Walter P Chrysler's great grandson "letter to the people, saving Chrysler, a call to action" is Chrysler at risk of going under?

[hrv]

I agree with everything you said in that post, except this. The 200 was not a re-badged Dart. There’s 3 different “compact” platforms. A chassis that’s adaptable to many different vehicles from the Dart all the way up to the Pacifica, plus many Alfa models.

and they both turned out to be junk....stop making them after a few years..because sales were awful.

 

[camrydriver111]

Chrysler's problem is that there is more profit if Stellantis designs and sells a Maserati vehicle instead.
So why spend money on Chrysler?
No one needs 2 luxury marques in the same portfolio, and the Maserati name is worth much much more for the same vehicle than Chrysler is.
Hell, even Alfa Romeo would be worth more if Chrysler sold a version of the Giulia or the Stelvio, and those are already being discounted decently.

No reason to keep Chrysler alive, honestly

Maserati is struggling as well. Stellantis had 18 billion profit in 2023, Maserati was 200 million of that.

From my understanding, Stellantis is French dominated and they don't really care for the Maserati brand too much.

There is lots of articles in the media about Stellantis considering selling off Maserati.

As for Chrysler, that brand hasn't been associated with luxury for a long time.

 

[HemiBenny]

and they both turned out to be junk....stop making them after a few years..because sales were awful.

Great contribution.

I can't speak for others, but we're at 160k trouble-free miles on our 2015 200 purchased new in December of 2014. (The only thing other than routine maintenance and brakes have been a couple of motor mounts and an oil pressure sensor)
I hate to say this, but Chrysler had very lax financing and deep discounts, allowing people who don't take particularly good care of their cars to own new vehicles. I'm in the car business, selling and working on them, I've seen people turn Camry's into junk with far less miles.
Anyway, I'm not here to bash brands like some of you, I was just clarifying a bit of misinformation.

 

[OVERKILL]

I agree with everything you said in that post, except this. The 200 was not a re-badged Dart. There’s 3 different “compact” platforms. A chassis that’s adaptable to many different vehicles from the Dart all the way up to the Pacifica, plus many Alfa models.

The Dart is the same car as the Fiat Viaggio, and is on the American "PF" platform (CUSW), as is the 2nd Gen 200, which is the car I'm referencing.

It's similar to saying the 300 is a re-badged Charger. Yeah, they have different sheet metal and the 300 has a nicer interior, but platform-wise, they are basically the same car. Perhaps not quite as blatantly incestuous as the Town Car/Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, but there's a fudge factor.

They didn't sell well. That doesn't mean they were awful cars. The Honda Element had a loyal following, but didn't move enough units to stay viable, heck, we've lost entire brands (Saturn, Oldsmobile, Mercury) over not being able to move product, product that many people really liked.

 

[HemiBenny]

The Dart is the same car as the Fiat Viaggio, and is on the American "PF" platform (CUSW), as is the 2nd Gen 200, which is the car I'm referencing.

It's similar to saying the 300 is a re-badged Charger. Yeah, they have different sheet metal and the 300 has a nicer interior, but platform-wise, they are basically the same car. Perhaps not quite as blatantly incestuous as the Town Car/Crown Vic/Grand Marquis, but there's a fudge factor.

They didn't sell well. That doesn't mean they were awful cars. The Honda Element had a loyal following, but didn't move enough units to stay viable, heck, we've lost entire brands (Saturn, Oldsmobile, Mercury) over not being able to move product, product that many people really liked.

The 2nd gen 200 is based on the Compact wide LWB platform, but several vehicles are based on that same platform, including the Chrysler Pacifica. The 200 is in no way, even fudging, a rebadged Dart. They only shared one engine option, the 2.4l multiair, other than that, the drivetrains were completely different.

Dart- 1.4l, 2.0l, or 2.4l. All mated to either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.

200- 2.4l, or 3.6l V6. All mated to a 9-speed ZF (As a side note, I have found that the 2.4l mates to the 9-speed ZF better than the 3.6l)

The Dart is actually taller than the 200, but the wheelbase is shorter. They don't even share any similar sheet metal. There's nothing about the 2nd gen 200 that could be fudged enough to call it a rebadged Dart. Just because they share the platform, which was designed to be used and modified for many vehicles, isn't enough to call it the same car or a rebadge.

Rebadged vehicles.
VW Routan = Dodge Grand caravan (Same drivetrain, same sheet metal with minor differences to badging)
Mitsubishi Raider (truck) = Dodge Dakota (Same drivetrain, same sheet metal with different badging and bumper cover)
Mazda B-series trucks = Ford Ranger
Mazda Tribute = Ford Escape = Mercury Mariner
Lancia Flavia = Chrysler 200
etc, etc, etc.....

Sorry, but we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this topic.

Cheers!

 

[bullwinkle]

The 2.2/2.5 was a pretty good engine-had to change the timing belt regularly, sometimes had HG issues, but they were simple, somewhat noisy, but lasted a fairly long time.

 

[dishdude]

The 2.2/2.5 was a pretty good engine-had to change the timing belt regularly, sometimes had HG issues, but they were simple, somewhat noisy, but lasted a fairly long time.

You'd get 100k out of a timing belt and they were non-interference. The 2.2 with TBI was very reliable, but the 2.5 with the larger bore and stroke gave it a ton of low end torque and the balance shaft made it much smoother and really pleasant to drive.

 

[hrv]

Great contribution.

I can't speak for others, but we're at 160k trouble-free miles on our 2015 200 purchased new in December of 2014. (The only thing other than routine maintenance and brakes have been a couple of motor mounts and an oil pressure sensor)
I hate to say this, but Chrysler had very lax financing and deep discounts, allowing people who don't take particularly good care of their cars to own new vehicles. I'm in the car business, selling and working on them, I've seen people turn Camry's into junk with far less miles.
Anyway, I'm not here to bash brands like some of you, I was just clarifying a bit of misinformation.

I remember Chrysler comparing the 200 to the Accord and Camry...How did that work out....

 

[hrv]

You'd get 100k out of a timing belt and they were non-interference. The 2.2 with TBI was very reliable, but the 2.5 with the larger bore and stroke gave it a ton of low end torque and the balance shaft made it much smoother and really pleasant to drive.

and a occasional head gasket failure too...I know.. Had to replace it on a 2.2 87 Chrysler LeBaron and a 2.5 89 Plymouth Acclaim...

 

[HemiBenny]

I remember Chrysler comparing the 200 to the Accord and Camry...How did that work out....

Worked out just fine for me. We have a car that looks better, has the wonderful UConnect system, and isn’t as boring as a 2015 Camry. For the money, we got a car loaded with a ton of options and it has been a good car for 160k so far. It’s easily comparable to those two cars in the same class.

 

[OVERKILL]

The 2nd gen 200 is based on the Compact wide LWB platform, but several vehicles are based on that same platform, including the Chrysler Pacifica. The 200 is in no way, even fudging, a rebadged Dart. They only shared one engine option, the 2.4l multiair, other than that, the drivetrains were completely different.

Dart- 1.4l, 2.0l, or 2.4l. All mated to either a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission.

200- 2.4l, or 3.6l V6. All mated to a 9-speed ZF (As a side note, I have found that the 2.4l mates to the 9-speed ZF better than the 3.6l)

The Dart is actually taller than the 200, but the wheelbase is shorter. They don't even share any similar sheet metal. There's nothing about the 2nd gen 200 that could be fudged enough to call it a rebadged Dart. Just because they share the platform, which was designed to be used and modified for many vehicles, isn't enough to call it the same car or a rebadge.

Rebadged vehicles.
VW Routan = Dodge Grand caravan (Same drivetrain, same sheet metal with minor differences to badging)
Mitsubishi Raider (truck) = Dodge Dakota (Same drivetrain, same sheet metal with different badging and bumper cover)
Mazda B-series trucks = Ford Ranger
Mazda Tribute = Ford Escape = Mercury Mariner
Lancia Flavia = Chrysler 200
etc, etc, etc.....

Sorry, but we're gonna have to agree to disagree on this topic.

Cheers!

Agree to disagree

I still consider the Town Car L, which had a longer wheelbase than the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis the "same car" for all intents and purposes. The Marauder got the 32V V8, that the other two never received. I think it depends on where we draw the line and the Dart and 200 being platform mates, similar in size and shape is "close enough" for me, clearly it's not for you, and I'm fine with that.

 

[Hootbro]

I remember Chrysler comparing the 200 to the Accord and Camry...How did that work out....

There was this gem of a Super Bowl ad hyping it up as "Imported From Detroit" with Eminem.

 

[hrv]

There was this gem of a Super Bowl ad hyping it up as "Imported From Detroit" with Eminem.

Yup the Import from Detroit.....

 

[hrv]

Worked out just fine for me. We have a car that looks better, has the wonderful UConnect system, and isn’t as boring as a 2015 Camry. For the money, we got a car loaded with a ton of options and it has been a good car for 160k so far. It’s easily comparable to those two cars in the same class.

consider yourself one of the lucky ones....How many do you see on the roads now...both the 200 or the Dart...

 

[HemiBenny]

consider yourself one of the lucky ones....How many do you see on the roads now...both the 200 or the Dart...

Quite a few 200’s around here. Yeah, I guess I’m just lucky, it has nothing to do with the fact that I actually maintain a car as it should be.
I get it, you contribute the bashing portion of this thread. Good job.
I don’t even know why I’m responding to this.

 

[Hootbro]

I do not think the 200's are a bad car in general but suffer the same fate as Nissan Altima's in that they tend to attract a demographic that sees it as entry level luxury but tend to not have the means to keep up with long term maintenance and let little niggles turn into big issues later.

 

[PF52]

I get it, you contribute the bashing portion of this thread. Good job.

It's best to just use that "H" avatar as a sign to Ignore.