Author Topic: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???! (Read 14133 times)

JH27N0B · « **Reply #15 on:** April 24, 2009 - 02:39:00 PM »

Quote from: MJS73 on April 24, 2009 - 02:34:29 PM

Dodge sold more Challengers in January than Honda sold Priuses.

Mike

You mean than Honda sold hybrids? Or than Toyota sold Priuses?
Honda doesn't make the Prius, Toyota does.
Either way, they sure are ugly, I wouldn't be seen in one!

72hemi · « **Reply #16 on:** April 24, 2009 - 02:51:51 PM »

The Prius is such a marketing gimmick, what a pos. The batteries have to be replaced after 9 years or so at a huge cost to the owner, they are extremely ugly and only get that kind of mileage if you don't use the go pedal. I loved the comparison Top Gear did with the Prius and the ne BMW M3. They had the prius go flat out around their track and had the M3 just keep up. The prius avergaed 17 mpg and the M3 got almost 20 mpg.

MJS73 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 24, 2009 - 02:54:50 PM »

I fixed the post, although it WAS true...

Mike

JH27N0B · « **Reply #18 on:** April 24, 2009 - 03:02:04 PM »

Hybrids in general are not cost effective.
The most efficient vehicle you can buy is diesel powered, that is one area where the Europeans are way ahead of us, as diesel power is very popular there.
Diesels here have a poor reputation based on truly bad diesels GM threw together in the early 80's, and misguided legislation. We can blame GM for that misstep. But its been almost 30 years now since that, when will people forget? Most people seem to have forgotten 9/11 and that was less than 8 years ago, I don't get it?
How 'bout a turbocharged diesel Challenger that gets 40 mpg? Easily doable!

farmertan · « **Reply #19 on:** April 24, 2009 - 03:11:39 PM »

Is it true that in europe you can buy a ford ranger diesel that gets like 40 mpg but we cant buy that here?

cooda · « **Reply #20 on:** April 25, 2009 - 12:13:36 AM »

Quote from: Bondavi on April 23, 2009 - 10:57:56 PM

Change Drama into Obama! This leaves me wondering...how much farther this Obama power grab can go.... government "encouraging" Chrysler to go out....

Bottom line. We have 2009 R/T's and SRT-8's. Will they fall victim or not? If so, a black 6-spd R/T or SRT-8 may be in the plans.

They may not be the "investments" they once were regarded as, but at least I'd know I'm getting a piece of something from old corporate American heritage as we knew it...

GM will soon take the hammer to some of the most wonderful cars its produced as of late - CTS-V, G8 GXP, Camaro, and others.... Corvette may be riducled into smaller-scale. Its not funny, seriously.

All this talk about liquidation - does this mean 2010's runs (will be) suspended, hence 2009's the last hurrah?

You tell me...

I don't really think politics has a place on this Forum, and I don't agree with putting an anti-Obama icon in the group for posters to add to their messages, which encourages political BS on this Forum, and absent one the other way, shows bias by the moderators IMO. I don't care which political party you blame for what's wrong with the U S auto industry, and the truth is that probably neither is to blame. The industry is to blame. They have been making worse cars than the Japanese for years.

I think Chrysler and GM pull out of Chapter 11 as a lot better companies. The union workers are likely to take a nice hit, as union contracts are dischargable (or modifiable) in bankruptcy. But I doubt if many will resign- where else are they going to get better jobs?

The Challenger is a money maker for Chrysler, as the Camaro appears to be a big + for GM, but these are a drop in the bucket. Chrysler needs to make better minivans and family cars to compete with Toyota and Honda. Most car buyers aren't in the market for Challengers. But money makers like the Challenger will survive. The inferior Chrysler minivan may not.

bb71challenger · « **Reply #21 on:** April 25, 2009 - 01:59:36 AM »

Dude, the icon says DRAMA makes me want to kill someone, not OBAMA makes me want to kill someonw

Maybe it should?

thedodgeboys · « **Reply #22 on:** April 25, 2009 - 09:35:05 AM »

Quote from: bb71challenger on April 25, 2009 - 01:59:36 AM

Dude, the icon says DRAMA makes me want to kill someone, not OBAMA makes me want to kill someonw Maybe it should?

Quote from: cooda on April 25, 2009 - 12:13:36 AM

I don't really think politics has a place on this Forum, and I don't agree with putting an anti-Obama icon in the group for posters to add to their messages,

I am mad they took the challenger off the employee price ++ early dont they know thats why they sold so many in January

71bigblock · « **Reply #23 on:** April 25, 2009 - 09:58:51 AM »

Quote from: bb71challenger on April 25, 2009 - 01:59:36 AM

Dude, the icon says DRAMA makes me want to kill someone, not OBAMA makes me want to kill someonw Maybe it should?

LOL, I'm actually chuckling.

And how on earth is the Chrysler minivan inferior? Is it not still the best selling minivan?

lilian · « **Reply #24 on:** April 25, 2009 - 10:52:29 AM »

Is it true that in europe you can buy a ford ranger diesel that gets like 40 mpg but we cant buy that here?

yes it is true, they are available on dealer lots here in France.

as for manufacturers and small cars, here in Europe the cars are bigger and bigger and only Asian built cars get smaller !!
but the cars are gas efficient so we have smaller engines with good hp and mileage.

car manufacturers as many companies only survive because of large loans from the banks, now that money rates are high, the weakest companies are going bankrupcy. they should have gone several years ago.
just my 2 � (euros)

farmertan · « **Reply #25 on:** April 25, 2009 - 11:49:22 AM »

Thanks lilian, back in the 80s my brother had a datsun or something diesel mini pickup that thing got close to 50mpg, why wouldnt they sell that ranger here, it cant be because of emissions, maybe they dont want us to have a vehicle that will last 200k plus, we wouldnt have to buy new every two. I dont get it.

lilian · « **Reply #26 on:** April 25, 2009 - 01:31:58 PM »

cars here are built to last 5 years.

I do not know why Ford does not sell these diesel ranger. it is not due to emissions as Europe is far ahead comparing us emission regulation.

bb71challenger · « **Reply #27 on:** April 25, 2009 - 01:33:08 PM »

Quote from: lilian on April 25, 2009 - 10:52:29 AM

Is it true that in europe you can buy a ford ranger diesel that gets like 40 mpg but we cant buy that here?

yes it is true, they are available on dealer lots here in France.

as for manufacturers and small cars, here in Europe the cars are bigger and bigger and only Asian built cars get smaller !!
but the cars are gas efficient so we have smaller engines with good hp and mileage.

car manufacturers as many companies only survive because of large loans from the banks, now that money rates are high, the weakest companies are going bankrupcy. they should have gone several years ago.
just my 2 � (euros)

In Chryslers case I dont blame their present condition on anyone but themselves. They had their head up their ass when they merged with Mercedes. Years and years of solid performance and they were overflowing with capital money. Mercedes just came in, gang raped the coffers and left Chrysler spinning in the breeze. Should have never happened. I can easily see that Chrysler would have been in very good shape to weather the present financial storm. Now they are crawling into bed with another European car maker, will they ever learn? I dont know the details though so maybe its a positive merger this time

back n black · « **Reply #28 on:** April 25, 2009 - 02:03:11 PM »

Quote from: JH27N0B on April 24, 2009 - 12:28:07 PM

"Maybe if the 3 large companies followed suit of the other manufactures and stopped being so stubborn and had gotten into the small car markets earlier instead of insisting on building big gas guzzling trucks then they may not have been this far up the creek."

Obviously spoken by someone who has spent little or no time in the US! Small cars have never enjoyed widespread popularity here in the states outside of some sales surges during gas price spikes. Priuses were back ordered last summer and dealers were charging surcharges. Now that gas prices have fallen back, they are gathering dust on the lots and the few that want one can buy one at a nice discount. In fact, cars and trucks from all the makers are gathering dust on the lots, but if you check the sales stats, you'll find that small and hybrid sales have fallen off at a higher rate than larger cars and SUVs this year.
Americans love big cars! I am not trying to defend or criticize that, just stating a fact. Despite the preaching of politicians and some in the media against that, it is true that Americans tend to think "bigger is better". Check the top 10 sales figure lists in the US over the years and there are always 2 or 3 pickup trucks. And for many of the others, what do you define as small? The Toyota Camry??? I was on a business trip last year and our rental was a Camry. I couldn't believe it when my colleague pulled up in our Camry at the airport, I didn't recognize it as I hopped in, it was huge!! Bigger by far than my Lincoln LS. I'd estimate the 2008 Camry is close to 50% larger than a 1990 Camry Foreign automakers have greatly increased the size of their most popular cars like Camrys and Accords to satisfy the American tastes for large cars. They are the size and weight of what smaller "large" cars and larger "intermediate" cars were 20 years ago.
Why are the U.S. auto makers in so much trouble today? The largest factor is the unprecedented drop in sales that started last summer. Car sales dropped 40-50% and that has caused much stress for almost all automakers, U.S. and foreign. Few businesses have reserves deep enough to weather such an extreme contraction of their business, without big problems. And because of the financial crisis, money in the form of credit lines could not be obtained to try to sustain their overhead until better times. The only reason Ford has been in better shape than the other two, is that they had negotiated a huge line of credit before this crisis hit, they had to sell their soul to get it, but now in retrospect they are looking pretty smart for what they did. We'll have to see if they too experience severe problems later on, but for now they are doing OK it seems.
Even companies like Toyota have have been badly hurt, the problems certainly aren't limited to the US automakers.
I'm not saying Chrysler or GM are blameless for their current ills, they certainly allowed themselves to be burdened by excessive union demands, an inefficient and overly large dealership network, too many brands and "badge engineering", etc., but the main thing that is killing them is this economic crisis that is affecting the entire world economy now caused by the result of too much greed, too many bankers, too much leverage and too many people and governments living beyond their means borrowing money.
I sure hope both GM and Chrysler can reorganize and stay in business. And I hope they can continue to offer a full lineup of everything from compact cars up to trucks and some performance cars like Corvettes and Challengers!
I doubt that will happen though, with governments heavy hand involved in the running of the reorganized companies, they will probably not be allowed to sell much beyond small and hybrid vehicles that will never sell in high volumes. That being the case, their long term prospects are bleak at best.
Take good care of those new Challengers, they may very well be just a two year run and those made during that time will be in demand by enthusiasts for many decades!

Very good take on the crisis...

JH27N0B · « **Reply #29 on:** April 25, 2009 - 07:13:55 PM »

More on the diesel issue, in this article you see that most of the highest mileage cars are diesels, and not sold in the US. The Ford Fiesta gets over 60 mpg!
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/listarticle.aspx?cp-documentid=745437&page=print

Here is a good article I saved from one of my trade magazines a few months ago, I hope it will make everyone feel a little bit of optimism!!

Author Topic: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???! (Read 14133 times)

JH27N0B

Re: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???!

72hemi

Re: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???!

MJS73

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JH27N0B

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farmertan

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cooda

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bb71challenger

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thedodgeboys

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71bigblock

Re: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???!

lilian

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farmertan

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lilian

Re: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???!

bb71challenger

Re: Chrysler bankruptcy: Grab a 08-09 Challenger while you can???!

back n black

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JH27N0B

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