I agree, the compass is like hummer building a 2 door coupe, just dont make since

 

Whatdoesnt make sense that you people dont think it makes sense. Evidently some people like the idea; because the Compass is selling. No its not breaking records, but if it wasn't selling; it would've been on the current list of cuts.

 

Now they are saying the Crossfire will go as well. And the PT Cruiser will still be around, but the ragtop version is out...........

Dusty

 

The Compass is ugly. It surprises me that it's selling. Maybe those are fleet sales.

Glad to see they're keeping the PT Cruiser wagon. They're still pretty popular. My dad loves his.

 

Axing the Magnum is pure stupidity. If anything, the Charger should go since there's already a sedan (300) based on the platform. Besides, just from casual observation I see a LOT more magnums than chargers on the road. But more 300s than both combined. Once the challenger is available sales of the charger are gonna plummet since thats what the REAL muscle car freaks wanted all along. Sticking a wing on the charger and painting it in bright colors with matte black trim isnt gonna steal any Mustang buyers I dont care how fast it is.

As to the Compass, theoretically its a good idea. Screw the sedan idea, but if they had a rally-oriented, turbocharged, awd version with the SRT-4 engine and the rims and body kit of the concept version it might fly. Especially if Jeep sponsored some in rally racing which IS legitimate offroading. Yeah, Im a Wrangler-loving purist in the worst way, but Im all for a little diversity. Which is why it makes me smile every time I see a grand cherokee SRT-8 knowing that there's a bulky SUV out there capable of eating a Mustang's lunch and it wears the Jeep badge. I like the idea of Jeep having a few odd rides that can conquer the street as well as the mountains. That would make Jeep the token'badass' division of ChryCo.

 

Good, bye bye.

 

That sounds like a circular argument. The reason why we are against it is not only because itdamages the image of Jeep by the fact that it fails tofulfill the imageheld by Jeep as a true off roading model which this simply is incapable of offering, but because it isn't as popular asyou seem to think it is. I just got donereading an article in Forbes that stated the Compasshas only sold 33K units for thisyears model. In contrast the Commander sold 52K during the same period. Whatthisproves is it isn't a great seller especiallywhen you consider how much cheaper a Compass is to a Commander and gets better fuel mileage. Although you seem to like it, the problem is not enough people like itto justify makingit and damaging Jeeps image. The reason why it hasn't been cut yet is they just made it. I guarantee it to you that if things don't change it will be on the list before long.

These wagon/hatchbacks simply do not sellas well as some of the models they replace. The Caliber is considered to be a success story, yet itonly has sold 85K units so far. TheNeon in its first years sold over 200K combined between the Dodge and Plymouth badge.The last year still sold moremodels as a total 113K units. This shows that these hatchbacks are notas good sellers as some think.Chrysler needs to get back to making mainstream models again.

So its "pure stupidity" to axe a model that was selling only 25K units and its intelligent to get rid of a sedan that sells over 90K units a year? I began to differ. Although there is considerable overlap between the 300 and Charger as the only real difference is the exterior appearance, it simply will not work to only have one in this segment. The reason why is the Charger is able to pick up customers that the 300 is unable to get whether its due to the higher price of the 300, the preference of the Charger's style over the 300, the preference ofa Dodge over a Chrysler, or many other possibilities.

The proof of how valuable it is to have more than one offering under different badges was proven by the Neon. When both Dodge and Plymouth offered the exact same car that looked identical on both the exterior and interior, it sold over 200K, when the Plymouth was dropped they were never able to put up the slack from the sales of the Plymouths despite the fact that they were both identical. What do you think that dropping a successful model that does have distinguishing characteristics would do?

I'm sure that the Challenger will take some sales away from the Charger; however, I doubt it will completely cannabalize it. The Challenger is not going to be that heavily produced as the 300 and Charger. The other fact is that coupes generally don't sell as well as sedans do these days. The sales between the 300 and Charger are in truth just a few thousand difference. The Charger has justified its existance whereas the Magnum failed to do so.

Your suggestion about making the Compass a rally car competitor is certainly an innovative idea; however, I'm not sure if trying to compete against Subaru is the best idea for Jeep's image. The problem is Dodge is supposed to be the "badass" division. I like the SRT-8 GC but the difference is that the none performance versions have the potential to live up to the Jeep image whereas the Compass simply cannot do it.

SHAPman, that is why Chrysler is having trouble. This Dakota has failed to gain the interest that the last Dakota managed to gain. They went ahead and offered the exact same powertrain top of the line powertrain in both Ram and Dakota in the previous generation models and it made the Dakota interesting. Even with the updated 4.7L and better transmission over the last generation Dakota R/T, it is still much slower. To stand out, they need to offer something to match what they did before hand.

 

besides it has taken Dodge since the late 1980's to get back into the state and local goverment fleets with anything besides trucks and as long as the Charger is able to continue to win over law enforcement agencies as a viable replacement to the Crown Vic, Chrysler shouldnt go a mess it up. Chances are that they arent going to either, so get used to seeing the Charger chasing your speeding *** down for at least the next few years to come.

 

I've been wondering about their choice of replacing the Neon with the Caliber for awhile now. If anything I would think they should have released the Caliber in addition to the Neon rather than killing a very good seller that with the SRT model was gaining widespread credibility in the tuner market. Of course they're not the only ones, the new Civic is ugly, the RSX is dead, Toyota doesn't have much to speak of there (although I've seen some nice looking TC's). The new Focus is awful. I'm sure it's helped Chevy's Cobalt SS sales though I know there's the Caliber SRT but I would never consider it over paying less for a used sport compact that looks a lot better, a lot of the guys I know who are/were into sport compacts feel the same way. (I guess I would be in the were category now that I have my Dak )

Although I love my Dak I couldn't agree with you more here. Mine goes alright but honestly for a 4.7L V8 I expected better (a bit of time and money can fix that but it would have been nice from the get go). I've had a chance to drive my friend's new Silverado with the 5.3L, auto-locking differential and stock BFG TA/KO tires. Not only does it make mine feel painfully slow, it can light up both tires with more ease than mine can light one (with the crappy tires no less) and he gets about 4mpg better than I do on average in a full size truck. (Not to mention his handles a lot better, looked underneath and he's got the same type of suspension setup we do on the 3rd gen Dakotas. For some reason Chevy was able to get it right, for us Dak guys it's a nightmare the second Bilstein releases shocks I'll be ordering) Considering that his barely cost any more than my grandfather originally paid for mine before he sold it to me and he has a better options package I think it's obvious Dodge needs to do something about this. (The new 4.7L is a start, the insane asking price for the 08's is not)

Dodge is capable of making great vehicles and they do make pretty good ones but some of the design decisions need to be thought through better. Interior quality should be addressed since Chrysler vehicles consistently lose points for that in many reviews. In this day and age not having 4-wheel ABS standard is just plain stupid (thanks for only giving me rear ABS on an 05 here Dodge, not like the front does the majority of the braking and steering... oh wait.) Things like this need to be looked at in addition to any cuts/etc they feel are necessary. Take the time to sit down and look at each vehicle in the lineup they want to keep. What do our customers like about this vehicle? What do they hate? What would most of them like to see? What are our competitors offering that we aren't? These are all very important questions, especially in this day and age with how easy it is to compare features and options for all the vehicles you're interested in right from your computer at home.

If I come off as being very hard on Chrysler here that's not my intention. I love Chrysler and more specifically Jeep and Dodge. I was raised in a Dodge family, the Dakota is the first Dodge I've personally owned but I always wanted a Dodge truck, just never found one I could afford when I was looking to change vehicles till this one. This is why it irks me when I know they could have done better, hopefully now that Mercedes is gone this can happen.

 

Sorry to see the Magnum go. A hearse with a HEMI is a wonderful concept. I see them pretty regularly on the road here in Vegas.

All PT Cruisers are fat, ugly, mutant VW bugs that should be run over with a monster Ram Big Horn Edition with an Orkin logo on it. But if the sales revenue is there, who am I to argue? I do know that I will never own a PT Cruiser and would have a fit if one was brought into my household. Maybe a bigger fit than when my exwife bought a Ford Explorer when I told her not to. I know I used the F word here and I expect the dodgeforum police to come bashing down my door any minute now and send me away for reprogramming.

The Pacifica is a good idea for a luxury crossover hatchback sedan (i.e. big brother luxury edition of the Caliber with greater cargo space and a bigger engine). I'm sorry to see that go.

What should get axed is the Jeep Compass. It's the same exact vehicle as the Caliber, only a different body style and the Jeep logo. The Jeep version of the economical hatchback sedan is ugly IMO. The Compass also has a higher MSRP than the Caliber. Dodge does well having cars, SUVs and trucks. Jeep needs to stick to jeeps and SUVs only. I see Calibers all the time. I've only seen maybe two Compasses in the past year or so and that was driving interstate from Vegas to Missoula MT and back in a rental Caliber.

Jeep should focus onbeing the Chrysler's answer to the Hummer. Both Jeep and the Hummeroriginated in the military as service vehicles that have crossed over into the civilian market. It should remain this way.