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  • The New Head of Chrysler gets it!

    This is great!
    From the blogs at Chrysler LLC, new President Jim Press speaks out. Check out his comments on diesel, it made my day!:

    Jim Press is a Vice-Chairman and President at Chrysler

    "A lot of people have asked me why I decided to leave Toyota after 37 years. I had a great career at Toyota, a good run. Yet when Chrysler offered me an opportunity to help create an environment where the U.S. auto industry can flex its muscle globally, I knew it was time to move on. I’d been looking for a new challenge. So here I am.

    I’ve always had great respect for Chrysler. Its products have great bones, integrity, a lot of appeal and great design. They’re fun, emotional and people love to drive them. That’s what this industry is all about.

    I was also strongly attracted by Chrysler’s people. I have a saying that the strongest steel comes from the hottest fire. Given the challenges that have been thrown at this company in the past, our associates have survived many fires and have forged a great strength of character.

    Chrysler’s dealer body is the best anywhere. For a sales guy like me, that’s a big draw. If I were ever going to get in a barroom brawl, I'd pick Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealers to get behind me in that fight. They're strong, they know how to survive and they know what the company needs for success.

    I don't have any playbook or secret codes on how to run a car company. There's no silver bullet here. The market is challenging and our competitors are growing. However, I’m incredibly optimistic for Chrysler’s future. We have a new owner in Cerberus, who has empowered us to do things right. We have fewer constraints than other companies do. We can be nimble, fast and flexible. No other company has our unstoppable dealer body. No other company has our associates. No other company has our heritage. No other company has our fun and appealing products.

    Chrysler is poised for success. We have a great leadership position in diesel, which is one of the greatest weapons we can use to fight CO2 … more effective, in my opinion, than hybrid systems. Hybrids do have some advantages, especially in city driving, and Chrysler has a number of hybrid vehicles ready to pop out of the product pipeline. We also have some exciting concept cars coming up that show many applications in advanced technologies. By the way, that’s another benefit Chrysler has with Cerberus; we’ve been given the opportunity to earmark a ton of money for development of advanced products.

    My philosophy is simple: We all work for the customer. Our job is to satisfy customers and exceed their expectations with great products and provide a high level of service. To me, that starts by giving our dealers the tools they need to serve customers and empowering our associates to make the decisions needed to support the customer.

    I've learned over the years that the talent in any organization doesn't only reside wherever the executive floor might be. In fact, my experience has been that the executive group has only about 10 percent of the information and yet makes about 90 percent of the decisions. That’s not right. We need to reverse that. There are 85,000 people at Chrysler, plus the people in our dealerships, who know what needs to be done. My job is to create an environment where they are allowed to do whatever they need to do to take care of the customer. When we unleash the capability and power of our associates and our dealer body, nothing will stop this company."

  • #2
    Wow, WOW, WOW!!!

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    • #3
      I like the way this guy thinks.

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      • #4
        The response to his post at the Chrysler LLC blog has been overwhelmingly positive.

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        • #5
          If the buying public is proving to be so enamored with the hybrid why doesn't a manufacturer put a diesel in there instead of a gasser and trump all the rest with the mileage figures? Or are small gassers simply too cheap in comparison to small diesels?

          I like what this man says here. I'd be happy to hear this coming from the head of any major US company.

          Ken

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          • #6
            If you read his comments on diesel and read what Chrysler and Cummins have in store for us in the next few model years, I think you'll find that they are going to do exactly that. In addition there will be small clean diesels offered that are not hybrids. Cummins is building a new 800 million dollar factory as we speak...= )

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            • #7
              I know they make an I4 diesel for jeep liberty I wish they would put it there wranglers soon! me and the wife like those 4 door wranglers. We plan to get one in 2 years after our car lease is up.

              Michael

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              • #8
                I'm pretty sure that the Wrangler will get the new 3.0 Cummins V-6, hopefully as early as 2009. That's what I'm saving for! I want to eliminate all gassers from my inventory, except for my Poly powered Power Wagons....= )
                Last edited by MoparNorm; 10-02-2007, 01:20 AM.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by MoparNorm View Post
                  ... Cummings ...
                  Norm! I'm nearly speechless...


                  On another note, I'm game for a 4-door Wrangler (Unlimited?) diesel IF Chrysler adds optional third row seating. If these "cross-over" SUVs can have third row, so can the 4-door Wrangler. I can only justify one new(er) vehicle in the household and it has to fit all 6 of us in there at one time.

                  Ken

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                  • #10
                    Ha!ha!
                    I'd blame it on fat fingers but that key is no where close to the "s"...= )
                    I'm not sure that there is room in there for a 3rd row. It's about the same identical size as the Liberty or FJ Loser now.

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                    • #11
                      Any plans to put a diesel in the Dakota line?

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                      • #12
                        They have diesels on the drawing boards all they way down to 4 cylinders, so I'd say yes, there should be diesel options across the board. Most likely 2010, but there may be some surprises in 2009.
                        By the way the 2008 Dakota has been completely redesigned, saw it today.

                        Go here and add a post to the Chrysler LLC blog and tell them you WANT a Dakota Diesel!
                        http://blog.chryslerllc.com/blog.do?...entry#comments

                        You have to register and sign in, but it's painless and it is important!

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by MoparNorm View Post
                          They have diesels on the drawing boards all they way down to 4 cylinders, so I'd say yes, there should be diesel options across the board. Most likely 2010, but there may be some surprises in 2009.
                          By the way the 2008 Dakota has been completely redesigned, saw it today.

                          Go here and add a post to the Chrysler LLC blog and tell them you WANT a Dakota Diesel!
                          http://blog.chryslerllc.com/blog.do?...entry#comments

                          You have to register and sign in, but it's painless and it is important!
                          If anyone is so inclined, go to the site Norm mentioned and tell them that you like the idea of a diesel powered Jeep Gladiator. This is the concept truck that everyone likes so much but hasn't been taken to production.

                          I think the fuel efficient, powerful diesel makes a good marriage to the clean, simple lines of the Gladiator. They would sell.

                          I'm not bashing the Dakota, I just think that many Dodgers are ready for a new line.

                          Thanks for getting the word out Norm. Let's ALL voice what we would like to see at the new Chrysler.
                          Attached Files

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                          • #14
                            Thanks guys!
                            I see that you and BobbyMike have posted and a few others are posted and are waiting for screening.
                            Get over there Jim!!
                            Ha! We'll mess with their demographics and a few more, "I agree with Norm", posts and I'll have my dream job as a Jeep consultant....= )!!!

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                            • #15
                              Going along with this, "The New Head of Chrysler Gets it" thread, I read today that Jim Press has sat in some Chrysler products for the first time, in the last few weeks...heads are going to roll in the interior departments ha!ha!!!!!
                              He was reported to ask, "what's with all the hard plastic?"
                              He wants the quality improved, the bad dealers weeded out and products to make sense.
                              About time, I'd say....

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