This was just announced.......Chrysler is planning to cut jobs by at least 13,000. That means 13,000 people will lose there jobs soon.
Now, this is nothing to brag about, and i am not happy about the fact that this might happen. But, it goes back to what i said in a earlier thread. People, no matter what, want quality.....If you make a quality vehicle, and stand by this vehicle, and make sure that the dealerships who represent your company, take care of problems brought to their attention by customers. Then people will continue to purchase your product.......I have never heard, either Honda, or Toyota laying people off... and they have numerous plants here in the United States.....I've read on this forum too many times. People complaining about treatment they received at a dealership, because of problems they encountered with their vehicle.
Why, I ask you, should anyone be given a hard way to go, when they bring their vehicle in to have it repaired? Like I've read so many times before on this forum.
Better yet, why after you pay in excess of $30K, for a vehicle should you have any problems at all? Now, don't get me wrong, i know things do happen. But not like this. I think i've read at least 7 posts with people experiencing problems with their power steering.
Why is this?
My wife refuses to buy any american made vehicles. A pal of mine feels the same way, because of some of these same problems.
I went with her one weekend, when she took her foreign made vehicle to the dealership, and was amazed at not only the service, but the treatment we received. It was almost like, "Hey we really appreciate the fact that you chose to buy our vehicle, and we want you to be happy with it, so when you decide to buy another one, you'll choose us again"...............
Let me tell you, i was truly amazed at the treatment.......
Just recently, someone posted on here that Toyota, was out to take over the pickup market from Dodge. Now, from reading what they've done to the vehicle, they might just do it, if Dodge doesn't watch themselves, and get things in order............................................. .Just a little ranting.....Just sad to hear so many people will be losing their jobs...Any opinions??

 

It was to be expected. Dodge has:
1. Bad fuel mileage on most of their vehicles
2. **** poor customer service at the dealerships and directly
3. slacking off on quality and cutting corners to save a buck.

But then again, which company it not "cutting corners these days? My sister just bought a Nissan Versa and is thoroughly pleased with the car, excluding the "upgraded" sound system which she says sux. She was also pleased with the treatment she received from the salesman as well as the sales manager - he actually let her on his side of the desk and showed her all the interest rates and numbers he was working including the markup in the vehicle and so on. And the after-the-buy treatment she has received from the dealership has been fantastic. When is the last time any post like that was put on here?? When quality and customer service goes to crap, what does one expect except to be pushed to the side for something else and with companies as big as the big 3 and there "children", everyone gets hurt.
Then again, all the companies are in bed together and made with the same parts so what can you do?

 

No pun intended, but i live about 45min away from a toyota plant and they start people out at 18$ here--after 10 weeks they get a 4$ pay raise. I've heard nothing but of people getting fired after their 10 weeks of service and just hiring in noobies to replace, rinsing and repeating over and over again. I guess theyve been doin this for about a year straight now.

 

My uncle works in the Nummi Plant out here in CA (they make Tacomas, Vibes and Corrollas) and they don't spin their employees like that.

 

I guess you didn't see the other thread... https://dodgeforum.com/m_701268/tm.htm

We have known this for a few days now.

 

This thread needs to be seen by the eyes at Chrysler...

 

^This is an interesting thread. American auto makers have seen their market share eroding for almost three decades now and they simply "don't get it".....I THINK GM is starting and they may have deep enough pockets to do it.

The Japanese learned after WW2 and through the 50's that quality was the #1 factor in manufacturing and marketing. They were taught by an Americanbusiness professor namedEd Demming who taught them that quality problems needed to be caught and fixed during the manufacturing process so the final product was the best quality.....American manufacturers would mass produce, market then discover problems and try to go back and fix them. The Japanese are also predator marketers which is why there are no TV's built in the USA despite it being invented here.

Toyota is starting to see kinks in their armor and size is probably the main culprit, the larger you get the easier it is for quality control to get out of hand. Nissan went through a pretty rough patch in the mid 90's and had to do a lot of work to remain competitive. I've had two Nissan pickups with zero problems but my lady friend just bought a new Altima and it's on its THIRD motor since leaving the factory, they had to give her an extended 100,000 warranty, the car has 4,000 miles.

Honda is the company that has a stranglehold on engineering and quality. It's not just their cars either, their ATV's, dirtbikes, small engines, boat motors etc.....all top quality. They just don't build a real truck, they don't have the platform for it, in order for Honda to build a true full sized truck they would have to re-tool an entire factory or build a new one. Like most manufacturers many different vehicles share "platforms", similar vehicles built on the same assembly line. Obviously you can't build a Ram on an Accord platform, and that is what most of their vehicles are based off of.

I think GM has had something going with their Saturn division and they are finally putting more resources into that brand. No haggle pricing, pretty good quality cars, I know I've owned 4 of them and have had next to no problems, my mom is on her third with no problems. They are just a little "generic" and overall fit and finish is average at best. Dealerships treat you well, like I said, no haggle pricing so you simply pay what the sticker says, no other BS or outrageous markups like on some brands. They are coming out with some exciting new products, this might be the brand that helps keep GM competitive with the Japanese.

Ford is done, it's only a matter of time. They are so screwed up they retired the Taurus a few months ago only to bring it back as the 500. This IMO is an act of desperation. Ford would be better off merging with Dalmer/Chrysler....they had to mortage all their assets to borrow the money to keep them afloat. They not only don't have deep pockets like GM they literally have NO pockets. Ford had a good run but IMO were always on the generic side and relied on generations of repeat customers.

Chrysler? Interesting to see what happens with them. It was very smart of them to merge with Dalmer, they would not have been able to survive in this marketplace without that infusion. Dalmer could still try to spin off Chrysler, I doubt they would try to acquire Ford and IMO Ford would rather go down with the ship rather then get bought out. They would be a huge target for a takeover with such a heavy debt burden.

It's gonna be interesting to see how this all plays out. I still see GM probably surving and doing OK.

 

It's always a good thing, to have a forum such as this. I only wish, the Chrysler board members could read it. Who knows, maybe someone might email it to them.

 

I'd like to disagree, so I will. I've had a Dodge product (at least one) in my driveway since the late '70s, all from the same dealer. That had more to do with the dealership service and ability to communicate with the customer than the vehicle back then. My last truck had very few issues andI kept it 9 years. I'm not the least bit brand loyal either. I've had at least 8 other brands out in the driveway at the same time with the Dodges. I buy based on quality, suitability for my needs and deal. Guess what? I bought another Dodge truck 2 months ago. If you have a bad dealership, it is on them, not Dodge. There are a lot of great dealerships (that goes for most makes).

In a 131K miles I had to replace water pump, fuel pump, pinion gear bearing, and routine maintenance items. That's quality that I can live with. I still have all the original front end componets (ball joints etc..) and U joints. Trans has not missed a beat.