"Coming a cropper" in English slang roughly translates to "taking a hard fall". Indeed Chrysler has taken a hard fall, some of it through no fault of their own.
Take for instance, their purchase and then sale by Daimler Benz. In theory it was a marriage made in heaven. Mercedes could give Chrysler access to engineering technology and Chrysler could give Mercedes the sharp design language it was lacking. What ended up happening was a Vaudeville farce, with Mercedes building the (then) all-new ML in the US (instead of using Jeep's proven expertise in this area) and Chrysler proving itself achingly slow to adopt new engines, engineering and forward thinking. All this run by a heavily mustached German who insisted on making appearances in their advertising as a kind of humorous German grandfather figure, which is kind of creepy.Both companies suffered, although Daimler came out of the deal with a less scathed reputation.
Now that Chrysler has been bought by private equity, there was, for a while, hope that Chrysler could be turned around. With the current economic woes, however, this is increasingly less likely. Yet some of the attractions that led the current masters to close the deal are still there:
* Chrysler arguably has the leading edge in minivans, which they invented. Their products are stylish, comfortable, innovative and affordable.
* Jeep still has an attractive halo for a variety of demographics and some are actually used (by a few) for what it is best at: off-roading.
* There a couple of very decent sedans in the lineup (the 300 and the Charger)and a very nice coupe, the Challenger. The rest are frankly unattractive.
There have been serious efforts to improve quality, notably with the interiors, but the poor quality and dowdy interiors of the past will take years to be erased from the minds of the buying public. Add to this a shortage of new vehicles in the pipeline, and the future is less than rosy.
So what can be done? If I were the owners of Chrysler I would be looking hard at selling the company off piecemeal. Jeep, for example, would make a wonderful partner for Land Rover in the US. Both make products aimed at being as capable on-road as off, and both have failed to penetrate each others home markets in any significant way. In addition, the dealer network for Jeep would be a great way to get more Land Rovers out in front of consumers. Tata Motors take note.
Volkswagen, who is just beginning to build a minivan using Chrysler minivans as a base, might be interested in buying the minivan business. After all, although Chrysler invented the minivan, it was Volkswagen, with their rear engined bus of the 50's and 60's that planted the seed. This would link Volkswagen back into a market it once dominated: people-moving vans.
The Dodge name holds little cachet in the market, so their products would probably be difficult to pass on. For years they have been trying to revive the name as a muscle car legend. The new Challenger is a credible step towards this goal. The problem is, between the high gas prices (temporarily low due to current hardships), poor economy and frankly The Grim Reaper, who is slowly robbing the client base of people who remember the muscle car era, this strategy may be irrelevant. Toyota, which has lacked a serious sports car in the US for some time, might be interested, if they could figure out a way to sell the vehicles with Toyota street cred., i.e. quality.
Ford, who has lacked a credible large sedan for some time may want to integrate Chrysler's outstanding rear wheel sedan platform into their lineup, but they do have a certain lack of, um, moolah.
All this would hardly make a dent in the price that was paid for Chrysler. But at some point, someone will ask the fateful question: Do we cut our losses now, or wait and take our chances? I know what I would do.
Take for instance, their purchase and then sale by Daimler Benz. In theory it was a marriage made in heaven. Mercedes could give Chrysler access to engineering technology and Chrysler could give Mercedes the sharp design language it was lacking. What ended up happening was a Vaudeville farce, with Mercedes building the (then) all-new ML in the US (instead of using Jeep's proven expertise in this area) and Chrysler proving itself achingly slow to adopt new engines, engineering and forward thinking. All this run by a heavily mustached German who insisted on making appearances in their advertising as a kind of humorous German grandfather figure, which is kind of creepy.Both companies suffered, although Daimler came out of the deal with a less scathed reputation.
Now that Chrysler has been bought by private equity, there was, for a while, hope that Chrysler could be turned around. With the current economic woes, however, this is increasingly less likely. Yet some of the attractions that led the current masters to close the deal are still there:
* Chrysler arguably has the leading edge in minivans, which they invented. Their products are stylish, comfortable, innovative and affordable.
* Jeep still has an attractive halo for a variety of demographics and some are actually used (by a few) for what it is best at: off-roading.
* There a couple of very decent sedans in the lineup (the 300 and the Charger)and a very nice coupe, the Challenger. The rest are frankly unattractive.
There have been serious efforts to improve quality, notably with the interiors, but the poor quality and dowdy interiors of the past will take years to be erased from the minds of the buying public. Add to this a shortage of new vehicles in the pipeline, and the future is less than rosy.
So what can be done? If I were the owners of Chrysler I would be looking hard at selling the company off piecemeal. Jeep, for example, would make a wonderful partner for Land Rover in the US. Both make products aimed at being as capable on-road as off, and both have failed to penetrate each others home markets in any significant way. In addition, the dealer network for Jeep would be a great way to get more Land Rovers out in front of consumers. Tata Motors take note.
Volkswagen, who is just beginning to build a minivan using Chrysler minivans as a base, might be interested in buying the minivan business. After all, although Chrysler invented the minivan, it was Volkswagen, with their rear engined bus of the 50's and 60's that planted the seed. This would link Volkswagen back into a market it once dominated: people-moving vans.
The Dodge name holds little cachet in the market, so their products would probably be difficult to pass on. For years they have been trying to revive the name as a muscle car legend. The new Challenger is a credible step towards this goal. The problem is, between the high gas prices (temporarily low due to current hardships), poor economy and frankly The Grim Reaper, who is slowly robbing the client base of people who remember the muscle car era, this strategy may be irrelevant. Toyota, which has lacked a serious sports car in the US for some time, might be interested, if they could figure out a way to sell the vehicles with Toyota street cred., i.e. quality.
Ford, who has lacked a credible large sedan for some time may want to integrate Chrysler's outstanding rear wheel sedan platform into their lineup, but they do have a certain lack of, um, moolah.
All this would hardly make a dent in the price that was paid for Chrysler. But at some point, someone will ask the fateful question: Do we cut our losses now, or wait and take our chances? I know what I would do.
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