I look forward to having a car with remote start in the winter because I can simply click a button to crank the cold engine and get the interior warm and toasty before I climb in. I can't recall ever using the feature in the summer, since I live in a part of the country that doesn't get super hot, except for a few weeks each year.
So when I was out with the family on a recent sweltering summer day driving a 2010 Chrysler Sebring Limited, I was glad it had remote start. I parked right outside of a restaurant, within view of where we were sitting while having a bite, and with the windows partially rolled down to let some fresh air in and the heat escape. While waiting for the check I activated the remote start and had set the air conditioner on full blast to help cool the interior -- at least a little.
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Categories: Car Audio and Technology, Chrysler, Test Car Notes
Last Friday was the last day of production for Chrysler's one-time best seller, the PT Cruiser. The PT Cruiser debuted in the spring of 2000 as a 2001 model, and I remember seriously considering one as they were arriving on local dealer lots. What ultimately kept me from purchasing a PT was the dealer greed that had them charging between $3,000 and $10,000 over MSRP (for a vehicle that started at $16,000 and topped out around $22,000).
But this column isn't about my near-ownership experience with a PT Cruiser, it's about the rise and fall of one of Chrysler's most iconic and popular models in the company's 85-year history.
With over 1.3 million units sold, plus enough demand to charge thousands over MSRP during its debut and sufficient inspiration to launch multiple car clubs and Web sites dedicated to it, how could Chrysler let the PT Cruiser's grand beginnings end in a morass of decontented materials and rental car daily-rate specials? Was it a tragic (and all-too-common) case of brand equity mismanagement, or was it financial brilliance from a company eeking out profit where it could in an increasingly down market? Maybe both.
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Categories: Automotive News, Chrysler, Karl on Cars
I could only avoid it for so long. Sooner or later my "Car Guy Talk" had to broach the subject of...(gulp)...Chrysler.
I've owned far too many cars over the past 25 years, and the majority of them have worn the Chrysler Pentastar. Ironically, only one was actually badged a Chrysler -- a 1974 New Yorker I purchased thinking I'd pull the 440 engine and use it in a 1966 Dodge Coronet 500. But I ended up just selling both the Coronet and the New Yorker a few months later when I found a ready-to-rumble 1969 Plymouth GTX. That car was replaced by a 1970 GTX I bought in 1986 and still own today (seen above in a "commercial" project for my 12th grade video class).
So why did I grow up a Mopar man, and what's the deal with Chrysler these days?
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Categories: Chrysler, Dodge, Karl on Cars
Imagine if Chrysler had a car that could challenge the Bugatti Veyron for supercar supremacy. Well, if the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve had made it to production, they would have. Built in 2004, the ME Four-Twelve had the holy trinity of supercar ingredients -- light weight, excessive power and dynamite looks.
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Categories: Chrysler, Dream Car Corner, Muscle Car
If you were to stick to strict rationality when buying a car, we'd all own Priuses or minivans or the inexplicably absent Prius minivan. It would be a boring world. We don't need twin-turbo V12s, Ferrari Scuderias or leather-lined, reclining, heated, cooled and massaging rear seats with DVD entertainment systems, but darn it, we want them. Cars have always been more of an emotional purchasing decision than a rational one.
Yet, there are certain cars that utterly defy any pittance of rationality. Cars we scratch our heads at. Cars we can't fathom why any sane person with sufficient information at their disposal would buy one. Cars that are simply a poor buying decision. This week, two of our editors take a look at two cars they think meet those criteria -- and rather than defend them, they'll be prosecuting. Automotive Editor James Riswick prosecutes the BMW Active Hybrid X6, the first hybrid model to wear the label "Ultimate Driving Machine" and the first with a twin-turbo V8. Vice Admiral of Vehicle Testing Mike Magrath, goes a completely different route and prosecutes the Chrysler Sebring.
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Categories: BMW, Chrysler, Face-Off
So I've been hanging out at the Auto Show this week, and I am extremely pleased to report that I have learned exactly three worthwhile lessons. Weekly Top 3? Three lessons? Just in time for my inaugural CarPool post on December 3rd 4th? Sometimes, friends, everything happens for a reason. Read on, and learn well.
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Categories: Auto Shows, Chrysler, Hyundai, Weekly Top 3
I know it just happened yesterday, but today's Talk Back Tuesday will not focus on GM going into
bankruptcy. Instead, I'm going to focus on Chrysler coming out of
bankruptcy, which it is on the brink of accomplishing.
Like most folks I've been suitably impressed by the apparent speed at which Chrysler processed its bankruptcy filing. Obama wanted it done in 30 days. Chrysler wanted it done in 30 days. Even Fiat wanted it done in 30 days. It appears everyone got what they wanted.
But it's really Fiat that made out in this deal. People keep saying Fiat "bought" Chrysler, but how much money did the Italian automaker pay for the Pentastar? That's right -- NOTHING!
Instead, Fiat was simply willing to take on the task of fixing Chrysler. Ironically, that made them the highest bidder in this sale, as every other automaker basically said "no thanks" and ran the other way.
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Categories: Automotive News, Chrysler, Dodge, Domestic Manufacturers Problems/Challenges, Talk Back Tuesday
If you believe some of the headlines you might think the Chrysler/Fiat Merger is the best thing since relaxed credit standards and subprime home financing.
The supposed advantages of the merger are pretty obvious. Chrysler gets some much-needed small car entries that don't suck, and Fiat gets instant access to the Chrysler dealer network.
A no-lose proposition, right? Right?
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Categories: Automotive News, Chrysler, Domestic Manufacturers Problems/Challenges, Talk Back Tuesday
If you've read Thomas Friedman's latest rantings
in The New York Times you already know the only way to save the world from multiple calamities is to kill the SUV -- ASAP -- through taxation. In this week's op-ed piece he calls for gas taxes, carbon taxes, and whatever else it takes to "permanently change consumer demand."
Funny, but I'm just old-fashioned enough to think the proper way to change consumer demand is through free-market forces, but I know that's an unpopular philosophy these days.
For the record, it was not too little government regulation that caused the current housing and credit meltdown but too much. Tell banks to give everyone a loan without considering the risk (because the government will pick up the tab on any defaults) and guess what? Banks gave out too many bad loans! Obviously the only way out of this mess is more government intervention...
But that's a topic for another day. For now let's focus on Friedman's insistence that Americans must be force-fed small, fuel-efficient cars whether they want/need them or not.
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Categories: Chrysler, Hybrid Vehicles, Road Trips, Talk Back Tuesday
To say the automotive industry is experiencing some turbulence right now would be like saying the nation's voters aren't completely aligned regarding the country's future leadership.
All three domestic manufacturers are following the standard "tough market" protocol -- slash workers, slash production, slash forecasts. They're also scrambling to remake a business and product plan based on small, fuel-efficient cars rather than large, gas-swilling trucks.
Finally, they are re-evaluating which brands are worth their time and trouble. Those that don't make the cut are put on the auction block, such as Jaguar and Land Rover. Others are likely to be killed outright, joining Plymouth and Oldsmobile in that big "Dead Brands" junkyard in the sky.
This raises an interesting question -- specifically, what will happen to Chrysler?
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Categories: Chrysler, Talk Back Tuesday
I know what you're thinking: "Karl, how can a vehicle that was never 'cool' to begin with actually jump the shark?"
First of all, if you've ever fully utilized a minivan's capabilities (and if you've got a wisp of self confidence) you already know that minivans are very cool. But Chrysler invented the segment, has made the most money from the segment, and is now going to suffer the most from a shrinking segment. Ford and GM have already bailed out while Chrysler appears committed to the category it invented, which makes sense.
But although the company is still in there swinging, most experts would agree Chrysler no longer offers a class-leading product. Why? What happened to take Chrysler's minivan crown away, and when did it happen?
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Categories: Cars that Jumped the Shark, Chrysler, Dodge
You may have already heard this, but BMW's twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter engine took home the International Engine of the Year award for 2008. If you've experienced this powertrain you know that title is well and properly earned, as the 3.0-liter's combination of horsepower, torque and even fuel efficiency make it one of the best engines in history.
But that got me thinking: What are the best engines in the history of the automobile? There are no internationally recognized test parameters to answer this question, so it's basically a judgement call. With that said, here are the 10 engines I would place in the annals of "Best Engines of All Time."
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Categories: Automotive News, BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Porsche, Vehicle Awards
"Gas prices are skyrocketing! There's no end in sight!! Who knows how high they'll go?!!!"
The above statements may or may not be true, but Chrysler is hoping enough of you feel this way to fall for their latest marketing scheme: Let's Refuel America!
The Edmunds data department confirmed last week that, for the most part, this "deal" isn't all it's cracked up to be (surprise!). But here's a story that pulls all the important numbers together and, in simple terms, says to avoid the "Let's Refuel America!" boondoggle and just take the good, old reliable incentive cash. You'll come out much better.
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Categories: Chrysler, Talk Back Tuesday
Auburn Hills has been liberated, and Chrysler is once again a domestic car company. Not only is it a domestic car company, but a privately held one that should, in theory, be more nimble than its crosstown, Motor City rivals. While the German Occupation brought with it the hope of increased engineering prowess (a hope that was realized in some measure with the LX cars), the company lost much of its sense of design and innovation -- along with about $30 billion in value. I'd like to believe private equity plus Chrysler brand equity (Challenger, Charger, Jeep, 300, Ram, etc.) provides plenty of potential, there's lots of work to be done. Obviously cost cuts and downsizing will be a primary objective of the new owners, but recent rumors suggest everything is up for discussion -- including no more Dodge cars. Chrysler would produce all the cars, Dodge would sell only trucks, and Jeep would do...well, Jeeps.
That's one of the many rumors swirling around about Chrysler LLC's future, but if I were in charge this is what I'd do:
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Categories: Chrysler, Domestic Manufacturers Problems/Challenges, Talk Back Tuesday
