Chrysler Comes Home For The Holidays

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

In the first unique Chrysler brand spot since bankruptcy, America is referred to as ChryCo’s “traveling companion.” Which is a bit rich, considering the American people were generous enough to spend billions pulling the wreck that was Chrysler out of a ditch less than a year ago. Who knows, maybe the term “unwilling investors” didn’t play so well in the workshops, a possibility that might also explain why only a single modern Chrysler vehicle (the 300) is allowed to punctuate the ad’s gauzy nostalgia. In any case, notch up another Chrysler Group ad that says nothing about anything that might give one hope for the firm’s future. Ironically enough…


According to a Chrysler release, the spot

was created in response to requests from Chrysler Group dealers and research conducted which found that consumers do not realize that Chrysler Group has emerged from bankruptcy and is now a different company with a new alliance partner and a healthy product plan.

Perhaps Chrysler will release more ads in the campaign that deal a little more explicitly with the company’s situation, as this spot doesn’t mention bankruptcy or Fiat (or more than one Chrysler model currently on sale). Instead, Chrysler decided to make an ad for leather luggage. Or, as they put it

The ad features a driver bringing home a leather travel bag throughout the years in various Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep® vehicles. The travel bag symbolizes the continuation of life with all Chrysler Group brands and is the string that ties the entire story together.

So it’s a symbol, a metaphor if you will. Kind of like the ENVI program, or descriptions of the Chrysler bailout as an “investment.” The message, however, is clear: do not, under any circumstances think of Chrysler in concrete, reality-based terms. Which is actually a fairly brilliant approach to selling America’s least lovable car company.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Jimboy Jimboy on Jan 05, 2010

    I personally thought the ad was excellent. It was wonderful to see some of their older cars, and reminded the viewer of Chrysler's, (and Jeep's), engineering history. It seems that many people have forgotten that the Airflow was THE precursor to todays modern automobiles, with its revolutionary design and styling. Don't write Chrysler off just yet, this company is a fighter.

  • Accs Accs on Jan 09, 2010

    Funny.. They dont mention the LHS cars (first or second gen).. at all. I also dont see any mention of Lido, or the K car... (discounting the VAN entirely.)

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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