Chrysler Shutters Its Pacifica Design Center
Close your eyes. Picture Chrysler products from the last decade that you like. We imagine that your mental list is similar to ours. The 300 (and its derivatives), the Challenger and the Viper. Well friends, the savvy investors car guys over at Cerebus have shuttered the doors on the Pacifica Advance Product Design Center which gave us two of three (hint — not the Viper). Perfect. Chrysler is of course spinning it as a good thing. Here, you have to read for yourself: "Increasingly, we are leveraging resources worldwide, forming new joint ventures and alliances and consolidating operations in order to better achieve global balance. These moves are designed to help Chrysler become a more globally focused manufacturer, with design, engineering, sourcing and a local presence to serve local customers." Right, they'll be helping out the local customers in California (where one in eight cars are sold in the US) by, wait, what? Bottom line: all future design work will be taking place in Auburn Hills, a plan that has worked marginally for decades.
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"Increasingly, we are leveraging resources worldwide, forming new joint ventures and alliances and consolidating operations in order to better achieve global balance. These moves are designed to help Chrysler become a more globally focused manufacturer, with design, engineering, sourcing and a local presence to serve local customers." "Bullshit Bingo" gold. I recently drove a rental-grade Charger; while I was surprised by the relative lack of body lean (no doubt due to its Daimler underpinnings); but its lack of refinement was evident of a product trying to hit a price point. The 2.7l V6/4sp auto combo was poorly matched, the steering didn't exist 1" either side of center, the ride was like a car with partially-inflated air shocks, and the interior was, well, utilitarian. I suppose that a Hemi model might correct some of these issues (for another 6-8k), but the bones are still there. A shame, really, but it's evident of a warmed-over design, rather than something lovingly designed from the ground up.
Design? We don't need no stink'n design!
I second the poster on Autoblog: Tom Gale, please come back!
I am soooooo thankful that snow-plow like understeer turned me away from the Charger R/T a couple years ago. Time should prove that I successfully avoided the orphanage. That being said, it is truly sad to see what Walter P. started and Lee fixed get flushed down the sewer. Maybe they should hire Ricardo Montalbán back for another commercial. He's 87, but still ticking.