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Whither, Plymouth?

From the Detroit News:

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"DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group could launch an all-new, low-priced brand aimed at young buyers within two to three years.

"The new brand would be an entry-level spinoff of the automaker's Dodge or Jeep brands, Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said in an interview last week. Chrysler would likely seek a low-cost partner to help develop and build cars and trucks for the new marque, he said.

"Zetsche said a new brand from Chrysler must be attractive to both young buyers and other entry-level buyers the automakers' current brand lineup may be missing.

"(The concept) was not driven in the first place by the idea of a youth brand," Zetsche said, "but more of an idea of creating an affordable brand."

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Gee, whiz, guys. I thought we didn't need something like this.

I wonder if the dealerships still have their Plymouth signs in storage?

--Geoff

Reply to
Geoff
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I wish. But it aint gonna happen :-(

If they do introduce a new brand, they'll have to think of something stupider and uglier than "Scion" in order to appeal to the 10-second attention span crowd. I think I'd rather have the 'Plymouth' name humanely retired rather than sullied like that...

Reply to
Steve

Why?

They've replaced practically all their car models with the LX 300 body

- so why not strip it down even further with vinyl seats, 4 cylinder engine, steel wheels with dog-dish hub caps? Call it the Plymouth Valiant or Breeze or something like that.

What - is Mitsubishi too busy to help out?

"But there are no guarantees that youth-driven brands or designs will ultimately attract youthful drivers. Scion draws more Gen Y buyers than any other marque - 19.1 percent of sales are to consumers 25 and under - but the average age of Scion buyers is still 40, according to J.D. Power and Associates. And Honda's Element has an average buyer age of 43."

(If you're over 30 and you've bought a Scion then you = luser)

"In the end, Chrysler may decide that adding another brand is too costly and too risky, given the already crowded landscape of vehicle nameplates in the United States."

(Why doesn't Merc hold it's nose and step in with a Gen-Y car?)

"But if Chrysler rolls out new, low-cost cars, Dan Frost believes he can sell them. "We don't offer (young buyers) a car at all," said Frost, president of Southfield Chrysler Jeep. "The closest we come is a Dodge Neon."

(What - has Chrysler cut their car model variety down a little to far? Geeze, I wonder who pointed that out already...)

Tell you what. If Chrysler brings out the 300N concept car (circa

2000) and badges it as a Plymouth, I ASSURE YOU I won't complain. Sign me up for a couple of those.
Reply to
MoPar Man

Yep. Too busy going out of business. And not a moment too soon :-)

Reply to
Steve

Daimler already has a car a very low cost car in their lineup, it's the Smart car. Don't know if it's possible to bring it up to American safty standards but if they can I would think that a clown car like the Smart would compete pretty well with Toyota's milk truck car (Scion).

Reply to
General Schvantzkoph

A while back I read, I think in Autoweek, that DC was considering selling at least one version of the Smart in North America. I haven't heard anything lately, though. If they did sell it, it would probably be expensive for it's size and power, though. Still, it would be cool to have a few of the cute "clown" cars running around in the US.

Reply to
kokomoNOSPAMkid

These clown cars are already running around some desert resort communities (Palm Desert, California for one). Some (many?) homes there even have their own clown-car garage door for these things. They're called golf carts.

Yes, the Smart would make a cute golf cart car.

Reply to
MoPar Man

...and a very fast golf cart.

Reply to
kokomoNOSPAMkid

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