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)

Recall Alert: 2007 Dodge Nitro

Chrysler is recalling 84,680 Dodge Nitros from the 2007 model year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

High usage of the windshield wiper system’s delay mode may affect the primary wiper function and render the wiper system inoperable. In inclement weather, this problem would impair visibility, increasing the risk of a crash.

Dealers will inspect and add external relays as well as update the totally integrated power module software to control the wiper functions.

For more information, owners can call Chrysler at 800-853-1403 or NHTSA’s hotline at 888-327-4236.

2007|Dodge|Nitro

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.

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.

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

Consumer Reports' Top 10 Automakers

Today, Consumer Reports released the results of its annual car reliability survey, which includes more than 1.4 million vehicles. This is one of the most important publications of the year for consumers interested in a car’s reliability. There were few surprises in terms of which makes are most and least reliable, with Scion maintaining the top spot. Porsche, Saab, Suzuki and Pontiac saw the biggest gains while Lincoln and Mini took the biggest hits. Check out Consumer Reports full report if you’re a subscriber. We list the top 10 most and least reliable automakers below.

Fiat to Gut Chrysler Lineup

Update 11/5/09: Fiat and Chrysler have officially announced lineups for the future which directly counter the claims made in the Wall Street Journal story mentioned in the below post. Click on the following links for the formal lineups.

The Future Chrysler Lineup
The Future Jeep Lineup
The Future Dodge Lineup

The Wall Street Journal reported today Fiat’s future plan for Chrysler, a full week before the company is to meet in a closed-door session with analysts and media to reveal its intentions.

The article is striking in its detail and scope of Fiat’s restructuring. Nearly the entire Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lineups will be replaced in five years by not only Fiat technology and products but also the return of Alfa Romeo as a luxury marquee slated above Chrysler.

We break down the product shifts below.

New 2010 Dodge Ram Heavy Duty Details, Pricing

If you’re in the market to replace your heavy-duty pickup truck, there’s a lot to like about the new 2010 Dodge Ram lineup. Mike Levine, editor of our sister site PickupTrucks.com has a full review of the Ram Heavy Duty trucks’ entire line that you can read here.

Dodge says every model costs less this year than last, but PickupTrucks.com has found that’s not quite true. “While the Dodge Ram HD pickups are keeping the same diesel engine, there’s a bump in price for the Cummins I6 by about $500, up to $7,615. Adding a six-speed 68RFE automatic transmission bumps the price to $8,020. The six-speed manual equipped trucks get a $1,170 price break, bringing the price down to $6,445. Still, Ram buyers won’t be burdened with the extra maintenance task of refilling DEF or adding extra weight to the truck from a DEF tank.”

Keep reading for a full pricing breakdown.

Dodge Adds New Ram Truck Brand

Long rumored to be a possibility, Dodge pickup trucks will be separated from Dodge cars under their own Ram brand. Sergio Marchionne, managing director of Fiat and Chrysler CEO, confirmed the shake-up.

Just how the lineup will be split has yet to be explained, but it’s likely pickups, SUVs and vans will get a Dodge Ram badge. Cars and most crossovers will remain Dodge cars.

“The brand-focused strategy has been refined further with the unbundling of the Dodge brand, which now consists of the Dodge Ram brand and the Dodge car brand organizations,” Marchionne said. “This reorganization will allow us to protect and develop the unique nature of the product offerings within the Dodge brand.”

The Ram got a significant redesign last year, but sales have stagnated compared to the new F-150 from Ford. The smaller Dodge Dakota sold 399 units last month. Even though the Dodge Durango SUV is expected to return as a 2011 model, we just don’t see a reason for a separate Ram brand. Especially since Chrysler successfully merged all of their brands into single stores featuring Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep.

Dodge Trucks to Be Separated From Cars Under Ram Brand (PickupTrucks.com)