Chrysler OT

[Heavy Flat Head]

In the last couple of weeks has any one seen a Chrysler ad on the tube?

I heard a story that Chrysler is up for sale again and that the company that bought it is looking into suing the germans for deception. I usually take these things with a grain of salt, but then I started to think (bad thing for me to do somedays) I can not remember any ads about Chrysler cars in a little while.

Ed.

[Norm's Coupe]

Actually, about a month or so ago the owners of Chrysler came out with a statement that said Chrysler was bankrupt. However, I haven't heard anything since and don't believe they have actually filed bankruptcy.

That was on the news on TV at the time and I just caught the tail end of it. So, it could be just a paper thing.

[greg g]

Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge were both advertising for the last three weeks for the Event of a Lifetime!!! sales promotion. think it ended today. there were quite a few ads on TV, and Newspapwr stuff.

Wonder who's life they were talking about. O % financing, or cash back on most vehicles especially Rams.

[Merle Coggins]

I thought I've still been hearing adds on the radio about their "Lifetime Warranty" on any new Chrysler product.

[B-Watson]

Actually' date=' about a month or so ago the owners of Chrysler came out with a statement that said Chrysler was bankrupt. However, I haven't heard anything since and don't believe they have actually filed bankruptcy.

That was on the news on TV at the time and I just caught the tail end of it. So, it could be just a paper thing.[/quote']

Absolute nonsense. Chrysler has been advertising on national TV in the US pushing low financing, lifetime warranties, etc. for the past month or so. Here in Canada we have been getting advertising pushing price adjusting due to the rising dollar (which has resulted in cheaper American made parts, etc.). Neither are a sign of a company that is bankrupt.

The reality is the new Chrysler owners announced Chrysler had lost money in the last quarter and it might take a while before the ledgers are written in black ink. But the attitude was a positive one, stating Chrysler would be profitable within the year.

These stories are just a continuation of the negative attitude many have toward Chrysler since the 1998. Just a load of hooey. Wonder how many people believe the false stories and have turned away from a Chrysler showroom.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[garys_bc]

• 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8® sold out first day orders opened –- more than 9,000 orders to date
  
• For 2008, Chrysler to offer six vehicles that get 28 miles per gallon or better highway fuel economy
  
• 2007 Jeep® Wrangler sales surpass 100,000 units with an all-time sales record of 119,243 units
  
• December monthly sales up 1 percent –- retail up, fleet down
  
• Chrysler brand truck sales rise 7 percent in December over 2006 based on the success of Chrysler Town & Country minivan, up 31 percent
  
• Dodge brand sales rise 11 percent in December from the same period last year led by Dodge Grand Caravan up 51 percent, Dodge Sprinter up 26 percent and Dodge Charger up 5 percent
  
• Jeep brand sales down 3 percent for December year-over-year based on planned fleet reductions
  
• Dealer inventory down 19 percent or 100,048 units versus December 2006
  

[Norm's Coupe]

Guys, don't blame me. I only passed on what I heard on the TV news. As for the number of TV ads Chrysler or any other company has on TV, I wouldn't know. When commercials come on TV, I tune it out automatically in my head. Can sit there and watch the whole commercial. If you ask me what the commercial was a second after it's over, I wouldn't have a clue. I just don't pay any attention to any of them. Plus, other than the news I'm lucky watching an hour of TV per day.

When it comes to statistics though. Regardless of what company we are talking about, number of sales means nothing. What counts is the bottom line and how much if any profit was made. I didn't see that figure in gary_bc statistics. You could sell a Billion cars per year and if you don't make a profit, you can go broke.

Also keep in mind, a lifetime warranty does not mean the company is doing well. Just look at how good the Yugo warranty was after they shut down. If you get a lifetime warranty on a product, and that company goes out of business the next day, the warranty is useless.

Personally, I hope Chrysler does make it through their tough times. If they don't, that would put a lot of people out of work, including some that don't even work directly for Chrysler. That said, Chrysler is no longer number 3 in the US now either. Just saw a report the other day that Toyota took over the number 2 spot from Ford, and Ford is now number 3 with GM still number 1.

So, like I said, number of sales doesn't always translate into good business. Sometimes, it's best to sell less and make more profit. That profit is what keeps it going and is the only real number that counts at the end of the day.

[greg g]

Yor citation of sales not equalling good business is orived by GM. Even wit the most sales, they are not making money. Their overhead is lilling them, Ford is shutting down dealerships around the country, so that the area covered by one dealership will be larger, and the expenses of servicing dealers will be cut down.

[Norm's Coupe]

That's true Greg. Another good example of that is the old K-Mart. They too were going great guns until they opened up so many stores, so close together that their own stores started competing with each other. In their quest to build all those stores for extra sales volume and become number 1 (which they achieved), their expenses became so great, then no profit, they ended up in bankruptcy too. Only when they closed down a good many stores did they become profitable again and get out of bankruptcy.

The auto industry is now in about the same boat. The expenses they've accumulated over the last 40 years or so has now caught up with them. So, the only way out is to make some major cuts, which they are trying to do. Sadly though, those cuts will hurt a lot of people, but they have to be made.

[Plymouthy Adams]

It still amazes me how Walmart could come in where there was K-mart and whoop some tail..think of it..K-Mart had the land, stores, workers, distrubuition and trucking already in place but did not cut prices to compete and therefore allow a new guy on the block to beat him at his own game...GREED..had to be the driving factor..gee they had to have had some of this stuff written off/paid for years earlier....you know they wern't overpaying their workers..

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim,

Actually, Walmart was not the real downfall of K-Mart. The old K-Mart started having major problems long before Walmart and other big box stores came into the picture. I know that because they were a major customer of mine before the bankruptcy when I was working for another company. They simply expanded their self into bankruptcy back then. Was that greed? Maybe so, but again the others didn't have anything to do with it at the time. They were competing with their own stores like I said. Then when the economy went to pot in the late 70's/early 80's they could not keep up, and the downward trend started and they couldn't stop it in time.

[Plymouthy Adams]

well Norm..am not an ecomomist..but it really blows my mind that an established chain of stores with all their outlets and distribution went under while a new company took roots and blew them away in retail..and what in the world happend to the Shoney chain of restuarants..they are very far and few between compared to days past...guess they downsized the Big Boy...

[Heavy Flat Head]

A lot of the stories as I stated at first I take with a grain of salt. My problem is (like a lot of us) that I am away from home about 12 hours per day so not much time for TV or radio. The little I do watch I have not seen or heard any Chrysler commercials in a little while. With the way the world works today it would not be much of a surprise if we would wake up one day and Chrysler tooling was sold to the Chinese. If the current owners can leave the bean counters out of the equation for a while and let the engineering team control product development as in earlier years (even if it was done under the radar) this would go a long way in the return of Chrysler and the American auto industry as a whole. It is amazing to me how these foreign companies can run there business like the US did in the past. Product development and heavy on the advertising, oh well this is what happens when a person or company sits on its Loral’s. We all lose. Just my 2 cents.

Something on a upbeat note: At work this time of year we are in the slow part of the building season. We usually have overtime through the middle of December, the same this year. On the third of this month we were told overtime is back on as we are about 8 weeks behind on issuing permits, this does not happen until June in years past. I do not understand as home sales are down here, but can not look a gift horse in the mouth. This is great for job security, but not good for my Plymouth.

Ed.

[Norm's Coupe]

Tim,

Don't have a clue as to what happened to Shoney's and Big Boy. Shoney's never was a big player up here. Really don't know what happened to Big Boy either, except people wanted to eat fast food junk more than a decent sit down restaurant. I do know that Big Boy's was a franchise though. Here in this area they use to be owned by Marcus Corp. who also owns a hotel chain. Before they sold the Big Boy franchise though, they did convert a few stores to a fast food concept. However, even those are gone now. Guess there are still a few Big Boy's though in other areas. Last I heard Bob's Big Boy was still going in Ohio. Don't know who owns Big Boy itself because I really don't follow franchises that much.

Going back to the K-Mart old problems. The fact that they had too many stores so close together competing with each other was open for all. That was printed in many newspaper reports at the time.

All comes down to one thing. There is only one business that can keep expanding and not make a profit, yet stay in business. That's the government. They keep expanding and accomplish less with each expansion. Then to cover their lost, they simply say, "Raise taxes to pay for this mess.":rolleyes: If they had to follow the same rules a private business does, they'd be out of business.

[Don Coatney]

Norm;

This picture was taken in the parking lot of the Shoneys where we had just eaten. There is at least one Shoneys in every sizable town in this part of the country.

[Norm's Coupe]

Don,

I'm aware that Shoneys is all over down there and also that we ate there. They are also in Louisville. However, several years back they started opening several locations around here too. Then within a few short years, they were all gone again. There may still be one around here someplace, but if it is, I don't know where it is. Guess they simply couldn't make it up here, for whatever reasons.

For what it's worth. It seemed to me that when Shoneys was up here they weren't the same as they are down south. Most of them here were really dumpy compared to the ones down south. Could be why they didn't last long up here too. There is only one that was somewhat decent around here that I know of, and it's gone too.

[49roadster]

Maybe the advertising is a regional thing. Here in the Northwest Dodge and Chrysler have been all over the "tube" with the "event of a lifetime" ads. Or maybe they just catch my eye because I recently ordered a new Dakota.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I kinda miss the Shoneys..it is a 30 mile drive to the closest one..we on rare occasion go for the breakfast bar..it is on my way to the swap meet..the gang meets there in the morning of the event..have breakfast..fill up on coffee and caravan to the show. Makes for a good time..

[Don Coatney]

Don' date='

I'm aware that Shoneys is all over down there and also that we ate there. They are also in Louisville. However, several years back they started opening several locations around here too. Then within a few short years, they were all gone again. There may still be one around here someplace, but if it is, I don't know where it is. Guess they simply couldn't make it up here, for whatever reasons.

For what it's worth. It seemed to me that when Shoneys was up here they weren't the same as they are down south. Most of them here were really dumpy compared to the ones down south. Could be why they didn't last long up here too. There is only one that was somewhat decent around here that I know of, and it's gone too.[/quote']

Looks like Shoneys is pretty much a "Dixie" thing. Follow the link.

http://www.shoneys.com/stores

[B-Watson]

Going back to the original topic, for a moment -

Year-end sales results are in, and although Chrysler's US sales are down, the decline is less than GM and far less than Ford. Perhaps the talk of bankruptcy, sell off, etc. is a little premature. And does nothing to improve the public's confidence in Chrysler. They used to call people that wrote articles above "muckrakers".

And up here in Canada, Chrysler has just become #2 ....

Chrysler Canada car and truck sales beat Ford

Updated Fri. Jan. 4 2008 6:59 AM ET

The Canadian Press

TORONTO -- Chrysler Canada has overtaken Ford Canada as the country's second-largest seller of cars and trucks, probably for the first time ever, according to industry sales figures released Thursday.

Ford Canada has traditionally held the No. 2 spot in Canadian auto and light vehicle sales but lost ground to Chrysler last year, according to figures compiled by DesRosiers Research.

"I don't have very good historical data but I couldn't find another situation back to 1960, so this is likely the first time in the modern history of the automotive sector in Canada that Ford has not been in second place,'' DesRosiers said in a commentary.

Chrysler vehicle sales were up 5.5 per cent in 2007 while Ford Canada sales were down 2.2 per cent compared with 2006.

Overall, Canadian vehicles were up 2.4 per cent in 2007, rising to about 1.65 million units -- the highest since volume topped 1.7 million units in 2002, according to DesRosiers.

However, the year ended on a sour note with December sales down 5.1 per cent compared with 2006.

The Canadian auto industry has been hit by a number of factors at the end of 2007, including increased cross-border sales due to a high Canadian dollar that made shopping in the United States more attractive and a pending drop in the federal goods and services tax, effective Jan. 1, that caused some buyers to put off their purchases.

Figures compiled by DesRosiers Automotive Reports show Chrysler's sales in December rose to 18,985, up from 18,589, while full-year volume rose to 232,688 from 220,553 the previous year.

Ford Canada, meanwhile, suffered an 11.9 per cent decline in sales to 15,111 last month from 17,151 in December 2006. For the full year, sales dropped to 223,773 from 228,878.

General Motors maintained its position as Canada's No. 1 seller of cars and light trucks, despite a huge drop in volume last month.

The company, based in Oshawa, Ont., sold 25,579 cars and light trucks in December, down 28.2 per cent from the year-earlier period. For the year, GM's sales fell by 4.1 per cent to 398,545 in 2007.

Marc Comeau, GM Canada's vice-president of sales, explained that GM has continued reducing its low-profit sales to rental fleets, and "while this strategy has resulted in some overall sales declines we are experiencing good retail sales performance, higher residual values and solid sales from our recently introduced cars and trucks.''

At Chrysler, year-over-year sales were higher in every month of 2007 as the automaker introduced nine new models and also steered away from rental-fleet sales. Its overall sales increase enabled it to boost its market share.

Jeep division sales surged 62 per cent to a record 47,693, while Canadians bought 56,572 Dodge and Chrysler minivans, the company said.

For General Motors, the dismal December numbers included sales of 9,678 passenger cars, down 42.4 per cent from December 2006. About half of this decline was attributed to the reduction in fleet sales, with part of the rest of the slump blamed on tight inventory amid intense competition for fuel-efficient models.

Purchases of GM trucks, including pickups and sport utility vehicles, declined 15.9 per cent to 16,412.

Comeau noted that the entire industry in Canada had "an interesting ride'' in the fourth quarter of 2007.

He said overall sales were down about 4 1/2 per cent from a year earlier as the record high loonie prompted many consumers to "sit on their hands'' amid doubts that Canadian prices were fair compared with U.S. levels.

"There was some fact and there was some fiction,'' Comeau said. Some high-end vehicles were overpriced in Canadian-dollar terms, he said, "and the entire industry, principally at the beginning of December, came in with substantive cash-price adjustments.''

For lower-priced vehicles, he insisted, only a "revamp of communications'' by all carmakers was needed to get across the message that Canadian prices are competitive.

Among Japanese automakers, Toyota held onto its fourth place standing behind GM, Chrysler and Ford, reporting a 24.6 per cent rise in sales from December 2006, and a 2.3 per cent increase in full-year volume to 187,938 last year, up from 183,779 in the previous year.

GM's market share dropped to 24.1 per cent in 2007, down from 25.7 per cent the previous year, while Chrysler's rose to 14.1 per cent up from 13.7 per cent, Ford's fell to 13.5 per cent from 14.2 per cent, and Toyota's remained at 11.4 per cent.

Mazda set its fourth straight annual sales record with 86,659 vehicles, up seven per cent from 2006 including a four per cent year-over-year rise in December.

Over at Honda, sales rose 9.7 per cent last month over December 2006, and increased 3.1 per cent overall for 2007 from the previous year.

Nissan reported a 7.2 per cent increase in sales in December last year over December 2006, and a full-year volume increase of 16.7 per cent to 70,027 from 59,976 units.

From Germany, Volkswagen sold 35,123 units during 2007, up 5.1 per cent, propelled by solid sales of its cut-price City Golf and City Jetta.

In the rental-car space, GM's December deliveries were down by half from a year ago to about 5,000 vehicles, Comeau said.

Instead of buying 90 per cent of their cars from the Detroit Three, rental companies will "expand their wings and bring other players in,'' he predicted.

"Some of our Japanese import players and the Koreans have all indicated an interest to go and sell cars into that industry -- and frankly, from our perspective, the more players that are in there, the better.''

Figures from DesRosiers Automotive Reports showed sales were up for the year to 1,653,362, a 2.4 per cent increase and the second best year on record.

Only Ford, Jaguar, Volvo and General Motors saw sales decline in 2007. All others were up substantially with many companies setting new sales records like BMW and Toyota/Lexus to name only a few.

Passenger car sales fell nearly one per cent to 860,968 units from 867,706, while light truck volume increased to 792,394 units from 746,994, an increase of 6.1 per cent over the previous year.

For the month of December 2007, passenger car sales declined 15.9 per cent to 52,978 units from 62,980 the previous year, while light truck volume rose 5.6 per cent over December 2006.

December sales were "down despite massive inventive money pumped into the market by almost all OEMs,'' said DesRosiers.

"Consumer fatigue from almost a decade of strong sales is the likely cause and this therefore does not bode well for sales in 2008,'' he said.

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Canada's population is roughly 10% of that in the U.S., and thus car sales are as well. To compare with U.S. figures, multiply Canadian sales figures time ten.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

[Norm's Coupe]

Looks like Shoneys is pretty much a "Dixie" thing. Follow the link.

Don, I think you're right. That could be why they didn't go over well up here. Maybe it was the menu. For example, the food is heavier down there and cooked different than up here. Every time my wife and I travel in the southern states we have to be careful what she eats. We've had a few unpleasant trips due to her eating some southern foods, like the heavy white gravy. Also foods that are fried with lots of grease and certain spices. The food in many cases is just too rich for her system. For myself, I enjoy that type of cooking because I grew up with it. The food up here is kind of bland. So.........maybe too many people have the same problem from up here. That said though, Cracker Barrel seems to do well up here and they have similar food.

[Young Ed]

Norm most or all of the cracker barrels here in the twin cities have closed. Last I heard there was only 1 left.

[Norm's Coupe]

Going back to the original topic, for a moment -

Year-end sales results are in, and although Chrysler's US sales are down, the decline is less than GM and far less than Ford. Perhaps the talk of bankruptcy, sell off, etc. is a little premature. And does nothing to improve the public's confidence in Chrysler. They used to call people that wrote articles above "muckrakers".

And up here in Canada, Chrysler has just become #2 ....

Chrysler Canada car and truck sales beat Ford

Updated Fri. Jan. 4 2008 6:59 AM ET

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Canada's population is roughly 10% of that in the U.S., and thus car sales are as well. To compare with U.S. figures, multiply Canadian sales figures time ten.

Bill

Vancouver, BC

Bill,

I have no doubt that what you were saying isn't true. However, that's in Canada, or where you live, not the whole picture. I'm sure there are other pockets around the US and other countries that the same thing may be true. Again though, it's just pockets and not the overall BIG picture. Thats what you have to look at when counting sales. You cannot simply multiply Canadian sales by 10 to get the US figures. It all depends on the economy, not the number of people. You can only count the ones actually doing the buying.

That said, I am not trying to down any car company. Like I said, I was simply passing on what the news is in the US. For example, here is a quote from our newspaper business section this morning.

QUOTE:

Laid-off Chrysler workers to stay on until late February

The nearly 1,100 Chrysler employees being laid off at the Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant will get to keep their jobs until late February, about a month later than expected. The postponement was because of a "combination of factors," said Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson, including the northern Illinois plant's production needs, the company's personnel assessments and negotiations with the United Auto Workers union. Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler LLC announced Nov. 1 that it would lay off up to 12,000 workers and eliminate shifts in five North American plants. It's a bid by new majority owner Cerberus Capital Management to return the flagging automaker to profitability.

UNQUOTE:

Here's the link to that quote online. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=703777

As you can see, I'm not saying this and neither is the press. They are just reporting what the Chrysler spokesperson is saying. So, you can't blame the messenger for giving negative reports. As for the ranking of the companies, that also includes the BIG picture, not local sales of a particular brand.

[Norm's Coupe]

Norm most or all of the cracker barrels here in the twin cities have closed. Last I heard there was only 1 left.

Ed, guess what I said about Shoney's holds true about Cracker Barrel up there. Cracker Barrel seems to be popular around here. Maybe it's because we have a lot of old foggys down here.

[Norm's Coupe]

Bill,

Here is another excerpt from our local newspaper business section today. This goes back to what I said about Toyota taking over the number 2 spot, putting Ford in number 3.

QUOTE:

Shares of suppliers and automakers have fallen along with sales. Ford Motor Co.'s shares closed at a 22-year low of $6.13 on Friday, down 32 cents, a day after Toyota topped Ford as the No. 2 selling carmaker in the United States. For the year, the Detroit Three's market share closed at an all-time low of 50.9%, down from 53.6% at the end of 2006, Leiker said.

UNQUOTE:

Here's the link to the full article: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=703775

I've been involved in sales all my working life and we have always lived by one saying. "It's not how much you sold to one company, or how much you sold yesterday or last year that brings home the bacon today. That's past glories. What counts is the sales you make today to put the bacon on the table today." So.........in order for the original BIG THREE to regain their old positions they are going to have to do a much better job of competing, producing and selling more new cars than the foreign makers are today. They can't rest on their past glories, that bacon has already been eaten. Those days are gone and they need to bring home new bacon to eat today.