Chrysler planning 'debut' party to hype its return to American roots
Playing the role of the wild and free divorcee, Chrysler is sending out 3,700 party kits and invitation to its dealers to mark the automaker's return to all-American greatness. The celebration will run in conjunction with a new ad campaign (TV, print, etc.) that touts the brand's rebirth, along with a new logo and some form of rewards that will attract new buyers.
No dates have been set, but expect the balloons to drop sometime between July 25th and Aug 10th, when DCX sells off the automaker to Cerberus Capital Management, and the company is renamed Chrysler Corp.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Paul 9:36AM (7/03/2007)
BEST PHOTOSHOP EVER.
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geo.stewart 9:47AM (7/03/2007)
even better would be the "dogs playing poker" in the new Gr Caravan
Don 3:23PM (7/03/2007)
Well, that was a rather instantaneous return to "greatness".
SSBR 9:49AM (7/03/2007)
Hopefully Cerberus will be more competent then its previous German owners. If I were CEO heres what I would do:
- Get rid of the Crossfire.
- Push production of the Challenger.
- If they want to bring back the old logo, at least redesign it because the old logo does not spark positive memories.
- Redesign the current Sebring, and upscale it to match the Camry.
www.rolesor.com
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bmoredlj 9:53AM (7/03/2007)
Gahh...that ornament would never pass pedestrian safety standards.
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Juan 10:09AM (7/03/2007)
I suppose this means we can't call them the Big 2.5 anymore. But, ze Germans still own 19%, right? Does that make it the big 2.81?
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The Other Bob 10:43AM (7/03/2007)
I see where you are going, but considering we truely don't know who really owns any company's stock, we cannot call any company truely American or any other nationality.
If I own Toyota stock does it make Toyota more American?
Calguy 10:47AM (7/03/2007)
Ok, to me, big celebrations in the midst of horrible sales, not to mention redesigning the logo to harken back to the K-car era seem like two big, dumb wasteful ideas.
Maybe start the party when they redesign the new redesigned Caravan, when they re-design the new redesgined Sebring. Maybe start the party when they redesign the health care plans for their employees.. ug. Just seems indulgent for a company on the verge of life support.
Furthermore, to a lot of people, the only thing that ever would have tempted them into a Chrysler product was the alliance with the giant, esteemed Mercedes-Benz. Partying to celebrate the divorce with your well pedigreed ex seems pretty dorky too.
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AMGoff 11:21AM (7/03/2007)
Those people you referred to, also known as fauxpars, are welcomed to leave the fold at any time. There are still plenty of Mopar fans who look forward to an independent Chrysler. I realize you may not like Chrysler and I respect that, but for a lot of people this is a great time.
As far as the negative connotations to the K-car, again I respect your opinion, but they were fairly reliable, economical, easy to maintain, and just what Chrysler needed at that time. It was the K-car and the mini-van that helped Chrysler pay back their loans well ahead of time and return them to profitability. It was those profits of the 80's that funded their successes of the 90's, which made them attractive to the German stockholders at the time of the merger.
But seriously, I'm not flaming you nor do I wish to start another Chrysler vs. Mercedes debate. Just pointing out there are a lot of old Mopar-heads out there looking forward to all this.
Jim In Tampa 11:24AM (7/03/2007)
I really hope that Chrysler will keep the current logo and forget about the star that just screams K-car! The current logo is from an era when Chrysler was great!
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dakota 2:17PM (7/03/2007)
Chrysler is going to be placing the Pentastar on the right front fender, as it has in the past , and how GM does now with the little "Chicklet". The Pentastar is the CORPORATE logo, the "Winged Emblem" is the Chrysler BRAND logo. They are not redesigning the BRAND logo.
Barney 11:46AM (7/03/2007)
The K car and the Valiant were two vehicles that Chrysler was best known for. Solid, dependable cars. The marriage with Daimler brought back the memories and hope for another solid, dependable car. When no K car or Valiant came from the factory doors, people quit looking. A big bash now, announces nothing. No new cars and no car to be considered as a replacement. If anything, the balloons and ribbons will only be seen by the public as begging by Chrysler to buy their cars. Canada is another big market for Chrysler and Canadians could care less if it is now owned by American investors.
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F451 12:27PM (7/03/2007)
What is "All-American Greatness" these days? Sounds a bit too nationalistic, even unrealistic in today's world. Chrysler has had its moments throughout automotive history, but the "new, born-again Chrysler" will have to do more than throw parties to compete for Americans' hard-earned dollars.
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calebe 12:55PM (7/03/2007)
From what I've read, the K-Car wasn't that bad of a car. It was when they started enlarging it to cover the midsized market that things started to go wrong. Horrible paint, junky transmissions , bad wiring and oil blowing Mitsubishi V6 engines mated to tacky huge vinyl roofs and a boat load of chrome. My child hood memory is of a digital dash and a voice speaking out of the dash. Cool then, not so much now.
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Drewboy 1:34PM (7/03/2007)
My friend's K-car's engine blew up the other day! What a piece of crap car! /sarcasm, as the car was damn near as old as my friend.
Personally, I'm happy that the company is (mostly) American owned again.
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whofan 1:50PM (7/03/2007)
Long live Chrysler! I Want to have a Mopar choice for the rest of my life. Late 70`s Chryslers were junk. Now days there as good as any other make. I`ve only owned big 3 vehicles. Out of those vehicles my 99 Plymouth Voyager has been the best.
I was open to buying a Toyota until I discovered Autoblog a few years back. I not buying from a company that can do no wrong according to the rank and file. Used cars with an over inflated price all based on perception. Any of the big 3 styling tops the other makes.
Welcome home Chrysler!
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Tom 3:50PM (7/03/2007)
You know Cerberus will only be just now taking control of Chrysler. Just because they plan to throw a party doesn't mean they're not doing any work. Think about it, they can't pull an award winning, Camry beating success out of their butts less than a week into their ownership. They can't just shut down all their plants and say "Hey we're going to retool these plants to make way for cars we haven't even designed or engineered yet".
Basically this party is just for show to say welcome back to the states. They won't stop production of "bad" cars until they have "good" cars to replace them with.
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whofan 5:24PM (7/03/2007)
For confidence sake Cerberus needs to tell the public that they are in it for the long haul and a have a passion for building cars. I`d buy a Chrysler product in a heart beat. Some will be hesitent based on the what Cerberus intentions are for Chrysler.
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AMGoff 1:05AM (7/04/2007)
Some will be hesitant just because it's a Mopar, regardless of owner.
Galley 10:06AM (7/04/2007)
Any chance they could get their highly-coveted single-letter stock ticker symbol ("C") back?
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