Chrysler 300 designer moves to truck division
Ralph Gilles is da man over at Chrysler, having previously headed the team responsible for the 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger. Gilles was working on the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country replacements until the powers that be decided he should lay his healing hands upon the company's light truck division. This article by Auto123 cites the current sales trend for nearly every automaker in the light truck segment, and while Chrysler and its divisions have seen an upswing of 4%, there is apparently much work to be done. While Gilles will not directly influence any of the possible new models mentioned in the article (like the Dodge Nitro pictured), he does hold the reigns now for Chrysler in a segment that's increasingly teeming with competition.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
V?or Rubiera 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Very good idea, what Jeep does not need is a pickup truck. It is the Dodge division that needs a reinforcement in its pickup line. Althoug they are taking the right direccion the model line needs more models (a.k.a. the Dodge Ram Club Cab 1500, 2500, 3500), the dakota diesel in regular cab, club cab, quad cab, a regular cab with a distintive off road and SRT pakage. Also a more luxuriuos interior ( and the 6.1 liter Hemi V8 with a 6 speed manual transmission for the Dodge Ram). Bring back the regular cab powerwagon with an off road pakage too (6.1 Hemi/6 speed manual).
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BF 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
That truck is ugly.
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Oski Kevin 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
The notion of the Chrysler 300 appealing to a hip, urban, young crowd is complete misinformation and PR spin. The facts tell a much different story. The AVERAGE 300 buyer is 60 years old, the same age as a Ford Five Hundred buyer and the top profession among 300 buyers is "retired" (according to Maritz's New Vehicle Customer Survey). It's amazing how the media sometimes buys everything a company says hook, line and sinker.
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Ed Kapuscinski 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
I'm pissed.
I was hoping he'd work some magic on the Neon (because lets admit it, it's terrible looking, it loks like someone gave it a firm foot up the rear) or a sebring replacement (one can hope for a 300 convertible, right?).
But instead of working on being the best quasi-American cars builder, it looks like DMX is again succumbing to the "americans want trucks" stereotype.
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Blake 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Is the Ford 500 featured in rap videos? C'mon Kevin, saying the 300C isn't hip just because of the average age of the buyer is a more than a tad simplistic. Do you think most of the "hip, urban youth crowd" can afford a 35 thousand dollar car, let alone a 24k base 300? You should check out the average age of H2 and Escalade buyers. I doubt you'll see many young people buying them.
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Rose 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Utos it's my favorite topic. and i do also have 3 cars but not any SUV (jeep).It's a nice blog I really like this.
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Rose 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Utos it's my favorite topic. and i do also have 3 cars but not any SUV (jeep).It's a nice blog I really like this.
Reply