RLSH700

I know all about the importance of marketing. I'm a marketing major for crying out loud. Take a look at the new Tundra. They went nuts with marketing it, and they have to offer incentives to get them off the lots. Sometimes, some models sell and others don't. The Challenger gets plenty of attention in the media simply because it has been received so well; meanwhile, what some would consider the backbone of Chrysler for the last 23 years is being replaced shortly, if you were going to promote either the backbone of your company or an attempt to get back in a seasonal market place, which would you put more effort and time into. I don't recall the 300, Magnum, or Charger really having much more marketing support than this pre-production and those have been successful for the most part.

The case of the Laser/Talon, although they might not have had as much advertising, the simple fact is there is more to their failure than just the marketing approach for that specific model. The problem with the Laser was that Plymouth itself had lost its desirability identity at that time, (how bad is it when an almost unheard of brand with less dealership support is able to outsell you making the same model). Part of the problem with the Talon had to be Eagle itself. Eagle was known for offering mostly cheap and undesirable Mitsubishi models like the Summit. Plus why would you buy an Eagle when you can get the same car under the Mitsubishi badge? The audience that likes Japanese cars will normally buy the brand that it was originally. Besides the Stratus coupe and Sebring coupe still were not smashing successes in popularity despite being a rebadged Eclipse as well. It could partly be the product offering and that some people like myself will not buy a rebadged Mitsubishi, Mercedes, Chery, or any other non-Chrysler product just because it has the Chrysler labeling.

Some models just sell pretty naturally. The PT Cruiser was an over night success. The G6 took a lot of marketing before it finally took off.