Thoughts on Chrysler Going Downmarket?

"ptak appreciates old racecars" (racecarptak)
05/07/2014 at 10:33 • Filed to: chrysler

Folks, recent developments have shown that FCA plans to move Chrysler downmarket as part of its massive plan for the future.

In the wake of this news, I've been hoping that it only goes downmarket enough to compete with Ford and Chevy, but that it won't shed off its classy roots (just ignore the '80s and the Mercedes era). I'd really like to see Chrysler still making middle-class cars in a few years, as that's what it always was.

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I'd be fine with it if they went half-and-half: part mainstream competition, but still retaining the class and style of the 300 and maybe another model like that. What are your thoughts on the future, Oppo?

DISCUSSION (17)

Party-vi > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:38

I've never know Chrysler to be anything than Buick-level cars, and a Buick (to me) was only a Chevy with plush interior and a higher price tag. I fail to see how Chrysler can go down market since they certainly aren't competing with any other luxury car makers.

briannutter1 > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:39

Is that even possible?

spanfucker retire bitch > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:41

Their attempts at being a quasi-upmarket were always so pathetic. They never got as much right as Buick or Acura have - I always thought they were best served as a mainstream brand.

It's exactly where they should be. It should also help with the identity crisis they've had the last decade where they wouldn't outright say that they were competitors against Lincoln, Buick, Acura and Cadillac, but sort of wink-wink-nudged-nudged to the press that they were. Even though they flat out were not.

The fact they now have a clearly defined market role should help Chrysler a good deal in the long run. And, as Ford has proven with vehicles like the Fusion - it doesn't mean you can't provide "upmarket" trims on your vehicles. I expect Chrysler to do much of the same.

BigBlock440 > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:46

I don't like it. Chrysler should go back to being a Cadillac competitor IMO.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:48

I would have much preferred to see Chrysler go upmarket than to have Alfa and Maserati make a push back in to the states. Alas the crap deal that Chrysler got with the Fiat alliance means that they have to find a way to use all the overpriced capacity they have in Italy instead of expanding in the US.

PheeNoIVI > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:49

They've always been down market in my mind. Who did they think they were competing with?

Textured Soy Protein > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:50

What I don't get is when the new 200 came out, Chrysler was all like "this is a stretched Dart platform, but Chrysler won't have a model competing directly against the Dart." But now they're going to come out with the 100 which will be...a Chrysler-fied Dart?

ptak appreciates old racecars > PheeNoIVI
05/07/2014 at 10:50

Buick? You can't say they always competed with Ford and Chevy. The latter are "everyman's cars", whereas Chrysler/Buick/Plymouth/Mercury/DeSoto/etc. were more upmarket slightly.

davedave1111 > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 10:51

What downmarket is there for Chrysler to go into? Buses?

ptak appreciates old racecars > PheeNoIVI
05/07/2014 at 10:58

Buick? You can't say this is a downmarket car. Chrysler, at least compared to Ford, Chevy, Toyota, etc. was always upmarket.

Kinja'd!!!

Moves-Like-Senna > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 11:18

Were they really ever that upmarket? A 300 is in the same price range as a Charger up here in Canada but with a ton of luxuries (Hence why I'm looking to purchase one).

CarlitoBenito > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/07/2014 at 11:40

It sounds like they will still have the luxury packages that really make them bargains compared to the "luxury nameplate" competitors. Think of it as the American Equis or K900... sans the insane price tag for a plebeian nameplate selling such an expensive car... nothing against Kia or Hyundai, but that's a bit insane.

CarlitoBenito > Textured Soy Protein
05/07/2014 at 11:42

Think of the 100 as a Dart SE. No frills, no thrills, just like a Corolla. The Dart will probably have their product line shrink from SE, SXT, Rallye, Limited and GT to just SXT, Rallye and GT. Both appeal to different markets, as they are discovering.

CarlitoBenito > Party-vi
05/07/2014 at 11:44

Agreed. Buick and Chrysler were always in that "near-luxury" segment. Toyota has dabbled in that segment with the Avalon for years and it's paid off. "Hey look, this car has a Lexus interior without the Lexus badge!"

CarlitoBenito > spanfucker retire bitch
05/07/2014 at 11:45

I'm not even sure Buick has it right, especially since they now have the new Impala and will start selling a Chevy Trax. New GM is starting to repeat history. The only Buick with enough differentiation... Regal. In fact, the Chevy SS should have been called the Grand National or something, rather than give it to Chevy. The styling fits more with Buick.

Axial > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/08/2014 at 01:46

Bad move. They were on the right track with the 300 and the new 200, and going down-market to compete with Chevrolet and Honda and Toyota is unwise given that their current products are inherently more expensive.

Instead, FCA should abandon efforts to sell FIAT in the USA, keep Dodge as the economy brand, bolster Chrysler as a quasi-luxury brand, and sell Alfa Romeo as their Audi competitor.

George McNally > ptak appreciates old racecars
05/09/2014 at 21:23

Oops....I thought this was a satire article.

I owned a 2000 Plymouth Voyager with the disposable trans axle for a few years, drove my in-laws New Yorker when the Voyager was in the shop...the New Yorker caught fire in my garage and almost burnt our house down.......you couldn't pay me to own another Chrysler product.

PS- Always have a smoke detector in your garage.