This is another reason I do not think there will be a convertible. The company is trying to streamline itself and make a come back.

It would cost extra to redesign and reinforce the car to make a convertible and right now Chrysler is in survival mode. Maybe in a few years if things get better they might consider it, but right now I just don't see it happening.

Chrysler sales executive says company will lose US$1B this year

November 30, 2007

DETROIT - Chrysler LLC is likely to lose US$1 billion this year as its new leadership tries to cut costs and streamline the automaker's model lineup, but it's poised to break even next year and make money in 2009 and 2010, according to a top sales executive.

Steven Landry, executive vice-president of North American sales, revealed part of the now-private company's business plan Wednesday in a speech at Saint Mary's University in Halifax, N.S.

Landry, a Halifax native who received a bachelor's degree in management from the university in 1982, was at the school to announce that Chrysler Canada would donate $100,000 to two scholarship funds.

He also said the company plans to "right size" itself and reduce its model lineup from 28 to around 20 while focusing on top-quality interiors, according to The Daily News of Halifax, which covered the speech.

The automaker, he said, will take in about $64 billion in revenue this year, but it will spend about $65 billion.

"You have to come to the realization that in some instances, you've got to stop spending. You've got to 'right size' what you do to the revenue that comes into the company," Landry told about 100 people, according to the newspaper.

Chrysler spokeswoman Lori Pinter said Friday that Landry was speaking in general terms to a group of marketing and business administration students. She would not say whether the revenue and income numbers he cited were accurate.

"I'm not going to confirm or deny our revenue figures," she said. "He was using general business examples to basically mentor these students."

She said the statement about model reductions had no time frame, and he about a direction in which the company was headed. And she said Landry's right-sizing comments do not necessarily mean more layoffs or buyouts.

"I wouldn't imply anything further than what the comment says," she said.

Chrysler earlier in November announced plans to cut up to 12,000 jobs, just after employees represented by the United Auto Workers ratified a new four-year contract with the company. The cuts include 8,500 to 10,000 hourly jobs and 2,100 salaried jobs through 2008, or about 15 per cent of its work force. The cuts came on top of 13,000 Chrysler layoffs that were announced in February.

Chrysler already has said it will eliminate four products through 2008: the Dodge Magnum wagon, the convertible version of the Chrysler PT Cruiser, the Chrysler Pacifica crossover and the Chrysler Crossfire sports car.

In the same time frame, Chrysler plans to add two new products: the Dodge Journey crossover and Dodge Challenger sports car, along with two hybrid models, the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango.

Chrysler became a private company in August when the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP became the majority owner after buying an 80.1 per cent stake from then-DaimlerChrysler AG.

 

Yep. I can imagine tensions are high @ Chrysler right now. I would hope this is impetus for them to strive to produce not only a beautiful and powerful Challenger...but a well made quality product. Seems the company's future could be impacted pretty heavily by this product.

 

That is my concern as well. Despite what some people in the press will tell you about how "gracious and helpful" MB was trying to be to its unfair spouse, they were like Vapires to Chrysler. The company has been underfunded in many terrorities hence the reason why it will take a lot of investment to help them catch up. The interior quality of new models are below that of models made pre and during the beginning of the merger. They have to dedicate their budget to getting a new V6 line as they haven't had a true update since 1999. They need more competitive transmission to compete currently.

They really don't have any "car" plaftorms of their own anymore (the LX/LY are all MB based, Caliber/Compass/Patriot and Avenger/Sebring are based off of a Mitsubishi platform) with the exceptions of the PT Crusier which will eventually be dropped or updated on one of the other platforms, and the Viper which is a low production model. What the company needs to do is insert a board in their mouths, clamp down hard, and invest big time into the things they lost during that terrible, abusive marriage.

I would like to see a convertible, but I'm not sure they really have the financial resources and I'm not entirely positive about the popularity of such a model as I don't see that many convertible Mustangs anymore.

Skippy, you're right, this model will have a strong impact on the company. The thing that makes me comfortable about the quality and reliability is that the reliablity ratings for the stuff that matters (the engines, transmissions, etc.) appears to be holding up quite well in the LX cars. CR has flip-flopped on their earlier opinion that the Charger was unreliable and now rates it at being reliable and the 300 is also receiving better treatment from them as well.

 

Cerberus knew they were not going to turn a profit in the 1st year of this acquisition. I think in this business you have to give the new ownership a couple years to turn things around & I do not think they are focused on whether to do a convertible Challenger one way or the other. They are focused on things like labor costs, energy, real estate...etc. Those cost items make an immediate impact to expenses.

Inevitably the only way to really dig out of the hole is to sell more product and if a rag top fits into that plan then I am sure you will see one.

 

Totally agree.

 

Yep. I'd love to see my grandkids way off in the future be able to purchase hopped up mopars!

 

Very true, they might not even see a turn around by the end of next year either. These things take a while to fix.