Chrysler Changes Product Plans Again, Extends "Sell-By Date" Of Avenger, Caravan, Wrangler

by Derek Kreindler

Published: July 25th, 2013

chrysler changes product plans again extends sell by date of avenger caravan

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne may not be fond of changing up his outfits, but he certainly has no problem mixing up product plans. The latest news out of Auburn Hills suggests that Chrysler will be extending the lifespan of some key products for up to another 5 years.

Under the new regime, the Dodge Avenger, one of Chrysler’s main fleet queens and the key cannibalizer of Dart sales, gets a stay of execution until 2015. The Dodge Grand Caravan will run until 2017, an extension of two years past its planned replacement date, while the Jeep Wrangler, which is said to be undergoing a radical redesign, will stay on the market in its current form until 2018.

Chrysler has good reasons to keep all three vehicles going. The Avenger’s platform-twin, the Chrysler 200, will be replaced next year in a major redesign, and by keeping the Avenger around, Chrysler will have a cheap sedan to sell to fleets ( and presumably, less-than-qualified buyers).

The Grand Caravan can also fill that role in minivan form, while a redesigned Chrysler Town & Country will apparently be introduced to consolidate Chrysler’s minivan position. But the popularity of the Grand Caravan among fleet buyers and in the Canadian market has been said to give Chrysler pause about killing it off entirely. For some time, plans have called for one brand to get a minivan and one brand to get two crossovers. Automotive News seems to think that Chrysler will get the van and presumably Dodge will have a redesigned Journey – and a Grand Caravan too.

The decision to keep the Wrangler kicking around is seemingly more transparent. By extending its lifespan another two years, Jeep can get more capacity at its Toledo, Ohio plant, which is said to be running flat-out. In addition to a whole bunch of brand new features like aluminum body panels and an air suspension, the Wrangler will apparently get a diesel engine and a pickup variant. Right now, Jeep is selling Wranglers, particularly the 4-door Unlimited model, as fast as they can, with special edition variants not lasting long on dealer lots. Presumably, Chrysler will keep pumping them out for another few years to keep Jeep buyers satiated.

#Chrysler #Dodge #DodgeAvenger #DodgeCaravan #Fiat #Industry #Jeep #JeepWrangler #Product #Sales #SergioMarchionne

Derek Kreindler

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4 of 44 comments

PrincipalDan on Jul 25, 2013

I love how this whole thread has revolved around the Wrangler. Caravan - awesome, I see it selling in great numbers and even our resident "tame racing driver" loves it. It helps that Toyota and Honda want to charge an arm and a leg for their vans. Avenger - a car that has now reached the point of the old W-Impala. Cheap, unloved, and (in V6 form) hauls butt. Routinely embarrassing the Dart by outselling it just as the Impala embarrassed the Malibu by outselling it for a few years.

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- CelticPete on Jul 27, 2013
  
  Eh. I like Chysler and Dodge way more then most. But I am concerned that their development time line is just way to slow. The only real new car they released has been the Dart - and is the Dart GT even here yet?
  
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Big Al from Oz on Jul 25, 2013

Well, talking about new products. The Wrangler in the photo is the exact colour my 95 Cherokee Sport was, those rims are the exact rims as well with same huge amounts of lead to balance them. I wonder if the Jeep still run the same Koni shocks as well. If Fiat wants to do something, they should get the Rampage concept and drop it onto a full ladder frame chassis, call it a Dodge and take on the global midsize market (it has to be reliable and durable). Fiat have a great range of little diesels to use in it as well as some V6s.

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- Lorenzo on Jul 25, 2013
  
  I saw what you're talking about on the street a few years ago, but not quite how you envision it. Somebody got an old short-wheelbase Caravan and peeled off the roof from behind the driver's seat to the back door, removed the windows, and built a divider between the front "cab" and the "box". That was done on old 1960s A100's by the factory, and I think Ford made some Econoline pickups too. The Caravan pickup I saw was FWD though, and I saw it from the driver's side, so no idea how the builder handled the sliding door.
  
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