Farewell to the group

We need the luck, let me tell you. After my first Dodge (1974 Dodge Dart) I swore up and down I'd never own another Mopar. Well, stupid me, I'm on my 4th at the moment.

I swore that I would not own another Dodge as well.

Looks like other people feel the same:

Dealers Balk as Chrysler Strains to Cut Inventory By NEAL E. BOUDETTE October 16, 2006; Page A3

DETROIT -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is running into resistance from some big dealers to its latest efforts to shrink its bloated inventory of unsold vehicles, a development that could make it harder for Chrysler to bounce back from an expected loss in the third quarter.

Since warning in September that it will report a loss of $1.5 billion for the quarter -- more than twice what it had previously forecast -- Chrysler has temporarily halted production at several plants and stepped up appeals to dealers to take more of the 50,000 or so vehicles the company has in storage because they were built without dealer orders. The dealers' reluctance to take more of Chrysler's new vehicles raises questions about how soon Chrysler will be able to recover from its third-quarter loss.

Chrysler chief Tom LaSorda and the company's top marketing executive, Joe Eberhardt, meet today in Detroit with more than 100 dealers from the Midwest, the first of eight annual regional meetings where they will renew pleas to increase orders. Last week Chrysler added as much as $1,500 in sales incentives for vehicles that have sat on dealer lots for six months or more. [Profit Plunge]

In an interview at the Paris auto show in September, Mr. Eberhardt said Chrysler's "vision" is to reduce the sales bank of unassigned vehicles to "normal levels" by the end of the year. "One thing is clear. We built inventory that was just too high," he said.

But some of the big dealership chains and many smaller dealers around the U.S. say they already have too many Chrysler vehicles and won't take more.

"We are not ordering additional [Chrysler] inventory," said Earl Hesterberg, chief executive of Group 1 Automotive Inc., a Houston chain of 101 car dealerships. "I wish we hadn't bought as much as we did before."

AutoNation Inc., the largest auto retailer in the U.S., with 333 stores, has also declined to take extra vehicles, a spokesman said. The company is trying to reduce its inventory of Chrysler vehicles and is ordering only select models that are selling well, such as the new Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass.

Lithia Motors Inc., an Oregon dealership chain, took extra vehicles earlier in the year to help Chrysler trim its inventory, but didn't do so at the end of September, Chairman and Chief Executive Sid DeBoer said.

Chrysler spokesman Jason Vines yesterday acknowledged that the dealers' stance "makes it tougher" to sell off the company's stockpile of vehicles.

"Some are doing it, some aren't," he said. "We're not forcing this on them."

The company has said it expects to fare better in the fourth quarter with new models like a compact Jeep and a redesigned Chrysler Sebring sedan. Many of the vehicles swelling inventories are Ram pickup trucks, Jeep sport-utility vehicles and Dodge minivans, as Chrysler and the other U.S. auto makers have seen demand fall for their most profitable big models amid higher gasoline prices.

As of last month, Chrysler's inventory included just under 100,000 "unassigned" vehicles the company built without dealer orders in hand. Mr. Vines declined to give a more current figure but said the stock of unassigned vehicles is now "about half" of what it was in mid-September, reiterating that Chrysler expects it to be "gone, zero" by the end of the year.

Manufacturers try to avoid building vehicles without dealer orders because they could have to sell such excess production at money-losing prices, often to rental-car companies. At an average sticker price of $25,000, the 100,000 unassigned vehicles in Chrysler's sales bank last month would ordinarily generate about $2.5 billion in revenue.

Chrysler has said it plans to reduce its inventory of some 600,000 vehicles in stock to around 500,000, a goal that will be difficult to hit without deeper production cuts if dealers are reluctant to order.

At an auto auction in Detroit last week, about 1,400 nearly new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles were on sale, many of which had spent the past six months in rental fleets and had only 10,000 to

These vehicles were being sold to dealers for about half of the invoice prices dealers pay for new models. One silver Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo previously owned by Dollar Rent A Car had 16,740 miles on its odometer. A dealer would pay $31,128 for the car new, but this one went for $16,300. Dealers said the car would probably sell for about $23,000 at a dealership.

Please let us know how the chevy holds up. Did you go with the diesel?

Roy

OK, I will post an update in a few years. It feels good as of right now, though, of course, so did the Dodge when I bought it, up to a month ago when it went to hell.

I did not go with the diesel. I bought a 2500HD with a 6 liter V8 gas engine, a heavy duty transmission, towing and snow plow prep package. Crew cab (four doors that all open in the same direction), regular bed. A little basic on the interior, but it has all I need.

The sales bank again! Do they never learn? Sheesh, shades of the late

Sounds like conflicts of interest, some managers being paid for production targets or some such...

I am quite sad about my Dodge RAM story. It was a good truck while it was driveable, I was hoping to use it for another 10 years or more... It still looked quite decent actually, after 8 years of use. I did not abuse it in any way and changed all fluids etc on schedule.

HEY!! There is no reason you need to leave this group just because you finally got a case of the smarts and bought a REALY truck.

A plow prep on a chevy? You plan on hanging a blade on the front of it? Before you do, take a look around and see what make the plow trucks in your area are. Good luck with your new truck !

Roy

Oh, glad to read ya got rid of the girly, girl chevy truck and bought a manly truck!

Roy

Just an observation, from my experience, some folks do better with some brands than others will.

I've never had good luck with Ford or GM products. It seemed for a while if you wanted to find out the weakness in your Ford or Chevy, let me drive it for an hour.

OTOH, my 19 Mopars never gave me a problem that I couldn't handle and most lasted over 100,000 miles, with a couple exceptions: a 71 Charger I was given as payment and I never even licensed and my 95 Lebaron GTC (Goofy Transmission Crap), which is in limp mode again and giving error codes of 33 and 37.

I think I'll go back to slant sixes and 904 transmissions . . . . . .

Just because you don't own a dodge truck doesn't mean that you can't hang out here. We put up with Budds crap and he doesn't own one.

beekeep

Still got my chevy and it has more miles and less problems then my 97 Ram did when I traded it in for the chevy!

No, it is a "heavy duty option" four speed transmission, a $1,000 upgrade over the stock transmission. The Allison is only available for the 8.1 liter engine, which has shitty fuel economy and I do not need that much engine. I just want everything -- engine, transfer case, transmission, rear end etc -- to be very sturdy and honestly made.

That's because you had less angry mobs to run from when you drove the Ram... *g* Mac

Good luck with your cheby. had a few, still like My Dodge better.

I agree....I use this statement myself:

My first truck was a Chevy...that's why I drive a Dodge now.