I hope Chrysler gets their "stuff" together with the new 2007 Sebrings

With the introduction of the 2007 Ultima and 2007 Camry the midsize market is even tougher. I'm a die hard Chrysler fan and was hoping for a Civic competitor with the Caliber but it seems Chrylser failed. I'm starting to be afraid the Sebring will again be another disappointment. I've seen the spy shots and it looks a little underwhelming. I have not even heard if they are going to update the V6 2.7L engines- which are way behind the engines that are used in the Honda/Toyota/Nissan midsize cars. I hope I'm wrong.

Scott

Reply to
Scott Koprowski
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Don't worry about it, I thought the new 300C with the itty bitty windows and the giant butt-ugly grill would flop but apparently the new car purchasers of today have absolutely zero taste in good auto styling. If the new Sebring is butt-ugly, based on what is selling now, they will sell a ton of them. In fact the uglier it is the more they will sell.

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Hi Ted,

I love the 300C ;)... I drive one as a company car, and yeah, it's a love it or hate it styling... but to me, it's hot. It screams authority!!

The Caliber is nice too!! I'd love that for a personal car, sure, it's different!! And its priced REALLY competitively.

I don't think anything can really beat it!

Cheers

The old Sebring was fine, sure, not as good as the others, BUT.. $$$ it's still cheaper than the rest.. and Chrysler styling has really improved over the other US manufacturers.

Reply to
Robert Gilroy

"Scott Koprowski" wrote

Personally I'm not interested in the Civic (yawn) nor would I be interested in a DC-made Civic clone. But I might well consider a Caliber when my Focus wagon comes to trade-in time. It's interesting, and offers a lot more versatility than either the Civic or Corolla.

Reply to
Dave Gower

I guess my main beef is the gas mileage with the Caliber- it's nothing to write home about. I was hoping for more mid to upper 30's for highway.

Reply to
Scott Koprowski

I spent a year deciding if I loved or hated the 300C, I finally decided I loved it and bought one. Chrysler has hit on the right formula, highly distinctive cars that generate strong reactions. It doesn't matter if 90% of the public hates your car if 10% love it so much they'll buy one at any price. GM and Ford are heading towards bankruptcy because the only way they have to sell a car is with huge rebates. Any company has to have a value proposition to sell their products. Toyota gets premium prices because their cars have a reputation for reliability. Toyota's cars are all dull and uninteresting with the exception of their hybrids which the tree hugging crowd finds exciting. But they don't have to discount because people know that the transmission isn't going to fall out of them and that they'll be able to sell them in 10 years. Chrysler can never compete with Toyota on Toyota's terms and they are smart not to try. Instead they've been able to write their own rule book. You don't buy a Chrysler for fuel economy, durability, or resale value because those all suck on Chryslers. You buy a Chrysler because it offers more performance then anything else in it's class or because it's in a class by itself. Chrysler got there with minivans and SUVs before anyone else and they had a long profitable run before everyone else caught up. With the 300C they came out with a radically styled sedan at a time when everyone else was putting all of their design money into yet another SUV. The 300C also has the performance of a car that cost's $20K more, when I was shopping last year the only other cars that had a V8 and AWD cost >$60K. As a result they don't have to offer any discounts on the 300C and they are the only Detroit auto company making money. It's doubtful if they can make any money on Calibers because of the price point, but if thats the car where a generation of kids lose their virginity (it looks like that's the design goal for the Caliber) then they'll have a bunch of customers for the future.

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph

I'm not looking for a Civic, but the Caliber has my interest for my next car for which I need a smaller wagon. Much easier to load golf bags.

I'm wondering about the the spy shots that scared you. Does it have another Chrysler macho truck like front end and grill?

Yes the 2.7 is a good engine, but how much betterit should be with VVT. Perhaps the Caliber engine designers will get the job, although I haven't heard any solid info on the Caliber engine performance. By performance I mean fuel mileage as well as acceleration.

Since my wife will probably keep her 2001 Sebring for another 10 years, she and I don't care what the coming configuration is. As long as it's back to reasonable for us in YR 2015, but by then our needs are sure to be different than today.

Reply to
Spam Hater

Hopefully for Chrysler the new Sebring will be the same success as for the 300, but if the change is to a different type of car than the Sebring now is the customers will be different, as the 300 customers are different than the LH car customers. The turned off customers will do what the LH turned off customers did; buy elsewhere.

Reply to
Spam Hater

It interests me for my next car in 3 or 4 years. I've only seen the bottom three models and the upholstery does not whet my appetite. Driving it may also tell another story.

My test drives are at least a few day rental. A test drive around the block is a complete waste of my time.

So far the Caliber passes my "sit in it" test and the functional test, although I'm not too interested in a pop cooler in the dash.

Reply to
Spam Hater

We are in agreement.

I've also looked at the Caliber's cousin, the new Mercedes B200. Very nicely fitted out vehicle, but it just looks too much like the all to common Matrix.

Reply to
Spam Hater

Last year Toyota said they could drop prices a bit, but they sell well at their current prices and they also said they they don't want to hurt GM any more at this time. A new Toyota plant in Ontario has been significantly increased in size while in final design because demand warrants it. Yes Toyotas are dull and Chrysler doesn't always compete directly with them, except that the Sebring competes with the Camry and the Caliber competes with the Matrix. At our golf course I actually mistook a B-200 for a Matrix, not nice for a car that costs twice as much.

As for quality I could tell you a real story on a local VW service rep who bought a Toyota. Yes he still had his job the last I heard, but lost his friendship with his boss. His wife works at Toyota and they compared notes re customer's problems. >:)

Not true in the NA North West, where the number of 300s is low. Here mid sized and smaller cars, then truck/large SUVs sell best. I can count on two hands the Magnums I've seen here since they came out. In 3 minutes I can't count on two hands the Toyotas I see here. The 300 and Pacifica are discounted here in Vancouver, BC and you'd be shocked as I am at the discounted prices on 2005s, both used and the new ones still FS. This weeks ads even had a number of unsold Chrysler

2005 large trucks and Jeeps. Gasoline is very expensive here and is taking it's toll on gas eaters.

It's all about volume, in many countries around the world. I feel they will sell a ton of them, but my observation of the Chrysler dealer I pass each day is it's starting very slow. That dealer still has his first two, plus a few more, after about 3 weeks. However I have seen a few on the road and I'm betting by summer they will be more common on the road than the 300s sold here. The Caliber customers may surprise Chrysler as much as Honda was surprised by the Element buyers. The Element here is a lady's car.

Seeing the Matrix buyers locally, I know it won't just be just the young. The Matrix buyers here tend to be middle aged women. I'm expecting the Caliber will be a middle aged and perhaps older man's city car. That has been the case with the two I've seen on the road so far.

Reply to
Spam Hater

I saw spy photos of the new Sebring and don't like it. It sounds like they are going to base the convertible on that body too so I may have to buy one of the current models sooner than I think, before they disappear.

Reply to
frenchy

in re: the old Sebring

in case this wasn't posted here b4: Chrysler has sold the entire production line for the Sebring/Stratus fo Russia where they will build em.

Good Luck, Ivan.........but if Chrysler retains the rights to replacement transmission lines, they'll have quite a source of income for years!

Reply to
Itsfrom Click

You mean they can't build over-rated generic people movers bland enough to make a tree sloth die of boredom?

:-P

Reply to
Steve

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