May Sales: Chrysler Up 11 Percent

by Bertel Schmitt

June 3rd, 2013 9:03 AM

Chrysler sets the tone for a most likely very happy sales day, reporting an 11 percent increase in its May U.S. light vehicle sales to Reuters.

Ram sales rose 24 percent, they were up 23 percent at Dodge, 1 percent at Jeep and Fiat. Chrysler brand sales dropped 2 percent.

Analysts expect the market to be up by 6 to 8 percent. Follow us throughout sales day today to find out whether the analysts guessed right.

#AmericaInMat2013 #BertelSchmitt #Chrysler #May2013 #Sales

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Danio3834 on Jun 03, 2013

Analyst Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics said the company needed to increase consumer awareness that the Dart is a viable small car after it spent years producing the poor-quality Caliber. "They launched the Dart without saying it was a small car," Hall said. "They sold the image but not the car." I tend to agree with this analysis of the Dart. The awareness just isn't there among small car buyers. It's nowhere close to being a cross-shopped, household name like Civic, Corolla, Focus or even Cruze yet. If Dodge could get those shoppers on the lot in the first place, they would be selling a lot more Darts as I find that car to be much preferable to the above mentioned 4.

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- Pete Zaitcev on Jun 03, 2013
  
  Not sure if this is true. The ad presense for Dard is massive. We're in a market for subcompact and wife already asked if we should consider Dart.
  
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- SCE to AUX on Jun 03, 2013
  
  Have you actually driven the Dart? Its ride, handling, and looks are good. But the drivetrains are awful. The 1.4T is a dog at low speed city driving, the 2.0 is OK but not great, and the MT has a heavy clutch with an awkward shifting position. The DDCT has received terrible reviews, as have the seats for long hauls. The automatic is actually nice, but it's made by Hyundai. Maybe Dodge can pull a rabbit out with the 2.4 engine (still waiting after a whole year on the market). As much as I want to like this car, I'm losing hope.
  
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- Hummer on Jun 03, 2013
  
  I disagree the dart seems heavily advertised where I'm at, but it also carries the Chrysler stigma attached to their past crap, neon and caliber, they will have to really show an 80s like Japanese quality, long term quality assessment before it will catch to normal buyers. Until then most advertising should go to what Chrysler is good at, trucks, and big engines.
  
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- Danio3834 on Jun 03, 2013
  
  @SCE to AUX Yes, I tried a few of them out before I got my Charger. They are slow, but so is the competition. The base automatic Civic felt slower than the base automatic Dart to me. So slow is par for the course. What I liked about the car was the amount of room in it, the interior appointments and available options that other cars can't even be equipped with. If I decided on a car for economy, it would be it. Probably a 1.4T with a manual transmission. The DDCT is funky, but IMO it was better than the DDCT in the Focus and Fiesta.
  
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71charger_fan on Jun 03, 2013

I drive a 1.8 auto 2012 Civic every day. It's a dog and not particularly comfortable. I've sat in a few Darts and really like them. However, I too have been waiting for the 2.4 GT. So far, the only GT they've made available is that (in my opinion) ugly Mopar edition. I'll keep waiting until they make either a GT or R/T available with the 2.4. Or, maybe, an SRT-4. There's really nothing else in the class on the market in the U.S. I like.

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Zip89123 on Jun 03, 2013

I sat in a Dart, but the moment I saw my leg was resting on the center console I knew this wasn't going to be a car for me.

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Chicagoland on Jun 05, 2013

Chrysler Co also sold the low quality Neon for years, and that drove shoppers away too. Caliber is not even a known product to average buyers. It's just years of making junk compacts

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