Autoblog

Buzz Hargrove isn't mincing words about his opinion of Chrysler LLC's strategy. Calling the decision to send the Magnum and Pacifica models out to pasture and cut shifts and jobs at the Brampton, Ontario plant "stupid," Hargrove has said the Canadian Auto Workers aren't interested in the type of concessions the UAW recently agreed to. While the UAW is allowing new hires to be given a lower pay level, as well as taking on a health care trust fund, the CAW will be having none of that, according to Hargrove.

Cuts were expected, but Chrysler's recent scaling back is more than necessary, according to Hargrove, who counters that what the company's really trying to do is reduce supply in order to drive up demand and keep prices higher. It sounds like a good way to make the automaker profitable, thinning the lineup and trimming overproduction. The problem, according to The Buzz, is that Chrysler's plan is anathema to the long union tradition of providing jobs that pay well enough to allow a solid middle class life for autoworkers. With the pay cuts, Hargrove says that autoworkers will no longer be able to afford to buy the cars they build. The recent fall of the dollar isn't helping matters, and will likely give Chrysler another point to argue when asking for concessions. The Canadian Auto Workers will begin duking it out with Detroit in July, so expect the rhetoric to become even more heated in the months to come.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

It looks like Chrysler is going to give car shoppers a holiday gift as incentive to signing on the dotted line. After a rough year that saw the automaker break away from its Daimler overlords, Chrysler wants to end 2007 on a high note. To that end it will be offering rebates on virtually every vehicle in the lineup during December. Though there's no word on specific amounts, according to The Wall Street Journal the campaign will begin with a series of ads on Nov. 20 and cover Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler vehicles. The biggest discounts will likely be offered on the four models about to be discontinued: the Chrysler Pacifica, PT Cruiser convertible, Crossfire, and the Dodge Magnum. If any of those has been on your short list, it looks like a great time to get one.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.]

Chrysler has killed the PT Convertible, Pacifica, Crossfire, and Dodge Magnum

If you were wondering how quickly Chrysler would be able to move as a privately-held entity in its efforts to turn the business around, wonder no more. It can move quickly. Today, the automaker officially announced a number of cuts to both its workforce and product lineup into 2008 that are intended to help get Chrysler back in the black.

Here's the rundown:

• Elimination of shifts at Belvidere, IL; Jefferson North (Detroit, MI) ; Toledo, OH; Brampton, Ontario; and Mack Avenue II (Detroit). The Detroit News reports these actions effectively eliminates approx. 4,000 hourly positions. Chrysler states that the new shift reductions, when combined with "other volume-related actions," will result in the elimination of a total 8,000 to 10,000 hourly positions.
  
• 1,000 salaried positions will be eliminated
• 37% of contractor positions will be eliminated (The Detroit News attaches a number of 1,100 to this)
  
• Four models will be dropped from the lineup: Chrysler PT Cruiser Convertible (the regular PT lives on) , Dodge Magnum, Chrysler Pacifica, and Chrysler Crossfire

All the above changes come in addition to already-announced job actions, and Chrysler also made a point to state that the four outgoing cars will be replaced in the lineup during the same timeframe by the Dodge Challenger, Dodge Journey, and Aspen/Durango Hybrids. We'll be honest: we'd pretty much forgotten about the Crossfire, which makes it the least surprising of all the product euthanizations.

Some of the wish-list vehicles that readers hoped would also see the axe, such as the Jeep Compass and Jeep Commander, live on. Chrysler's press release and a confirmed copy of the email sent to employees this morning by CEO Bob Nardelli are included after the jump. You can also click the "Read" link below to check out the Detroit News coverage.

[Sources: The Detroit News, Chrysler]

According to The Detroit News, Chrysler's product-cutting plan is all but official. The first three models on the chopping block, according to the newspaper's unnamed sources, are the Magnum, Pacifica and the PT Cruiser. The next round could include the Jeep Commander if it doesn't get its act together.

Sales on the first three models were down as much as 32% through September, and the company's new boss, Bob Nardelli, isn't in a playing-around mood. Company insiders have told the Det News that Nardelli is taking very close looks at the current lineup and isn't exactly thrilled. Supposedly, Dodge's Dakota and Avenger and Chrysler's Sebring are also feeling the Nardelli heat. The newspaper quotes Nardelli as saying, "I'm not a designer, but I'm a consumer," he said. "Rather than deny some of the (negative) reports that are out there you kind of embrace them and say, what do we want to do to take our vehicle from where it is to where consumers want it to be?"

So how many of you reading that actually said out loud, "It's about damned time!" Nardelli sounds like a guy who doesn't mess around, who seems to know his company's products aren't up to snuff, and who's willing to do just about anything to fix them. Sebring and Avenger aren't exactly blockbuster designs, and if Chrysler must amputate them to stay alive, we say go for it.

We hate to see wagons disappear from the domestics' lineup again, but overall, this is a good sign and we can't wait to see what Nardelli does with future offerings.

By the way, Mr. Nardelli. Can we nominate the Aspen and Compass for some critical evaluation, too? Thanks.

[Source: The Detroit News]

Thanks, Mike, for the tip!