Stellantis brands Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and others are skipping Chicago Auto Show

mrsilv04

mrsilv04

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Well, that's the headline from the Chicago Tribune.

Can't say that I blame them. I have no huge desire to go see it anymore either.

chicago.suntimes.com

Stellantis brands Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler and others are skipping Chicago Auto Show

The car show, which considers itself the nation’s largest, is trying to pull together a last-minute arrangement with local dealerships to still exhibit some of the brands’ vehicles.
chicago.suntimes.com chicago.suntimes.com
 
From the article: [Stellantis has pulled out of other shows].
[spokesman] expects Stellantis to return to auto shows next year “because the results of the show are too strong to our dealers.”
What does that mean?

When Jaguar announced they wouldn't exhibit at the NY show years ago, they cited the event generated no sales.
So much to know.

I "always thought" there was absolutely no connection between attending a car show and going to a dealership.
There is no coupon they could distribute which could guarantee a good deal at a dealership.
No representative at a car show can say, "Come to the dealership and I'll take care of you".
Ergo, car shows are just a "bunch of showrooms under one roof". While that's no a bad thing, it means little.

The article mentions that groups of Stellantis dealers could band together and buy space at the show. Again, do professional spokespersons staff these exhibits or are the salesmen pressed into service?
Separately owned dealerships cooperating on a sales floor? yeah, right.
 
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Kira said:
I "always thought" there was absolutely no connection between attending a car show and going to a dealership.
There is no coupon they could distribute which could guarantee a good deal at a dealership.
No representative at a car show can say, "Come to the dealership and I'll take care of you".
Ergo, car shows are just a "bunch of showrooms under one roof". While that's no a bad thing, it means little.
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Perhaps it is state laws which determine some of your comments. I have attended the auto show in Cleveland, Ohio in the past and received auto show coupons only. One was for $1000.00 which I used for a Toyota Highlander, another was $500.00 which I used for a Ford C-Max. These were special savings only available when attending the show and registering with the auto maker.

In Ohio cars could not be sold at the show itself but there was no rules preventing a dealer rep from giving you verbal discounts and enticing you to attend their dealership location. The reps at the show were mostly volunteers from local dealerships who were reimbursed by their own dealership in some cases. The manufacturers did have some reps also who usually handled the presentation of cars on the turntables or manned the booths when you signed up for additional information or to get a special coupon. Local salesman worked the people who were looking at and sitting in the other cars on the public display area.

It's been years since I have attended the show but don't believe much has changed other than attendance going down both from car manufacturers and lookers.
 
hemioiler said:
Unfortunately Stellantis isn't doing that well at all these days. Their prime American brands (Ram/Jeep) have cratering sales. Dark days ahead for all mopar fans.
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On the contrary. This is a smart move by them now IMHO, since they are at the bottom of a platform launch cycle. With Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Challenger ending a long a production cycle and no replacement platforms ready in sight, it will be a good cost savings for them to skip the show circuit this year. Maybe next year when the Stella Large EV platform and Charger and new Chrysler large platforms launch they will return exhibiting at the shows.

Please also remember that the Chrysler brand group had the highest contribution margin among all of the Stellantis brands at the end of the last fiscal cycle reported. Carlos is not going to give up on them if they have a chance to repeat that performance in the coming years.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
On the contrary. This is a smart move IMHO by them now since they are at the bottom of a platform launch cycle. With Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Challenger ending a long a production cycle and no replacement platforms ready in sight, it will be a good cost savings for them to skip the show circuit this year. Maybe next year when the Stell Large EV platform and Charger and new Chrysler large platforms launch they will return.

Please also remember that the Chrysler brand group had the highest contribution margin among all of the Stellantis brands at the end of the last fiscal cycle reported. Carlos is not going to give up on them if they have a chance to repeat that performance in the coming years.
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Sales also track the economy - and of course CV19 fouled up lots of things - I got my Jeep right before the chaos at $5k off sticker …

BiL was working hard trying to find year end deals just now - left empty handed. He was once good at working this …
(ex car sales manager) …
 
wwillson said:
I was told that the cost of setup and tear down at the show has become prohibitive. One rule is that no vendor is even allowed to plug a drop cord in, instead they have to hire a union electrician to plug or unplug a drop cord. The list of silliness went on and on.
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Did you leave the state for CO ?
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
On the contrary. This is a smart move by them now IMHO, since they are at the bottom of a platform launch cycle. With Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and Challenger ending a long a production cycle and no replacement platforms ready in sight, it will be a good cost savings for them to skip the show circuit this year. Maybe next year when the Stella Large EV platform and Charger and new Chrysler large platforms launch they will return exhibiting at the shows.

Please also remember that the Chrysler brand group had the highest contribution margin among all of the Stellantis brands at the end of the last fiscal cycle reported. Carlos is not going to give up on them if they have a chance to repeat that performance in the coming years.
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All I know is that much of what drove mopar fans to the brand was the hemi, and that's now gone. Dodge is dead, chrylser is dead, Jeep is on life support, and Ram is doing ... "ok" but has a very old lineup as well (the 2500's are basically a 2009? product with a little refresh in 2019 but still using the old cab and it's small and has a weak gasser etc etc). They're not on top anywhere at this point. Sales reflect that.

It may be "smart" to avoid the show, but the reason they're avoiding it is the problem. They're avoiding it because they have nothing worth showing and it costs a lot, and that's not a great position to be in.
 
One vendor pulls out, not a huge deal. Thing is, what good is a show now? World is slowly changing. You could loan a car to a youtube influencer and probably garner more views (and more sales) that way.

I've never been to one of these shows. Just who is doing the walking around? Potential buyers? Car dealership head honchos? Youtube personalities making videos? I'm sure a part of it is just strutting the stuff for ones competition to see.
 
I agree 110% that they are not in a great position now. But I think that will change as they move farther through the EV muscle cycle, and launch the next gen engines. There are rumors circulating that the 6 cylinder will be supplemented by a new V8 engine......not sure when, but I can see it happening. Again, if it means profit contribution for Stellantis......Carlos Tavares is going to support it.
 
wwillson said:
I was told that the cost of setup and tear down at the show has become prohibitive. One rule is that no vendor is even allowed to plug a drop cord in, instead they have to hire a union electrician to plug or unplug a drop cord. The list of silliness went on and on.
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If that's the case, good for them. Silliness, you're too kind.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
There are rumors circulating that the 6 cylinder will be supplemented by a new V8 engine......
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Rumours only, I very much doubt it. The hemi was first released in 2005, updated in 2009, and has basically been unchanged till now. They've had almost 20 years to work on a successor and there is not even a hint that they've started on this. Why would they leave a v8 out of their product for a few years, then spend millions developing it and have only a few years left to run before it's banned (2035 being the cutoff date)?
 
hemioiler said:
Rumours only, I very much doubt it. The hemi was first released in 2005, updated in 2009, and has basically been unchanged till now. They've had almost 20 years to work on a successor and there is not even a hint that they've started on this. Why would they leave a v8 out of their product for a few years, then spend millions developing it and have only a few years left to run before it's banned (2035 being the cutoff date)?
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You may be assuming that the new V8 will be developed by Chrysler. It may not be but may already have been or in development at another Stellantis brand.
 
Wrenchturner44 said:
You may be assuming that the new V8 will be developed by Chrysler. It may not be but may already have been or in development at another Stellantis brand.
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There was talk about this with cummins in the heavy duty lineup, but that's all I'm aware of.
 
The Detroit Auto Show was one of my families favorite outings, we always looked forward to seeing / sitting in the vehicles. Then it slowly became an amusement park-like atmosphere with the over-the top displays (Jeep!) that took up the showroom floor. Now they moved it to summer time and partially an outdoor experience.
 
I used to go to the Chicago Auto Show every year when I lived there. It was a welcome mid-winter break from the cold grayness of February in the city. McCormick Place is enormous. The show was a dazzling display of acres of brand new carpeting, hundreds of models steel and real. It was intoxicating to this young boy. Shame to see what it has devolved into.
 
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