Chrysler's 2010-2014 plan

I just sat through the first half of Chrysler's webcast on their 2010-2014 plan. The following is summary of most of the interesting points that were discussed buy a few of Chrysler's bigwigs.

If I can sum it up right away, if you were hoping for Fiat to inject much needed technology, design and powertrains into Chrysler's otherwise all but dried-up well, you will be happy. It will happen.


The following is a series of snippets and sound bites from this morning's presentation:

Robert Kidder, Chairman of Chrysler Group LLC, admits that Chrysler needs Fiat's technology and product. He ads that Chrysler will work hard to improve their product, grow Mopar and the brand image, along with the help of Fiat.

Perhaps one of the most important statements he made was that business as usual does not apply in Chrysler's new vision.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler LLC, was instrumental in transforming Fiat into a World leader. He went on to say that his team is working has been working on “fixing” Chrysler for the last few months. He wants it to return to profitability, will reimburse governments and utilize the Fiat plan that obviously worked.

Ralph Gilles was the first leader of Chrysler (head of product design) to speak and he summed up his feelings as being excited and uplifted by Marchionne's vision and energy. He is humbled by the opportunity to make Dodge a great brand once more by splitting Ram and Dodge as previously announced. Ram, although an asset to Dodge, was in fact creating a shadow over every other product, some that deserve more attention.

One of the most important challenges that Chrysler faces is repackaging each vehicle and each brand. One notable point was that new interiors will be created to coincide in harmony with what the customers want.

As for the near future, here's what we can expect from the New Chrysler: All new C segment (new compact) by 2013, an all new B segment (hatchback) and an all new D segment (next Avenger) between now and 2014. All of these will be based on Fiat products.

As for the Viper stories, there will be 500 more and by next summer, no more. However, by the summer of 2012, an all-new Supercar will be introduced, based on a Fiat product.

Doug Betts is the Quality man. He also realizes that Chrysler has much work to do in the quality department, having not been in the running for many years. When he arrived in June of 2009, he realized that there was no strategy here and organization lacked seriously.

Problem-solving was a huge issue. It used to take on average 71 days before anyone would actually address a new issue. Today, 14 teams are assigned specific categories (HVAC, engines, etc) where when problems arise, they are immediately given to team and addressed. Beyond this, Chrysler will work with dealerships to improve initial quality and human interaction between dealer/manufacturer and actual customer.