Chrysler Announces Year-End Incentives

Kicking off today, Chrysler has announced its “Year-end Wrap-up” incentives on 2010 models for all four of its brands. Customers can choose from a few different options depending on which brand of vehicle they are buying. The deals will be offered now until Jan. 4, 2010.

Incentives for Chrysler vehicles include the choices of 0% financing for up to 60 months, consumer cash of up to $3,000, free all-wheel drive for the Chrysler 300, a free DVD entertainment system for the Town & Country minivan and an “attractive” financing rates coupled with a free service program for three years/36,000 miles.

Jeep customers can choose between 0% financing for up to 60 months, consumer cash of up to $4,000, or the same attractive financing rates and free service program for three years/36,000 miles.

Select Dodge vehicles will come with 0% financing for 60 months, consumer cash of up to $2,500 or free all-wheel drive on the Dodge Charger.

Finally, customers looking at the new Ram Truck brand will have the choice of a few combinations of incentives, including 0% financing for up to 48 months, 2.9% financing for 60 months or up to $2,500 of consumer cash. Ram will also offer 0% financing for up to 72 months or $5,500 consumer cash on most 2009 Dodge Ram trucks.

Chrysler Could Lose Another 145 Dealers

As part of its bankruptcy filings, Chrysler terminated 789 dealers, leaving roughly 2,400 shops in the U.S. Now, a credit issue may cause another 145 dealers to close their doors.

Chrysler Financial once backed loans to dealers so they could stock inventory. The company, which is owned by Cerberus Capital Management (Chrysler's former owner), is in the process of terminating all loans to dealers while maintaining its loan business to car buyers. It’s transferring this dealer business to GMAC now; the government is planning to wind down all of Chrysler Financial's business in liquidation by the end of 2011.

To back these new dealer customers, GMAC is asking for more collateral, which is often in the hands of Chrysler Financial in terms of mortgages and other debts the dealers have leveraged.

Sounds like a blast to be a dealer, doesn’t it? The financial wrangling has already led to 85 dealers not getting GMAC financing; another 50-60 dealers are still in negotiations.

Chrysler May Lose 145 Dealers on Lack of Financing (Bloomberg)

Ford Bullish on Small Cars

Ford kick-started the SUV revolution with the introduction of the Explorer SUV in the '90s, but the next big opportunity it sees is in small cars. That's according to Ford sales analyst George Pipas, who spoke to a gathering of Chicago-area media recently. Who are the buyers that will drive growth in this segment? Pipas says it’s Millennials, a demographic that wasn't even driving when the Explorer debuted.

It's easy to see why Ford is focused on Millennial buyers, which it counts as those born from 1980-95. Every day about 11,000 Millennials become old enough to drive in the U.S., according to Ford. With 50 percent of first-time buyers choosing small cars, there are sales to be had, Pipas said.

For Millennials, though, small doesn't necessarily mean basic. "[Millennials] want more than an econobox in a small car," he said. "They will give up something else to get what they want on the car."

Chrysler Electric Program Still In Place

Despite reports to the contrary, Chrysler says it’s still working on hybrids, plug-in hybrid electrics and battery-electric vehicles. Rumors hit the Internet yesterday that Chrysler was scrapping its electric portfolio and program and had halted plans to bring a trio of electric products to market. However, after contacting Chrysler and reviewing the company’s presentation from last week, it is clear the company is still working on hybrids, work being done as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. However, it doesn’t look like the three green concepts from last year’s Detroit auto show (shown below) will become a reality, which is not much of a surprise. 

According to the last week’s presentation by Paolo Ferrero, vice president of powertrains — see the chart above — the company will roll out its electric products very slowly, starting with a hybrid Ram 1500 pickup in 2010. In 2011, two pilot programs of plug-in electric vehicles — a minivan and a Ram 1500 — would hit the streets in demo fleets of 100 or so.

Forbes Ranks Top 10 Dirtiest Vehicles

Using air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions data from the Environmental Protections Agency, Forbes magazine has ranked the top 10 dirtiest vehicles on the road.

The EPA gives every vehicle an air pollution score of 0-10 that rates the amount of the tailpipe emissions. It ranks pollutants like hydrocarbon, nitrous oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide and formaldehyde; a score of 10 means a car doesn’t emit any of these. The agency also uses fuel economy numbers to rate a car’s greenhouse gas levels — looking specifically at carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane — on the same scale of 0-10.

Forbes combined air pollution and emissions scores to determine the 10 dirtiest cars; it used cars’ combined fuel efficiency ratings to break ties. As you read the list below, you’ll notice that Chrysler vehicles dominate with five of the top 10 dirtiest, while Korean and Japanese automakers do not make an appearance on the list.

The biggest loser is the Jeep Grand Cherokee with abysmal scores of 3 on its air pollutants test and 1 for greenhouse gases. It’s important to note that exotics like Ferrari and Rolls-Royce were not included in this list, and No. 10 on the list, the Dodge Durango, will no longer be produced.

The air pollution and greenhouse gas scores are in parentheses beside the vehicle’s make and model.

The Future Chrysler Lineup

Chrysler is betting on style to help win over customers. Today, the automaker announced its plans for the future at a presentation in Michigan. Evoking images of the 1950s — yes, even Don Draper from “Mad Men” was shown as an example — executives hope future designs will resonate with consumers as something different in the marketplace. The company’s new logo (above) was used throughout the presentation, as well.

We’re not sure if there will be a true “upscale” move or if the company will stick to style alone — as with the 300C — to sway buyers. The company’s product timeline is below.

At the end of the product roundup, there was absolutely no mention of Alfa Romeo being sold again in the U.S. That was just one of the many points the Wall Street Journal’s sources got wrong in a report last week.

The Future Dodge Lineup

In a marathon session with reporters and analysts today in Michigan, Chrysler officials announced their plans for the future of the company and its U.S. brands. They started things off with Dodge, which will be separate from Ram pickup trucks going forward. The logo (above) will no longer feature the Ram head, just the word Dodge.
 
The company also plans to have 11 new or thoroughly redesigned models on the road by 2014. The company currently has 10 non-truck models. We detail the future products below with some images from the presentation.

Chrysler Trademarks New Logo

New Chrysler needed a new logo, and previous reports from Allpar, a Chrysler fan site, have been confirmed by the automaker’s filing of a new logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark office.

The new logo sticks with the wings but stretches them horizontally; it keeps the embossed blue emblem at its center. It’s really more of an update than a reinvention — sleeker yet still familiar. We think it would look right at home on Chrysler’s 200C concept from last year’s Detroit Auto Show (check out the pic after the jump).

Allpar also reports that the new Dodge brand will ditch the Ram’s head logo in favor of a new badge to call its own.

A New Chrysler Logo Takes Wing? (Autoblog)

Recall Alert: 12,674 Chrysler, Dodge Cars

Chrysler has issued a recall for 12,674 vehicles, including the 2009-2010 Chrysler 300, 2009-2010 Dodge Challenger, 2009-2010 Dodge Charger, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. These vehicles may have been built without a front-wheel spindle nut.

The spindle nut is a rather large and obviously important part of the wheel assembly that keeps the wheel attached to the axle. Without one, it’s possible that the tire and wheel could separate while driving, endangering the vehicle and others on the road. Chrysler made the determination after a new supplier, SMW Automotive, began supplying the front corner modules for the 2010 model year, according to the automaker. The previous supplier went bankrupt. Less than a hundred 2009 models are included in the recall. Affected models were built between Aug. 4 and Sept. 28, 2009.

Dealers will inspect the tire; if there is no spindle nut, they will make the repair free of charge. Owners may contact Chrysler at 800-853-1403 or NHTSA’s hotline at 888-327-4236.

2010|Chrysler|300

2010|Dodge|Charger

2010|Dodge|Challenger

Chrysler Adds Live TV in Vehicles

Starting in December, Chrysler will offer the option of live mobile TV in its vehicles—a first for a U.S. automaker. The service will include 20 channels, with offerings like CBS Mobile, CNBC, Comedy Central, FOX News, MSNBC, MTV, NBC 2Go and Nickelodeon.

It will be available as a $629 factory-installed option, plus installation. This comes with a one-year free subscription as well.

The signals will flow through FLO TV’s dedicated multicast network, and will be available only in 100 markets and along some interstate driving corridors. In other words, if you live in rural areas or are traveling outside of the 100 markets listed a lot, the service probably won’t be worth the money.

The service can also be added to certain 2008-2010 vehicles that have already been purchased, but you’ll have to have the specific Mopar headrest or seat-top DVD entertainment systems installed first.

Previously, Chrysler used Sirius Satellite for in-car video viewing but they used only three specific channels created just for them, not existing networks’ live feeds.