Are Chrysler's Days NUMBERED? Here's Why We're Nervous...

Welcome back to TFL Car Chat! In this week's podcast, Tommy and Andre discuss Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares' comments that the company would ax underperforming brands, and what that could mean for the automotive landscape here in the U.S.

Watch more videos from TFL Studios:

TFL Podcasts:

#podcast #chrysler #stellantis

[mvcharisma]

If it weren’t for rental fleets, Stelantis as a whole wouldn’t exist 😂

[barrydworak]

Reality: it doesn't matter how much "better" they make them. There's a limited market for Wranglers at $100, 000.

Porsche's cars are great. But they only sell a limited number because there's only so much market for them.

Jeep is a whole different niche, and the Wrangler today is a bad match for most buyers in it. Nobody's employer is going to say, "Oh, the new grill on the Wrangler looks really cool. Let me double your salary so you can get one!" The average salary in the US is under $60k, and no new colors or fancy wheels are going to change that.

If you could sell any number of cars at any price you want, just by making "good" cars, everyone would be driving a Bentley or a Lamborghini.

[Le_Royaliste_Perlino]

In the U.S. Discontinue Fiat, Alfa, Maserati, Chrysler. Turn Ram back into Dodge, introduce a new Dodge Minivan, redesign the Durango (already in the works for ‘26MY), and discontinue the Wagoneer Brand (it’s not going anywhere). Make Jeep fully Off-Road.

[marksullivan]

The problem with stellantis is they believe Americans need to follow the European mindset they refuse to accept we know better their stubbornness will be their demise sadly

[Dusdaddy]

That's the biggest problem with the Jeep, way overvalued. A Jeep used to be a low-cost utility vehicle. They are trying to keep the utility but charging luxury prices. The Rubicon/Mojave Gladiator regularly stickered in the upper 60s? Easily the most expensive yet least desired mid-size. Ram is going to screw up if they don't keep their prices below the competition.

[alexmaclean]

My personal tidbit... Last month we looked at a Cherokee trailhawk elite. Ended up being a leftover 23... Total discount on this left over, already dated vehicle.... $1000 off msrp.... We walked obviously lol

[lonerider]

Stelantis CEO translations:
If i cant make more and more money every year, im cutting brands and cars, and rebadging more of the same junk.
Sorry not sorry.

[jonascampelo]

Stellantis sales in Europe, Brasil, Australia, China, and Africa are good and going up. In North america things are getting strange, probably because Stellantis average prices are over Ford and GM, I guess.

[andrewinaustintx]

The Eurocentric management at Stellantis is completely out of touch with the typical MOPAR customer.
In 2023, on an almost 20 year old platform, 25, 000 Chrysler 300 and 75, 000 Dodge Charger sedans were sold in the US. - The Stellantis hype over future EV & hybrid sales is both delusional and dishonest. 11, 000 Hornet is a fraction of the old RWD dinosaurs.

[BigBadJohnDiesel]

The buck starts and ends with their CEO. He is completely out of touch with reality, and needs to go immediately!

[donaldwilson]

When a mainstream brand like Chrysler only has one model in the lineup, which is the Pacifica, that's never a good sign. I don't want to see a historic car company like Chrysler getting canceled, but unless more product is coming, it currently doesn't look good for Chrysler.

[e-henne]

The Grand Cherokee, including the 4e, has 16 trims.

I’ll bet sales skew heavily to 2 or 3 trims. Most of the others are a waste of production costs. They really need to go back to a non-premium brand. None of them compete with their competitors in terms of equipment, safety, performance, efficient, etc.

I like jeep because I want a basic, reliable 4x4.

[calr]

Look at Dodge sales in 2019. Grand Caravan and Journey were leading in sales. Grand Caravan outsold Charger and Challenger. Twice as many sold as Pacifica? Stellantis needs a US designed SUV and not a cobbled up Euro version. Remember you could buy a Dodge Grand Caravan for less than 20K with discounts on the AVP model.
Chrysler the next Pontiac and Oldsmobile? Those brands had loyal followers, but not enough sales vs Buick.

[sidneyrobinson]

paying over $60k CAD for a chrysler van is INSANE

[tracywaters]

I’m finding it difficult to understand why these car makers whether domestic or imports with all their billions cannot figure out what sells better in certain countries. Seem to me they are not listening to the public. They over pay these executives who have not truly earned their pay, I can come up with better solutions and not ask for as much money. TFL gives some really good advice, maybe these companies would do well to listen to both the public and critics.

[charleskinsley]

How is 11, 000 hornets a sizable amount of cars? It’s a subcompact entry level suv that happens to be a new design. That’s supposed to be a volume seller 😂

[dishdundee]

I’m convinced they only invested in the foreign brands like Alfa Romeo, Maserati etc just to so that the US brands would suffer thus leading to a kill off of the brands

[jacobseitz]

I don’t understand why no new vehicle models are getting added to the Chrysler brand. It seems like a perfect brand to launch a premium suv in imo. Thanks for the video

[vorant]

How about making vehicles that are better, cheaper without all that electronic bullshit.

[scrambler-xkkv]

My local dealer was once a Sears with an auto service dept all attached to a mostly dead mall now. They bought that old Sears ripped the entire front wall off and put a boatload of money into a remodel. It is now surrounded by an ocean and I mean an ocean of vehicles. They have new 2023's on the lot with balloons attached to the outside mirrors that are flat and laying on the ground. Expired state inspection stickers on their windshields. These are NEW vehicles mind you. Constant commercials on the local channels especially during the local news. They also need to understand we do not want rebadged French or Italian vehicles.