Stellantis dealers warn of brand degradation; company scolds them to keep dispute in house -Detroit Free Press

Aston4 said:
I should clarify: the generation's *women*

The vehicles carry "mom image." Motherhood is in the American Female mind, is equivalent to failure. They were taught this since kindergarten, and most of the weak minded ones still believe it.

Modern women DO NOT want to be associated with motherhood. That's why they want Jeeps and trucks, and that's why Jeeps are full of BS luxury tech that no man wants. Cars are marketed to women. Men buy the vehicle they want. Women buy the marketing. This is well researched stuff, not me poopieposting.
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My wife hates cars and station wagons (RIP my Dodge Magnum SRT dreams…) but loves rear wheel drive/rear biased AWD and that doesn’t leave a whole lot of options. Oh it also has to seat 6 comfortably.
 
OVERKILL said:
That's been in the works for a while now, before Stellantis. They've been pushing that direction with Grand Cherokee since the Fiat merger with the WK2 and leaned harder into it with the Grand Cherokee L and now the Wagoneer.

Problem is, their dealership model isn't configured around selling $100K SUV's to people who want a waiting room with designer leather seating and a $10K coffee machine while an attractive staffer in a black dress asks you if "everything is OK?" and if she can get you anything, while you wait (my BMW dealership experience).

You've got a subset of expensive "more luxury" products in a brand (Jeep) that historically, isn't and that's awkward. This has always been the gripe with Cadillac and Lincoln too, you are going to a Ford/Chevrolet showroom, dealing with a Ford/Chevrolet Parts/Service department, but paying Mercedes/BMW/Audi money for the vehicle.
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Affluent folks do NOT want to drive anything Stellantis….
 
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hrv said:
actually more than that...
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Dave Hess said:
Affluent folks do NOT want to drive anything Stellantis….
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Rams are some of the most expensive vehicles you can buy, and up to 2 years ago before CEO got greedy, they were some of the best selling models out there.

Third place in truck sales, many of them for well over 70k.

When you have a "need" for a vehicle the size of a truck or large suv, there are only a few options to pick from and Stellantis was one of them.

Jeep will never be Mercedes. But they could definitely have competed with Yukon/Cadillac/Navigator.
 
Funny how Ram sales destroy Tundra sales, still today despite greedy pricing (which it appears they are aware of and correcting "as we speak".)

Don't forget the high performance chargers/challengers, the SRT's and hellcats, the TRX's. Anyone buying those has money to burn, and they're not picking toyota or BMW or Mercedes despite similar pricetags.
 
Dave Hess said:
Affluent folks do NOT want to drive anything Stellantis….
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The owner of the company I work for drives a RAM 1500 Laramie Longhorn, this is his 2nd 1500, the first replaced an F-150 Platinum. Since I'm buddies with the guy that owns the dealership I shop at, I've got first-hand knowledge of the type of clientele that shops there, and I can assure you, there are plenty of affluent folks that intentionally buy Stellantis. The demographic runs the gamut and while that may be good for the dealership's bottom line, it's more challenging keeping the people who spend SRT/TRX/TrackHawk/Grand Wagoneer money happy, because the model isn't built around those customers like it is at Mercedes/BMW/Audi.
 
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Dave Hess said:
Affluent folks do NOT want to drive anything Stellantis….
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Take a drive through Paradise Valley, AZ, it's one of the most affluent zip codes in the country. Grand Wagoneers, Grand Cherokees, Wranglers, high end Rams, TRXs, Hellcats and even a few Alfa Romeos are common sights on the streets and in the driveways and garages of $5 million + homes.
 
edyvw said:
Cameras are actually useful safety features, as well as BSM and TPMS.
1. There ar thousands of accidents every year when people reverse. It is unreasonable to expect that they will stop those accidents, but they do reduce it.
2. BSM in large vehicles is a MUST, IMO. We have technology; why not utilize it? Regardless of how diligent you are, sometimes people do not see other vehicles.
3. TPMS is one of the most important safety features that can save you A LOT of money. a. Slow-leaking tires can lose enough pressure before an owner notices it actually to damage the tire and lead to fatal accidents. b. Tires that lose too much pressure in AWD/4WD vehicles can and will damage the AWD system.

As for mandates, driving is not a right; it is a privilege.
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How many tires has TPMS saved from a run flat situation? Plenty. Now that decent name brand tires for most vehicle are pushing $200- and truck tires are $300. and up. You would think that is one feature the tightwads on here would embrace....but not accepting this features boggles the mind.
I guess because they can't change a tire on a rim on their driveway with a torch and gasoline.
 
CKN said:
How many tires has TPMS saved from a run flat situation? Plenty. Now that decent name brand tires for most vehicle are pushing $200- and truck tires are $300. and up. You would think that is one feature the tightwads on here would embrace....but not accepting this features boggles the mind.
I guess because they can't change a tire on a rim on their driveway with a torch and gasoline.
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I have BMW factory software and can switch to ABS sensor monitoring. But I don;t want to. I tracked this car often, not so much now, but need ASAP response in case pressure drops.
 
I know a guy in the $12M net worth range and only drives AMG Benz or BMW M powered cars.

Says a jeep or truck with bigly big tires and mud flaps would hurt his image.
 
Dave Hess said:
I know a guy in the $12M net worth range and only drives AMG Benz or BMW M powered cars.

Says a jeep or truck with bigly big tires and mud flaps would hurt his image.
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I knew a woman that was worth $9 billion and she drove Buick station wagons because they were the easiest to get her dogs in and out of.
 
dishdude said:
Take a drive through Paradise Valley, AZ, it's one of the most affluent zip codes in the country. Grand Wagoneers, Grand Cherokees, Wranglers, high end Rams, TRXs, Hellcats and even a few Alfa Romeos are common sights on the streets and in the driveways and garages of $5 million + homes.
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It’s almost as if you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover because no matter what people are going to buy what they want vs what they need 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
OVERKILL said:
That's been in the works for a while now, before Stellantis. They've been pushing that direction with Grand Cherokee since the Fiat merger with the WK2 and leaned harder into it with the Grand Cherokee L and now the Wagoneer.

Problem is, their dealership model isn't configured around selling $100K SUV's to people who want a waiting room with designer leather seating and a $10K coffee machine while an attractive staffer in a black dress asks you if "everything is OK?" and if she can get you anything, while you wait (my BMW dealership experience).

You've got a subset of expensive "more luxury" products in a brand (Jeep) that historically, isn't and that's awkward. This has always been the gripe with Cadillac and Lincoln too, you are going to a Ford/Chevrolet showroom, dealing with a Ford/Chevrolet Parts/Service department, but paying Mercedes/BMW/Audi money for the vehicle.
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Gee wiz maybe I should try a BMW. When I had a Mercedes, going to the dealership reminded me a lot of being at Home Depot.
 
hemioiler said:
Rams are some of the most expensive vehicles you can buy, and up to 2 years ago before CEO got greedy, they were some of the best selling models out there.

Third place in truck sales, many of them for well over 70k.

When you have a "need" for a vehicle the size of a truck or large suv, there are only a few options to pick from and Stellantis was one of them.

Jeep will never be Mercedes. But they could definitely have competed with Yukon/Cadillac/Navigator.
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umm.. who is going to tell him
 
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