Chrysler October Sales Crash 30%; YTD Down by 39%
Published: November 3rd, 2009
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Chrysler’s implosion continued unchecked in October, with sales down 30% from October 2008. Here are some of the details: Sebring: -32%; 300: -15%; PT Cruiser: -96%; Aspen: -95%; Chrysler brand Total: -36%.
Jeep fared only slightly less badly: Compass: -62%; Patriot: -65%; Wrangler: -16%; Liberty: -30%; Grand Cherokee: -42%; Commander: -47%; Jeep Brand Total: -37%
The (non Ram)Dodge was the bright spot: Caliber: -87%; Avenger: +13%; Charger: -22%; Challenger: -20%; Journey: -16%; Caravan: +8%; Nitro: -42%; Durango: -95%; Dodge Brand Total: -22%
And the (un Dodge) Rams: Dakota: -46%; Ram P/U: -30%; Sprinter: -52%; Total Ram: -32%
Total year-to-date sales for all Chrysler vehicles: -39% And the beat goes on.
More by Paul Niedermeyer
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Can we please stop mentioning models that are discontinued? The Aspen and Durango haven't been built since last November. For these models, inventory has a larger impact on sales than the fact that they suck. So why mention them?
It's the curse of Jeep. Consider these facts: * Jeep came about in the late 1930's, when the US military requested that US auto makers design a light, 4X4 vehicle for military reconnaissance use. * American Bantam, a small car maker, was first with a promising design. The US gov bought the design from American Bantam, and gave the drawings to Willys-Overland Motors and Ford Motor Company for further development. The final Willys design was accepted, and it became the standard WWII Jeep design, produced by both Ford and Willys. American Bantam went out of business in 1941. * After WWII both Willys and Ford made claims to the Jeep design and brand. A court case settled the matter in favor of Willys. * In the immediate post-war period, Willys-Overland Motors hit the skids financially. Teetering on bankruptcy, Willys-Overland Motors was purchased by Kaiser Motors. * Kaiser Motors dropped the Willys name entirely in 1963 and became Kaiser-Jeep. By this time all the Willys and Kaiser car models were dead, and Jeep was the only model left in production. In 1969, Kaiser sold the Jeep brand to AMC and got out of the auto business for good. * In 1983, French car maker, Renault, acquired a controlling interest in near bankrupt AMC. In 1986, the chairman of Renault, Georges Besse, was assassinated in Paris by Maoist rebels. A year later, financially struggling Renault, sold AMC to Chrysler Motor Corporation. * After acquiring AMC, Chrysler dumped all of the AMC car models, keeping only the Jeep models. * In 1998, a financially struggling Chrysler was acquired by Daimler-Benz and the new company was renamed DaimlerChrysler. In 2007, after the Chrysler portion of DaimlerChrysler threatened to drag the entire operation into bankruptcy, the management of DaimlerChrysler paid private equity investment firm, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., to take Chrysler, and the Jeep brand, off its hands. * Cerberus is named for the mythological three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell. * On April 30, 2009, Chrysler declared bankruptcy and was bailed out by the US taxpayer. * As of today, it appears that the US gov will hand over control of Chrysler, and the Jeep brand, to Italian car maker, Fiat S.p.A. If I were Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Group, I'd keep my lucky rabbits foot in my pocket at all times.