More thoughts on the state of things.

Continuing on from yesterday's ramblings, its just frustrating. Partially, I'm frustrated with Daimler's handling of its Chrysler division. We have some great vehicles on the road. The 300/Charger/Magnum is a solid vehicle. Our minivans are pretty good. The new Caliber and Sebring are fine as well. The Jeep line is, well for people who want a Jeep. You know who you are.

But, even though its been obvious for a number of years now that the price of gas is only going to go higher, they along with other manufacturers, have been slow to realize this. Part of the problem is what I addressed yesterday. People want things that are almost mutually exclusive with today's technology. Also, people don't realize how much their own driving habits effect their gas mileage. But, while this has been going on we've introduced only 2 smaller cars. The Caliber and the Sebring. The Compass by Jeep technically fits into this area as well.

The problem Chrysler now has to overcome, even though they now offer a number of vehicles that get good gas mileage, especially with our "shiftless" CVT transmissions, is of the lumbering truck and SUV builder. This image will be tough to shed. Toyota, which makes a number of large trucks and SUVs that get atrocious gas mileage, is viewed as being a more fuel efficient manufacturer. This is true in that the Corolla, Yaris, Prius, and other cars and small SUVs get great MPG. However, as a whole, their lineup isn't that far ahead of Chrysler's in overall MPG. Part of Chrysler's problem would be the drag down from vehicles in multiple lines. (ie. the Durango/Aspen, the Nitro/Liberty, etc.)

Chrysler, while continuing to look to the future (and hopefully get a hybrid out on the road as well as some clean diesels out there), needs desparately to change their overall image.

This leads me into their global position however. Daimler has done some great things for Chrysler's quality. Our transmissions aren't junk anymore being a big point. But, since their labor costs in the US are so high, many parts are built all over the world, usually by the lowest bidder I would assume. (Or the cheapest labor spots.) This has lead to some quality issues that should have been easily avoided. Sensors have been an issue, often built in Mexico or Eastern Europe. They are not huge problems. But little annoyances are what make people not buy a brand again. I understand globalization, don't get me wrong. BUT, quality has to take precedence over price at some point.

Parts will fail, that is assured. There is no such thing as reaching 100% quality. But even if most of the parts fail under warranty, its still annoying to the customer. They want to drive their car, not sit at the dealership.

This is why I'm so concerned about Chrysler's partnering with a Chinese car company. I'm concerned that in pursuit of profits they will end up shooting themselves in the foot. America can't compete with Chinese labor costs. And, so far, Chinese quality is not that good. That and the fact they are a repressive communist regime with an atrocious human rights record at home and abroad. (Think Darfur...) This is getting long and really rambling. I apologize. But we all need to wake up. Americans need to wake up. DaimlerChrysler needs to wake up. The world is constantly changing I understand. American doesn't provide for itself anymore. We trade with other countries. We do need to remember though, we must produce SOMETHING in order to survive as the nation we are. Everyone can't have a service job. I guess we'll see.