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Can 300 rev up Chrysler sales?
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo
In this file photo taken Sept. 30, 2010, a model stands by the Chrysler 300 C during media day of the Paris Auto Show in Paris.
Associated Press
DETROIT
The Chrysler 300, once a hot-selling sedan distinguished by a tall grille and big wheels, will attempt a comeback at the Detroit auto show. It’s an important car in a pivotal year for the company, which must start making money before a public stock sale can happen.
The new 300, which will be revealed today during the show’s opening media day, keeps the basic look of the old: It’s a muscular car with a long hood and short back. But the remade version is sleeker, and Chrysler toned down the gangster-mobile grille and replaced its round headlamps with subtle rectangular ones. Gas mileage went up 8 percent, and the interior has softer-looking surfaces and cool-blue dashboard lighting.
Chrysler wants it to attract a broad range of buyers, from those who want a larger car to those who seek high-performance luxury.
Like the company that builds it, the 300 used to generate millions in profits but has been neglected for years. Introduced in 2004, sales peaked in 2005 at 144,000, but barely topped 37,000 last year. And just like the reborn company, the big car has the odds stacked against it. Although the new car’s gas mileage went up 2 mpg on the highway with a V-6, the big car comes out at a time when experts predict that gas prices could reach $4 per gallon this year.
Chrysler lost $453 million in the first three quarters of 2010 and is the auto company most vulnerable to a gas-price spike. Its top-selling models are Jeeps, pickup trucks, sport-utility vehicles and vans. And despite an intense effort to update or replace 16 outdated vehicles in the past year, Chrysler still lags competitors in fuel economy. Its lineup last year got an average of 19.2 mpg, below the expected industry average of 22.5, and far below industry leader Toyota Motor Corp. at 25.4 mpg.
Even Detroit rivals who once relied on SUVs and trucks as Chrysler does, have shifted smaller. Ford has introduced the Fiesta and new Focus in the past year, both of which can get nearly 40 mpg on the freeway. Chrysler’s small offerings, except the Fiat 500 minicar, are in the low 30s.
“If we are looking at $4- plus-gallon gasoline, it’s got to nick their real money makers,” said Joe Phillippi, president of New Jersey-based AutoTrends Consulting LLC. “They run the risk of losing sales to all other competitors that have a big stable of high-fuel-economy vehicles.”
Still, the company is better off than it was in 2009, when it required a $12.5 billion government bailout and a quick trip through bankruptcy court to avoid liquidation.