Autoblog

The Dodge Avenger wasn't exactly selling like hotcakes here in the US, even before the auto market took a nosedive. We can't imagine the Avenger ever sold well overseas as an export to the UK, and the under-developed Dodge's newest incentive supports our assertion. Car-buyers in the Kingdom can pick up a nicely equipped Avenger SXT 2.4 saloon at the MSRP of £18,255. As a reward for taking the Avenger off the dealer's hands, they'll get a second Avenger free of charge. Broadspeed.com is offering the buy one, get one sale with the aim of easing the massive amounts of stock dealers are carrying right now. The problem isn't exclusive to the Avenger, though, as many dealers are sitting on six month inventories due to slow sales on the island. Given the massive problems selling cars in the UK, the deals on the Avenger still stand out as incredible. Maybe Dodge dealers here in the US will take note, though we're sure there are plenty of people that think the only thing worse than owning an Avenger would be having two. Thanks for the tip, everyone!


[Source: AutoCar]

All recent indications point to Chrysler LLC's days as a going concern being numbered. Nonetheless, the engineers and marketers who remain on staff are still tweaking the Pentastar's product line in hopes of picking up enough precious sales to keep the lights on a little while longer. To that end, the Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring and 300 are being tweaked to give potential buyers more equipment at a lower price point with a little more mileage. In fact, all three are being simplified with fewer models and more standard equipment. The Sebring is being reduced to just a single model, the Limited, with a $23,380 price point. The Avenger lineup has also been trimmed to just three models: the R/T with a 3.5L V6, the R/T with a 2.4L four-cylinder and the entry-level SXT that now starts at $21,255. Finally, while the starting price of the Chrysler 300 remains the same at $27,415, the new entry level model is the previous, higher content Touring Edition. Chrysler is surely hoping these new base models with lower entry points and more content help bring in a stray buyer or two who don't care that the company may not be around when the next model year rolls around. The Pentastar also announced that more than 75 percent of its models are getting mileage improvements for 2009, mostly in the 1-2 mpg. Hey, every little bit helps, we suppose. Follow the jump for every little detail in Chrysler's official press release.


[Source: Chrysler LLC]

Chrysler's Project D is in full swing, and the automaker has targeted an end-of-winter date for its decision on how to proceed. As a refresher, Chrysler has set up a team consisting of people from every facet of vehicle design and marketing with the goal of coming up with a suitable replacement for the Pentastar's mid-sized Sebring and Dodge Avenger, which we'll charitably describe as non-competitive. Possibilities for their replacements include creating a completely new vehicle architecture in-house or partnering up with another automaker that already has a well-designed sedan that Chrysler could use as a base for its next mid-sizer. Chrysler's not saying, but we've heard that discussions have taken place with Nissan/Renault, Fiat and, lest we forget, possibly even General Motors. According to the most recent reports, the automaker would actually prefer to partner-up on the project. In the mean time, we'd hope that Chrysler can perform a bit of mid-cycle magic on its Sebring and Avenger to make them just a wee bit more palatable.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Lending further credence to earlier rumors of platform sharing between Chrysler and Nissan, The Wall Street Journal reports that Chrysler is in talks to base its next mid-size sedan on the next-gen Altima platform. Chrysler's "Project D" focuses on finding or designing a suitable replacement for the current Sebring and Dodge Avenger, models which have fallen on their faces with consumers. Other rumors point to Fiat being the chosen platform-supplier. After all is said and done, Chrysler could have a line-up which consists of a small car from Chinese automaker Chery, another small car from Nissan, a mid-size sedan from Nissan and a line of full-size sedans, pickups and SUVs of its own design. While Chrysler's main goal is to become profitable once again, there is certainly some danger in becoming a re-brander of cars from other companies, especially in the hotly-contested mid-size sedan market.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Gas prices are up, which has led to increased interest in midsizers, more specifically, the midsize offerings from Chrysler's competition. The Sebring has taken a 30 percent sales whack this year, mostly due to reduced fleet sales. The Avenger's year has been a little brighter, posting a two-percent gain. Contrast that with everyone else; Malibu, Fusion, and Accord are up ten percent or more this year; and therein lies Chrysler's problem. Ditching Chrysler's outmoded V6 for the four-cylinder powertrain will deliver more competitive fuel economy, if you can stand the NVH increase.

Top heavy with trucks and taking fire over the Avenger and Sebring's interior quality and efficiency, Chrysler's seriously looking at re-jiggering the sedan twins, killing the top R/T and Limited trim levels and sliding some of the good stuff down to the SXT and Touring trim levels. The 3.5-liter V6 will be left out as standard equipment, though, as it doesn't post great fuel economy. The goodies that normally accompany the six, like heated leather power seats, dual exhausts, and 18 inch wheels, will end up as standard gear on the Sebring Touring and Avenger SXT. The prices of those models get bumped - 9.9 percent for the Dodge, now starting at $21,750, and 3.4 percent for the Sebring, offered for $21,670. What's up with the Avenger costing more than the Sebring? We don't know. The Journey is also being considered for this initiative, rumored to be called the "Fight Back" plan, and suppliers had until yesterday to give Chrysler a yes or no on feasibility.

[Source: Detroit News]

Amidst all the wheeling and dealing going on at Chrysler LLC., the automaker still has a lineup of current cars that needs attending to. The Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Avenger duo have been underperforming in the marketplace since they were introduced in 2006, and in an interview with The Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's executive vice pres Frank Klegon reveals exactly what's going to happen to this company's midsize sedans in the future. Chrysler is readying a mid-cycle fix for the Sebring/Avenger that will include improvements that Klegon calls "cosmetic" and some "more functional things". Hopefully the quality of the interior materials is addressed, as well as the engine lineup of these vehicles featuring a four- and six-cylinder that don't match up well with the competition in terms of power or fuel economy.

But Chrysler is also looking beyond the five-year life cycle of the current cars to what comes next. It has formed a special task force dubbed Project D, which has begun work on the next Chrysler D segment platform that will likely spawn sedans, hatchbacks and CUVs and be sold the world over. We have no details yet on the car, which should first arrive around 2011/12 in the form of replacement for the Sebring and Avenger. And as far as we know, Chrysler is not testing on chimpanzees.

[Source: The Detroit Free Press]

Twenty-four year Chrysler employee Mike Donoughe has left the company after two months in his new post. Named to head Project D in January of this year, the program is creating new mid-sized cars that would replace the Sebring and Avenger and have actually have a chance against the Camcordimabu.

Chrysler says that there was no conflict, but other outlets have reported that Donoughe clashed with CEO Bob Nardelli and so-called Acting Chief Innovation Officer Peter Arnell. Arnell is an outside marketing consultant who also worked with Nardelli at Home Depot, and apparently came up with the Celine Dion/Pacifica campaign (does anyone remember that?). Project D is tasked with developing Chrysler's next-gen midsize cars and also investigating ways for the automaker to be more competitive. (Not allowing demonstrably inferior product like the current Sebring and Avenger to ever see the light of day would be a great starting point.)

We know Chrysler has the talent to get this right, it's only a matter of how much upheaval it will take to do so. And since the new Sebring and Avenger aren't due until 2010 or 2011, whatever Chrysler comes up with better be awfully good, since most people's experience with them will be via the rental fleet gulag. Mark Chernoby has replaced Donoughe as vice president and chief engineer for Chrysler's future mid-size product team.

[Source: Wall Street Journal via Autoweek]

click for more images of the 2008 Chrysler Sebring Limited Convertible

On paper, the Sebring seems to have what it takes, including three engine choices, an optional six-speed automatic, a sedan and convertible, and nifty cup holders that keep your drink hot or cold. We gave a top of the line Limited Sebring Convertible one week in the Autoblog Garage win us over, but things didn't go as planned. Read about what happened after the jump.

All photos Copyright ©2007 Chris Shunk / Weblogs, Inc.

The new Chrysler Sebring has rightfully become the de facto whipping boy for all things wrong with design by committee. But unlike the former stalwart for unbridled criticism, the Pontiac Aztek, one of the main gripes has been the deplorable interior Chrysler saw fit to torture its customers with. According to a supplier sourced by Automotive News, a crack team of designers – dubbed "Project D" -- has been assembled to address the ills inside Chrysler's mid-sized sedan.

The team is comprised of senior managers and directors who are returning as contract employees after walking out the door during the recent round of buyouts. We wish them the best of luck and hope, despite Chrysler's current cash crunch, that they can finally offer consumers some of the up-market materials found on the Sebring's closest competitors.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

According to the USAToday, the new Avenger has had its share of engineering issues, something that the publication allowed Chrysler to respond to in depth within its review. As if being publicly humiliated by one of the largest papers in the land wasn't enough, yesterday's duo of recalls is being followed by yet another safety issue plaguing both the Dodge Avenger and the Chrysler Sebring.

A fan motor on 102,042 Avengers and Sebrings can apparently catch fire when coming into contact with engine coolant. The recall affects both 2007 and 2008 models, and owners should expect to receive notification next month to replace either the wiring or the motor itself.

[Sources: USA Today, The Truth About Cars, Detroit News]