Chrysler Plans All-Hybrid Lineup and Foreign Expansion. Maybe.
Ex-Toyota and current Chrysler president Jim Press says every car his new employer makes— or will make once the automaker starts/finishes their long-promised model cull– will be a hybrid. Eventually. Meanwhile, Popular Mechanics claims the Prez' promise was "the first by a major auto executive that openly embraces hybrid technology as an across-the board sea change.” Nope. As we reported previously, Toyota executive vice president Kazuo Okamoto predicted Synergy Drive would become ToMoCo’s default drivetrain. Anyway, we've heard nothing about/from Chrysler's semi-independent "ENVI" hybrid development team since the Detroit Auto Show's awkward concept cars. And speaking of champagne dreams and caviar wishes, Press said Chrysler plans to build and sell as many Chrysler-branded products overseas as are currently sold in the U.S. (roughly 2.7m units). Again, no idea of what, when or where. Why? Because they like you.
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If this happens, I'm imagining a lot of Chrystler dealerships who aren't properly equipped/trained to fix the nightmares that will head back into the lot... Unless, of course, they lease every bit of machinery out from a manufacturer who knows what they are doing with this hybrid stuff... Or, they have a hidden department that has been working on hybrids in secret... Or, they pull a GM-esque "Hybrid" by throwing on a supersized starter and an extra battery on an otherwise normal engine, basically allowing instant start-stop...
I hear Packard and Hudson will also be selling hybrids around the same time. I hope the money was worth it Jim Press.
Chrysler's announcements about its product plans for the distant future sound more and more like an episode of "Pinky and the Brain." At least Pinky gets close to taking over the world. Chrysler can't fight its way out of a paper bag.
"Why? Because they like you." - M - O - U - S - E