I saw this news story on CNN and did a double take. Chrysler has come out of bankruptcy as The Chrysler Group. They have begun manufacturing cars at one plant in Detroit. What model is it? A hybrid? How about a car to compete with other fuel efficient vehicles? No, the Chrysler Group has announced that they have begun producing the Viper, a 10 cylinder engine sports car with 600 horsepower and a base price of $90,000 U.S. What is wrong with this picture? Well, for one, the Viper was first in 1992 and since then, only 25,000 have been built and sold. This is not an everyday kind of vehicle. It is not a vehicle that promotes the green trend or one with the goal to move away from foreign oil.
This vehicle, while impressive, is not the right fit for The Chrysler Group to build when coming out of bankruptcy, in my opinion. This would be like a person filing for bankruptcy and after having all of their debts cleared, they go out and buy a sports car as they “begin” their new life. Instead of starting production on an innovative electric Viper model, the company has chosen to continue with what has driven the American car industry into the ground: creating products that are simply not in demand and trying to make them in demand through marketing efforts.
What Does This Say About The Chrysler Brand?
To me, this says a lot about the Chrysler brand. It says to me that they are not taking their bankruptcy seriously. Starting production on the Viper shows that the company is still living in the past and not looking to the future, to what consumers are wanting. So what are consumers wanting? They want smaller, fuel efficient, eco-friendly vehicles that are reasonably priced. Chrysler has the opportunity to come roaring back, reborn, with a new mission.
The real question is, will you be buying a new 2010 Viper? Leave your comments below.
You can read about Chrylser’s plans witht he Viper here:
http://money.cnn.com/2009/06/15/autos/chrysler_viper_restart/index.htm
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