Brands: What stays, what goes

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PT Cruiser - Gone

In the "viability plan" that Chrysler submitted to the Treasury department the carmaker laid out some more changes to its product line-up.

Some of those changes had already been announced shortly after Chrysler's new owners, Cerberus Capital Management, took over in 2007. The new management team quickly announced that the Chrysler Pacifica crossover, Dodge Magnum wagon and PT Cruiser convertible would be dropped.

As part of its latest announcement, Chrysler co-president Jim Press told reporters that the hard-top PT Cruiser and two of Chrysler's SUVs, are being dropped from the line-up as well.

Chrysler also said that new versions of two of Chrysler's popular sedans would be coming soon, as well as a new Jeep. Chrysler also has vague plans to bring an electric car to market next year.

Dodge Durango - Gone

Chrysler isn't saying the Dodge Durango and closely related Chrysler Aspen will never come back, but the carmaker shut down the factory that made them late last year. High gas prices combined with the economic downturn forced the plant's early closure.
The plant shut down only a couple of months after production had started on hybrid versions of the two large three-row SUVs.

The Durango and Aspen could come back as car-based crossover vehicles some time in the future, according to various published reports.

Grand Cherokee - Redesign
If all goes well with Chrysler's latest funding request, an all-new version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee will hit the market in the next year as a 2011 model-year vehicle.
Although it will carry forward the overall design theme of the current Grand Cherokee - now in its third generation - the new version is said to be much more futuristic in appearance, according to people who have seen the design.

300 - Redesign
A new version of one of Chrysler's biggest hits, the 300, is expected next year.
The higher-end sedan, introduced in 2004, was supposed to herald a new age for Chrysler. Its brash, chest-out look was a marked change from the sloping, futuristic designs the brand had previously been known for. It wasn't uniformly loved, but it got attention and brought in buyers.

The 300 looked much more expensive than it was, and it drove like a pricier car, too. The flagship 300C version also had the famously-named Hemi V8 engine that gave it surprising power.

The 300C won all kinds of awards, including Motor Trend Car of the Year, and Chrysler still boasts that it is the "most award-winning car in history."

Charger - Redesign
An all-new version of the Dodge Charger will be introduced around the same time next year as the new Chrysler 300.
When the Charger was reintroduced in 2004 it met with resounding sighs of disappointment from classic car fans who objected to the "Charger" name on a four-door. The car they yearned for, a two-door retro-styled muscle car, would come later under the Challenger badge.

Despite complaints that it was too "practical," the introduction of the new Charger spelled doom for the Dodge Magnum, the cartoonish Wagon that had debuted a year earlier.

By introducing the Magnum, Chrysler bucked conventional wisdom, which held that Americans hate station wagons. Even though the Magnum did have its ardent vans, it turned out to be true. Americans still prefer a car with a trunk, and Chrysler said in 2007 it would kill the model.

The Charger shares its basic engineering with the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Challenger and the Magnum.

Chrysler 200C concept - New

At this year's Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler showed off a concept car called the Chrysler 200C. It was slightly larger than the current mid-size Sebring sedan but smaller than the full-size 300.
Chrysler's lead designer, Ralph Gilles said that a car looking very much like the 200C is intended for near-future production. The look is much sleeker and cleaner than current Chrysler designs. The car displayed at the show was an electric-powered vehicle to boot, Chrysler said.

Chrysler has said its plan is to make vehicles like the 200C available in both gasoline- and electric-powered versions. A plug-in of some type is planed for next year, but Chrysler still isn't saying what it will be, only that more are supposed to follow.

Fiat - New
Chrysler has entered into a tentative deal with Fiat that would allow the Italian automaker to take a 35% equity stake in the American automaker. In exchange, Chrysler would get access to Fiat engineering, and possibly some whole vehicles. Fiat would also be able to sell some of its products in the Unite States and use some of Chrysler's factories here, as well.
Chrysler says it still has an agreement with Nissan under which Chrysler will produce a version of the large Dodge Ram truck for the Japanese automaker, rand Nissan will produce a small car for Chrysler. But that agreement is reportedly on hold while the two companies work out financial details.

Hummer - Gone
General Motors will make a financial decision about Hummer soon. Either way, it seems it won't be a GM brand anymore. It will be sold, or it will be phased out.
Hummer had the worst sales fall-off of any brand in America last year, dropping by half to 27,485 vehicles.

High gas prices pushed customers away from truck-based SUVs, which are all Hummer sells. And as a love-it-or-loath-it niche product, the brand has always been highly dependent on new model introductions that sell hot for a while before they fizzle.

When sales of the original H1 started to fade, the smaller H2 came in to pick up the slack. Then, as the H2's welcome wore thin, in rode the smaller-yet H3. There will be nothing more beyond that.

Saturn - Gone
The Saturn brand has been amazingly resistant to success. After years of hard work, GM has finally admitted the car line has been "disappointing" and it is in discussion with its dealers about what's next.

For now, GM isn't planning to do anything with Saturn beyond the life-cycles of its current models. If no one steps forward wanting to take Saturn over when the models are done in 2011, the brand is done too.

Over the last few years, Saturn has had a complete makeover of its once drab line-up. The new cars are flashy-looking and mostly well-received by critics.

The Saturn Aura was even voted car-of-the-year by auto critics at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. When its close relative, the Chevrolet Malibu, received the same honor in 2008, its sales took off. But the Aura's sales never took off and fell even lower last year.

Part of the problem has to do with Saturn's "No haggle" pricing policy. In exchange for agreeing not to finagle on deals, Saturn dealers got big exclusive territories with many miles between them. But that means it's much harder to find a Saturn dealer than one who sells Chevrolets or Pontiacs.

Saab - Gone
One GM brand has had even lower market share than Hummer, and that's Saab. And now it finds itself in the same position - under "strategic review." If no buyer is found, Sweden-based Saab will likely fade away.

Even including Europe, Saab sales are small for a parent company the size of GM. Its best year worldwide was 2006 when about 130,000 sold in the U.S. and Europe, a Saab spokesman said. By contrast, GM sold more than 300,000 Buicks in the U.S. alone that year.

GM is asking the Swedish government for financial help as it tries to find a buyer for Saab.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/autos/0902/gallery.chrysler_changes/index.html
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