DaimlerChrysler bulks up Dodge Neon to bolster sales
01-06-2002, 07:47 AM
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DaimlerChrysler bulks up Dodge Neon to bolster sales
LOS ANGELES -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler unit is adding a more powerful engine and other features to its Dodge Neon small car in 2003 to try to improve sales while it waits for a new model built with Mitsubishi Motors Corp.
The automaker will add a Neon model with a 205-horsepower version of its 2.4-liter engine, larger wheels and other improvements, said John Fernandez, Chrysler's director of specialty vehicle engineering. The model will sell for $19,995 and be called the SRT-4.
Dodge Neon sales fell 5 percent to 107,299 in 2001. The model has been hurt by competition from less expensive Korean cars and Japanese cars that are perceived as having better quality, analysts have said. Chrysler couldn't bring the SRT-4 to market sooner than the spring of 2003 because of new tooling needed, said Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard.
"We have to send a message to the young kids that there's something new coming," Bernhard said at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, where the automaker unveiled a prototype of SRT-4 today. "We're only competing against Asian imports, not our own products, so it's okay to talk about it early."
The SRT-4 is expected to be part of the lineup until Chrysler replaces the current Neon, sometime after next year. That future model will be engineered with Mitsubishi, which is 37 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler, as part of a bid to lower vehicle development and production costs. The Mitsubishi-engineered Neon is expected to share parts with the next Mitsubishi Lancer.
Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the automaker has to improve sales to meet a goal of breaking even this year and making a profit in 2003. Zetsche said in an interview he can no longer commit to breaking even in 2002 because of the U.S. recession and costly incentives required to restart auto sales after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The automaker is expected to say in February that it lost as much as $2.5 billion in 2001.
The automaker will add a Neon model with a 205-horsepower version of its 2.4-liter engine, larger wheels and other improvements, said John Fernandez, Chrysler's director of specialty vehicle engineering. The model will sell for $19,995 and be called the SRT-4.
Dodge Neon sales fell 5 percent to 107,299 in 2001. The model has been hurt by competition from less expensive Korean cars and Japanese cars that are perceived as having better quality, analysts have said. Chrysler couldn't bring the SRT-4 to market sooner than the spring of 2003 because of new tooling needed, said Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard.
"We have to send a message to the young kids that there's something new coming," Bernhard said at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, where the automaker unveiled a prototype of SRT-4 today. "We're only competing against Asian imports, not our own products, so it's okay to talk about it early."
The SRT-4 is expected to be part of the lineup until Chrysler replaces the current Neon, sometime after next year. That future model will be engineered with Mitsubishi, which is 37 percent owned by DaimlerChrysler, as part of a bid to lower vehicle development and production costs. The Mitsubishi-engineered Neon is expected to share parts with the next Mitsubishi Lancer.
Chrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche said the automaker has to improve sales to meet a goal of breaking even this year and making a profit in 2003. Zetsche said in an interview he can no longer commit to breaking even in 2002 because of the U.S. recession and costly incentives required to restart auto sales after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The automaker is expected to say in February that it lost as much as $2.5 billion in 2001.
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