I am not sure where to post this, but shis seems as good a place as any as I own a roadster.

My wife owns a PT Cruiser, and she got a bit upset at the recent news that Chrysler was going to stop production of the cruiser, so she went on Chrysler's website and sent Customer service a note. Here is the link that she used to do so:

http://www-5.chrysler.com/wccsapp/un...ull&category=U

Here is the note that she sent:

Here is what she got back from them:

This may just be a "canned" response, but I believe that there is hope, and everyone on this forum (I will post this on the Cruiser forum as well) should follow the link at the top of this post and send a note to them to the same effect as what my wife did. An e-mail campaign like this can move mountains if we take part.

 

found this on Allpar, dated January 15th:

and from January of last year

here's the link to that article http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do...ticleId=124169

have fun sending those emails.

 

Those are both news sources, and not from the horses mouth as they say. But her wording i9n the letter to my wife gives me a glimmer of hope, and if they get an e-mail from each of us on this board, that would be impressive enough right there.

 

i guess the fact that Chrysler presidents and managers are quoted in those articles means nothing.

and the Crossfires and Pacificas listed on Chrysler's website are both '08's, while every other model is listed as 2009. another hint...

 

Hey, i read you letter to Chrtysler. Let me give you the inside scoop as a memeber of The Chrysler Advisory panel: I've spoken to jim presspresident of Chrysler last month about the same issues of the PT and the Crossifre.

Accroding to Jim Press, Chrysler was losing thousnads of dollars on every Crossfire sold. Daimler was charging Chrysler outrageous prices for old outdated parts that the Crossfire uses. The lack of sales, as well as the money lost on EVERY CROSSFIRE sold lead to Chrysler stopping production. And i can't say I blame them. I have 2 Crossfires and I love that car, but i love Chrysler more, and want them to be around in the future.

As for the PT Cruiser, every person on the advisory board has been asking Chrysler either to keep the current version, or make an updated version. There may be a new version arriving in the future, Jim Press said "he couldn't discuss any deatails about thr PT Cruiser" so take that as you want. Also the current sales numbers have fallen greatly, so who knows what they're going to do with the current version. You can basically blame Daimler for not allowing Chrysler to make the newer version. Supposedly there was a new version being worked on and was in the 11th hour, (just like the Neon) and Daimler cancelled them, to save money.

So you really can't blame Chrysler. They did a good job in creating those great vehicles, but they dont have the money right now to redo them.

I'll still support Chrysler, but i'll NEVER support Daimler....not in a million years!

 

There's two problems with this discussion.

1. Continued production of the Crossfire means lower residual values.

I don't want Chrysler to make more Crossfires. I want them to stop. Chrysler has essentially produced a 10 year supply of Crossfires and has tried to sell them in 5 years time.

2. Continued production of the Crossfire won't save Chrysler.

It won't. Honda wouldn't be able to stay afloat just selling S2000's. Nissan couldn't stay afloat just selling 350Z's.

Chrysler made some very bad decisions, and some of things people are suggesting Chrysler do are just requests to continue doing the same thing that got them into near bankruptcy anyways.

 

Chrysler has produced some of the most unique vehicles of any automaker. This is why I own 2 crossfires. The problems as I see are ALL automakers try to produce too many models. They use cars (low volume sellers) as justification to continue producing more models to try and increase sales. Factories are stretched, UAW etc. Once a UAW worker is hired you are stuck with them. So I guess my point is if the automakers pick a direction for their company and maintain that direction, provide just enough vehicles to be profitable I think everyone would benefit from that. VW did it with the beetle, just refinements not new every few years. Sorry for the rant but I couldn't help it. Chrysler was a glinter of hope for me to produce more unique vehicles, but I guess no more.

 

Well there is always hope, but it all comes down to $$$. The fact that we love the xfire and are enthisasts makes the challenge harder. We love em because not everyone has them (like the g35/37) or others and also because they have distinctive lines and are simply neat cars. In my opinion we have distinctive tastes and not the norm and the norm provides the volume and the $$$. Granted this is not maserati or bugatti veyron that provide high $$$ with each sale and with lessened demand creating the drop in prices, this was an executive decision that no customer advocate will be able to change. It is sad to see the cars go but, it won't change our commitment to these babies!

They will be classics one day! (Im keeping hope alive)

 

No matter how much you hate Daimler, the merger of C and D did create the crossfire now didnt it? You cant be a full hater

 

It has always a problem between Chrysler and Daimler Benz that the parts spec's sourced by Chrysler where less expensive but didnt come close to the tight spec's reuired by Daimler. The tempearture range in which the starter has to operate comes to mind. The same was true for the complete motors. A Daimler Benz motor is far more comples then a Chrysler product.
At the end of the day - DB lost their shirts with the aquisition of C and in hindsight should have never done it. The two brands where worlds apart in way of thinking. etc.

HjM

PS sorry - but I dont want to step on any bodys toes. Have you driven a Chrysler car lately? The Sebring is so d... sloppy put together and cheap looking no wonder other companies like GM pass them

 

While I agree with the spirit of the letter writing I have to say Mr.F is right. It would take more than even this entire forum to write a letter to even get them to bat an eye. Chrysler right now is a mess. I think Nardelli & Co. only care about who they can sell Chrysler to and make a profit on their investment. They could care less about Crossfire's and Pt. Cruisers. None of these companies seems to have a decent direction. My guess is Chrysler will fold. The only thing that would save Chrysler right now is if the vehicles on their lots all sold over the next 60-90 days...then they might see some light but from where I sit things don't look good. All I can say is thank godness our cars are mostly Mercedes.

 

Anyone with any thoughts of Chrysler bringing back the Crossfire needs to stop it right now. No way will that ever happen.

 

Can not agree more !

 

Statements like this one make my hair curl. Playing on patriotism, etc. without considering how much ggod DB has done for Chrysler. Some succesful models where based on designs and parts from DB.
I dont like the direction this discussion takes. I am sorry but it is to low for my taste.
The Crossfire is a nice car - but not a miracle!
HJM

 

Thinking about changing Chrysler's mind by customer interaction is a nice thought but that is all it is, a nice thought and as for our car its a moot point there will be NO more Crossfires period.
As far as Chrysler goes .. well sadly it just might.

 

Opinions are like.....

Some of us can call Daimler names, say that they were a horrible company, etc. The truth is that the Mercedes input that went into the company line up saved Chrysler from going under several years ago.
Go sit in a Pacifica. That is not a updated Plymouth Voyager, its the last generation Mercedes R-Class. Their stability program was a huge reason that Chrysler was able to bring back Rear Wheel drive cars w/ the LX platform. ( Charger, 300, Magnum - Now Challenger ) The Neon is gone along w/ their head gaskets, now replaced w/ a much better car in the caliber. If you buy a Dodge truck, you don't need to replace the transmission @ 70,000 miles, No more Concorde, Intrepid, and your oil passages won't sludge closed at 80-100,000 miles on your 2.7 V6.
It took Chrysler away from Mitisubishi. The new Avenger isn't an Eclipse, the new Sebring is a much better car on so many levels than the old one, and the Company still sells more vans than every other auto maker combined. ( The New VW Routan seems to be doing ok, good thing Chrysler gave them the Short Wheelbase platform for that vehicle)

The American public wasn't ready to spend $40,000 for a Chrysler Coupe. Thats it. I'm glad that they are now gone, and hopefully as the car continues to gain popularity we might start to see values increase.

 

Tom really somes it up. That was the best and most accurate response of all!
HjM

 

Its Tod, I work for Tom

 

I think you all (or at least most) missed the point that Chrysler should concentrate on cars that are more appealing and better made than cars like the Sebring for example. I traded in a '98 Sebring to get the crossfire, that car was better than the '08 that I drove a few weeks ago when the xfire was in the shop, but the quality of manufacturing on the crossfire if far superior. Chrysler didn't learn anything by being married to DB!

To clarify I do expect them to change their minds because of what we write, but we can turn some heads, and possible point Chrysler in a direction that will make them a better American car company!

 

I don't think you are seeing the big picture that the manufacturer has to deal with:

They need to make a profit in order to stay in business.

Yes, the Crossfire is a better designed and constructed vehicle, that used considerably higher quality components than the Sebring. Because of all the higher quality components used, and the higher quality workers that put the Crossfire together, the Crossfire is then a much more expensive vehicle to produce.

So, you have to choose between two cars to produce and sell:

Crossfire - Lets say it costs $15k to assemble, and sell to the public.
Sebring - Lets say it costs $8k to assemble, and sell to the public.

Now, the customer shows up at the dealer, and can only buy a $17k car.
Would you, as the manufacturer, prefer to sell a car to the customer that costs you $15k to produce, or one that costs $8k to produce?

That's why the Crossfire is doomed to the likes of the Sebring.

Another thing to remember:

As bad as the Sebring is, people are still buying them.
Why? I'll never know. I know they are paying more for those things than some of its much better quality, and similarly priced competitors.

BC.