I worked sales at a Chevrolet/Oldsmobile dealership in the late '70's. Early on in that job, I recall having a customer come in that wanted to trade in their Chrysler on a new car. (It's been too many years, so I don't recall the model, but that is inconsequential to this.) I took the details to my sales manager for approval. He told me to be prepared that the customer will not be happy with the trade-in offer, because trade-in value on Chrysler products was severely lower when compared to the other car brands. He said it was hard to close a deal with someone wanting to trade in a Chrysler, because of this.
At the time I questioned if this was really true, or was he just lowballing the customer because of a prejudice against the competition and a loyalty towards GM brands. But as I spent more time in the auto industry, and read auto industry articles in publications such as Automotive News, I came to realize that my sales manager was right. Chrysler products had a reputation for a lower quality than other brands, so used Chrysler cars demanded lower pricing to move them off the lot.
I also remember the reputation that certain Chrysler engines and transmissions had in the late '60's and early '70's. They were well respected for how much power could be got out of them. Challengers and Chargers and Barracudas were very popular and sought after by kids my age.
Perhaps many here may feel different, but I believe most people today consider Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep to be on the bottom of the scale for quality/reliability.
