Tony D
Why don't they just give the sebring the interior out of the viper? Yeah, that's the ticket.
Winding Road » Archive » ‘08 NAIAS: Dodge Zeo Concept is Sho
[...] know the company has a pretty good track record for turning sweet concepts into production, recent financial woes may interrupt that pattern - and from what we’ve seen of the Zeo, at a truly unfortunate [...]
OTTOMAN
IF DODGE, STOPS PRODUCTION OF THE MOST PRETTYITS SPORTS CAR EVER PRODUCED . THAT MEAN,S THEY ARE WAVING THE WHITE FLAG OF FAILURE. THIS IS A MANGEMENT BLUNDER.
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