Jeep Compass comes in below projections
The Chrysler Group has gotten tons of PR mileage out of the popularity of the Dodge Caliber, to the point where dealers haven't been able to keep them in stock and consumers have to beg for a test drive (new Calibers net more profit than demos, after all). Unfortunately for the automaker, the Caliber's stablemate, the Jeep Compass, isn't enjoying the same successes. As the first car-based Jeep to hit the streets, the Caliber's sales have been lower than projected despite the vehicle's distinctive styling and sharp interior. The problem seems to be the 2006 models glutting dealer lots, giving potential Compass buyers food for thought -- a 2007 Compass doesn't represent the same kind of deal as, say, a loaded up 2006 Jeep Liberty.
Automotive News reports that the transaction price of the Dodge Caliber has risen since its introduction, beginning at $17,059 in March and then up to $18,276 by the end of September, while the Compass' price has lowered from $22,467 at launch to $21,534.
Jeep has quite a predicament on its hands if the Liberty and even Grand Cherokee are cannibalizing Compass sales -- evidently yet another drawback to Chrysler's resistance to cutting production when showrooms first started clogging up. We'll see how the situation evolves when the Patriot comes out.
[Source: Automotive News via AutoWeek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
mach5cb 1:22PM (8/23/2009)
I have the Compass and I like it. The car handle great in the winter and in the rain with the ESP on. If Chrysler advertise the car like all there other cars, the Compass would sale more of them. I don't belease it's one of the worst five cars. The Caliber IS The Same Car difference front and rear . I drive 30 miles oneway to work at 80 mph ang get 30 mpg. I broke it in that way.
Reply
Brent 7:48AM (10/10/2006)
Has anyone seen these on the road yet? Or at any dealership? They're fugly. I give it 2 years, if that.
Reply
66coronet 8:06AM (10/10/2006)
Liberty and even Grand Cherokee are cannibalizing Compass sales? Hardly. What they need is better commercials. Something like showing winter driving. How FWD may slip and this will drive out of the situation. Or like last year there was pictures of a compass straddling a drainage ditch and the driver was able to 4x4 it back onto the street. While 2 tires were in mid air when crawling out of the ditch.
Plus they need to put it on a TV series. TV show that will show that it can handle shopping + daily life with kids, to rough ground.
Reply
Michael Karesh 8:02AM (10/10/2006)
I called this one the moment I saw the Compass at the Detroit show.
I don't quite buy the clogged lots excuse, as Dodge lots are just as clogged as Chrysler-Jeep lots. Still, I suppose there might be some truth to it, since C-J lots have both the PT Cruiser and the Liberty, while the next closest product at a Dodge lot was the nearly full-size Durango. (The Nitro is there now, but despite its many faults I don't think it'll have a problem finding buyers, either.)
Even if this is the case, Chrysler created this problem by pressuring dealers to take so many 2006s.
But clogged lots or not, I suspect that if the Patriot were in the same situation it would be doing much better.
Price comparisons for the Compass, and my review:
http://www.truedelta.com/models/Compass.php
Reply
Darien Allen 8:03AM (10/10/2006)
I haven't seen one on the road yet in Southern MD, I didn't even realize they were on sale yet, and usually around here you I see EVERY new vehicle.
Reply
tron 8:04AM (10/10/2006)
Cannibalized sales aren't the culprit. I agree with Brent - it's an ugly car. Especially given the concept car the production version is supposedly based on - http://media.truckblog.com/2002-Jeep-Compass-Concept.jpg - it's a huge disappointment design-wise. The Patriot won't help either, it's equally as unappealing. It just looks like the 80s version of the Cherokee. DC seemed to have turned the corner with design with the 300C, Magnum, and Charger. But now, all of their new designs (with the exception of the Avenger) are awful. I predict that the Compass, Patriot, Nitro, and the Sebring all bomb in the marketplace...
Reply
Ken 8:03AM (10/10/2006)
"Sharp Interior"??? Whaaaat? Go read Car and Driver's review of this POS, they absolutely rip on the interior. I think Rubbermaid supplies DCX with interior components across the board. DCX builds horsepower, not nice interiors.
Reply
Mike Homeniuk 8:26AM (10/10/2006)
The odd kind of AMC Gremlinesque?! exterior certainly doesn't help but it may just come down to image. I mean, which would you rather be seen in, a macho car (Caliber) or a wimpy Jeep (Compass).
Reply
DPC car videos 8:42AM (10/10/2006)
This Jeep does not look good at all, no wonder its a flop.
Reply
Avinash Machado 8:39AM (10/10/2006)
I am glad about this. I was upset that Jeep was diluting its brand identity by launching these on-road focussed vehicles. Jeep in my mind were primarily meant to be off-roaders. Hope Jeep will finally stop producing these sissy CUV's and concentrate on its core business. If Chrysler wants a share of the Cute ute market let them launch soft roaders under the Chrysler or Dodge brands and maintain Jeep as a niche brand namely making rugged off-roaders.
Reply
MK 1:17PM (10/10/2006)
I've seen a metallic light blue one. (Albany, NY) With a College kid driving it. It looks like a Hyundai/Kia SUV. It's not.... Bad looking, but it's not a Jeep.
Reply
rj 9:03AM (10/10/2006)
http://www.arcticboy.com/media/eagle/spirsed1.gif
I drove a caliaber and got to see a compass at a DCX promo event.
The CVT did not behave as I expected under hard acceleration ... lag ..lag ...lag ... then it took off as I was taking my foot off the gas ... very spooky.
Pop the hood on compass and all you see is so much plastic ... even my mom's neon you can at least get at the spark plugs.
I'd rather have an AMC eagle than the compass.
The AMC would do better off road too.
http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/news/column/letterstotheediors/02.dec/83.amc.eagle.500.jpg
Reply
David 9:06AM (10/10/2006)
I've seen plenty of them on the road her in Atlanta. And, they're not rentals!
I think that the sales will pick up elsewhere. I love them mainly because all I've seen driving them are people who obviously don't need SUVs. The Compass gives these drivers the satisfaction of owning a Jeep yet none of the lunacy of a receptionist driving a Grand Cherokee while putting on make-up...if you catch my drift.....
Reply
Don T. 9:49AM (10/10/2006)
DUH! Just look at the thing- its freakin goofy looking. What did Jeep do, hire the moron who was fired from GM for designing the Aztec??
Reply
Dr1v3r 9:41AM (10/10/2006)
The Compass was just a dumb idea. Period.
Reply
christopher 9:54AM (10/10/2006)
Everyone who looks at that thing knows immediately that it's not really a true Jeep... it's just the ugly stepsister of the Caliber. That's why it's not selling... who wants something that awkward-looking in their garage?
The thing is, most Chryslers look pretty dated styling-wise... I think it's time for a general revamp of the entire line.
Reply
Dave 10:23AM (10/10/2006)
I think bobblehead dolls are buying them, but bobblehead dolls have relatively low household income on average. So, while it is nice to see DCX targeting a minority group, picking short people with bouncy heads and no money in their wallets might have been a bad idea.
Reply
greg 10:05AM (10/10/2006)
i have to agree with post #1 the compass is fugly and it it reall isn't a true jeep you cant take it off road it's too low. and the bobble head ad campaign is just as stupid as the car itself.
Reply
Horst 10:09AM (10/10/2006)
Clearly the ugliest new car on the road today, it's no wonder sales are slow. Add to the unfortunate styling the fact that it is not a Jeep in any sense of the marque and you're bound to have a flop. Add to all that the fact that a slightly better looking version of the same exact concept is coming in s few months, i.e. the Patriot, and you have a disaster in the making. If ever there was proof that Chrysler design has tanked under Creed's watch, and marketing by committee has taken over at the top, this is it.
Reply
Tim UF 10:17AM (10/10/2006)
anyone consider that jeep shoppers are in now way similarly aligned with dodge caliber shoppers?
this is a matter of the manufacturer pandering to the dealers (that want one of every segment and subsegment with their hood ornament on it), as opposed to reading the market... which i hope would've told them the compass wasn't the way to go for a fuel efficient jeep branded vehicle.
(and if the market study didn't... the true market has spoken!)
Reply