Chrysler Reborn

The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, the fastest American made SUV. From AutoTribute.com. FAIR USE: This image is not being used for profit, but an educational purpose, because it is one of the subjects of this blog post.

My friend's fiancee just bought a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee the other day and at long last Chrysler's turn around has finally hit me -- despite the fact that I've seen the latest generation Grand Cherokee on the road for months, along with the new Chrysler 300, the Sebring-successor 200, and the new Dodge Charger.

When the American automotive industry melted down in 2008, Chrysler was on life support, beleaguered by an aging and uninspired line up. Chrysler's mid-size offers, the Chrysler Crossfire and the Dodge Avenger, were far from being legitimate contenders; the Dodge Durango and the Chrysler Aspen were ugly, not quite mid-size nor not quite full-size SUVs that drank more gas than they were worth; and Jeep's ploy to introduce fuel efficient products to compliment their range of rock crawlers fell flat on their face with the Compass and Patriot (two vehicles that probably should have never been made. Steep incentives, such as employee pricing and mind-boggling rebates (which was a practice in use by Ford and GMAC at the time) diluted values, even though dealers exacerbated even more by going full press on liquidating their inventory. Hell, even AutoNation did not want any more to do with Chrysler -- killing off all of their Chrysler dealerships by 2009.

Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that bought 80% of Chrysler from Daimler AG at the end of 2007, was seeing their plan for Chrysler's revival erode thanks to the poor economic climate that was brought about by the collapse of the financial system. Cerberus would be bailed out from being consumed by the Chrysler Sinking Ship by the United States and Canadian governments, and would subsequently give up their controlling interest in Chrysler as a condition of the loan from the United States government. During this time, Chrysler only introduced one new product -- the remarkable 2009 Dodge Ram 1500, that despite its high praises, actually did not make a serious dent in the automotive truck market that remains dominated by the Ford F-Series.

For most of 2009 and 2010 we did not hear a lot of specifics about what would be coming from Chrysler, even in the immediate months after Sergio Marchionne assumed control of the automaker on life support. However, Chrysler finally made heads turn towards the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.

Jeep debuted a hand new Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango for the 2011 model year, the latter moving to a unibody platform for the first time. While the Grand Cherokee has always maintained its status as one of Chrysler's best products (along with the Dodge Ram and the Jeep Wrangler), the new Grand Cherokee is a testament to the new Chrysler -- products that are the children of thoughtful research and development. The Jeep division complimented the Grand Cherokee by offering a vastly improved Compass (even though I still do think the vehicle should have been never made). The Durango, now on as stated earlier a unibody platform, gained better looks, better handling, and better fuel economy; a true credit to Chrysler for not giving up completely on at least attempting to see if Dodge still has any value as a brand in the SUV market. The Durango has sold fairly well, even if not at the clip of the GM Lambda crossovers or the Ford Explorer.

In addition, Chrysler's mid-size sedan offerings -- the now Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger -- are a lot more respectable in looks and the features that they offer. Are they going to make the mid-size heavyweights tremble? No, but at least you are now able to drive around town in them and not necessarily have to put a paper bag over your head in shame.

The Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger are remarkable stories in their own right. The refreshed 300 is the first to get Chrysler's new 8 speed automatic transmission, when paired with the 3.6L Pentastar V6 engine, becomes first rear wheel drive American full size sedan to crack 30 miles per gallon highway. The redesigned Charger SRT-8 is a salivating piece of automotive machinery aesthetically. If the Charger gains the 8 speed transmission as rumored to go with its 6.4L V8 engine, then Chrysler may have the most attractive options for an American made performance sedan, considering it would be thousands of dollars less than its nearest rival, the Cadillac CTS-V. Chrysler has not received this much widespread praise in the cars they produced since the Chrysler LHS, Chrysler 300M, and the Dodge Intrepid were selling in respectable numbers in the mid to late 1990s.

Whether Chrysler keeps this momentum remains to be seen, yet the rebirth of the company is undeniable. All four brands -- Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram -- are reporting hefty sales increases along with positive reviews of its products. A competitive Chrysler, is not only good for them, but good for American consumer and good for those that have their livelihoods depend on the American automotive industry.