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Under the Pentastar: Oct. 10, 2008

by Mike Ellis

October 10, 2008 8:29 AM

Many Chrysler employees got their first look at the three electric-drive vehicle prototypes unveiled last month. A team of designers and engineers worked in secret for more than one-and-a-half years on the prototypes until they were shown to a surprised press corp last month, and now also to Chrysler employees. That's just one of the stories in this week's Under the Pentastar round-up of news events.

Tags: The Suits , Jeep brand , Chrysler , Dodge , Going Green , GEM , Under the Pentastar , ENVI , Fuel Economy

Comments [7]

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7 Comments

itsalleuphoricfromhere Oct 10, 2008, 2:21 PM

I really really want to buy an American car...but I'm a married woman in my 40s with kids...and it's just so rare that Chrysler designs cars that are both practical and ATTRACTIVE. I like sex appeal in my car. I don't like big bulky useless machines. I am not a "Joe 6-Pack" - just a woman with style. Please, hire some decent designers, make your cars fuel-efficient, and consider targeting women like me with kids and cash. For a while there, it did look like you were considering designs that actually looked good, and now it looks like your back to clunky cars. Ugh. If this is not doable, I'll just buy foreign.

Carl V. Forte Oct 10, 2008, 4:33 PM

Dear Sirs: As a Chrysler advocate for many years, reaching back to the good years (sixties), when you had the best riding cars being produced, I would like to see the company adopt a plan that when you finally produce a product that is superior than any before it, you stick to it. Currently, I drive a 2000 Sport minivan. It drives like the day I bought it, and I would have bought a new one years ago, but quality wise the dodge vans have gone down, and not have come up since. And, you stopped producing the one I have, (the suspension was superior to any van you have produced since. Also, the transmission was superior to any you have produced since. At 63 miles per hour, I still get 23-24 miles per gallon with synthetic oil. And the suspension is original and the car handles like knew. Sincerely, Carl V. Forte

ChryslerMechanic Oct 13, 2008, 9:36 AM

This new proposal to merge Chrysler and GM is terrible news. Of all the no good, rotten ideas this takes the cake(expept perhaps for the diamler merger). Two companies loosing unimaginable amounts of money merging? This will solve none of either GM's or Chrysler's many problems. America is waking up to a new age of hard to get credit and sales of all automobiles have plummeted Chrysler being the hardest hit. This recession, probably will last through next year, at least, and at its end we may very well see one or two or even all the big three in bankruptcy. The big three could not compete in decent times, and now this is the end, I hope I'm wrong I love Chrysler and want to see it prevail in the face of insurmountable odds like it has so many times in the past.

The Grump Oct 17, 2008, 8:20 AM

Please, oh Please, put the EV Minivan into production first ! Imagine - 50 MPG without being elbowed by the person in the front passenger seat. Interior room enough for comfort, and plenty of storage space in the back. The loss of Stow-and-go seats are a small price to pay for 40 quiet, gas-free miles. With current advances in battery anode technology, the 40 mile electric range could double by 2010. And please, don't make the same mistakes that GM did with the Volt. Don't turn your minivan controls into an Ipod clone - I like my conventional push buttons and rotary knobs. Don't cut headroom or width in your minivan just to get better wind tunnel results. Don't turn your big, comfy minivan into a tiny, uncomfortable Volt. Go Chrysler !

paesan Oct 27, 2008, 5:33 PM

Will the Jeep ENVI top still be removable? If so I'll take two please!

Henry J. Oct 31, 2008, 8:21 AM

Chrysler, you are too good to go into a merger. I have a business plan for you. Now all those die-hard Mopar fans out there may dissagree with me, but sometimes drastic measures are required to survive. Today's market has lost their respect for the Chrysler/Dodge nameplates. The best way to cut costs is to drop Chryler and Dodge and unite under one brand name. Jeep can stay. Drop Chrysler and Dodge for a new name that sounds fresh, exciting, and advanced. Then, take the current models and merge them into one lineup of cars. Each modle should cover a wide market from base models to high luxury. Find a niche market, and make all your cars have higher end plastics. Facelift the cars to show a family resemblance. If you unite under a new nameplate, you will have a chance for a fresh start. Get a new subcompact that is smaller than the Calibur. Don't merge with GM! You will be swallowed up and forgotton in the ash heap of history. Dick Dautch and Lee Iaccoca would be ashamed that all the work they did in the 1980s would go to waste. As for Jeep, it will live forever, Americans will never let Jeep die. Call me crazy, but unite the two old nameplates under one, and things may take a turn for the better. In case you forget, Hudson and Nash did it, and it kept them alive for 30 some years. I bet you guys could do even better. Don't let the "big three" become the "big two."

rowdymopar Nov 7, 2008, 8:34 AM

CERBERUS why did you invest in Chrysler just to DUMP her a year later ???? WAS that your intent all along , This is the second time Corporate greed has desroyed Chrysler . A merger ( BUYOUT ) of Chrysler to GM will be the end of Chrysler TOTALLY and not to mention the 200,000 + jobs lost across the industry . All in Order to Save GM ??? why . But I disagree with the previous post abolishing the Chrysler / Dodge names is the worst mistake . everheard of the Chrysler Building, ect. That name is just as proud & American as Jeep. In Iacocca's New book he points out the first mistake the Germans made was to get rid of the PLYMOUTH name that created an image of weakness in the Company , and it rippled throughout the whole US industry . The Daimler Merger is what put the whole Industry In the situation were in Now . Presumption of Weakness has let Toyota shoot to the #1 position . Chrysler needs to stand on it's own Again not under some greedy Corporations agenda & bottom line like a pawn on a chess board. Kerkorian wanteed to privetize Chrysler so that it's employees own the Controling share of Stock simular to Harley Davidson . That would be the best alternative. Everyone Call your US Congressman & Senators tell them NO BAIL OUT IF CHRYSLER IS SOLD OUT !!!