For one thing, the short Chrysler/UAW strike caused some launch delays due to a parts scarcity at the Windsor, Ontario plant that manufactures the vans. Secondly, Chrysler is up-marketing both models by cutting the usually value priced short wheel-based models. The Dodge Caravan starts at $22,470, while the Chrysler Town and Country starts at $23,190.
In addition, the new models need to be optioned pretty heavily to get all of the really nice goodies like Sirius TV, Stow n’ Go Swivel Chairs and the popular My-Gig entertainment system. The move up-market has also given the Korean Kia Sedona and Hyundai Entourage the whole value end of the market Dodge once dominated.
Evidence of a sales slowdown comes in news that the Windsor plant will also be idled for two weeks to help avoid a buildup of unsold inventory. While this may seem like evidence of impending doom, I look at it as a wise business move. Most economic indicators seem to point to a softening new car market in 2008.
Chrysler got into boatloads of trouble a little over a year ago when it continued to keep its factories working at full capacity even when sales of its cars and trucks were tanking. Dealers were then saddled with parking lots full of unsold inventory, cutting into profit margins and resale values.
So is this the end of the world as we know it for the “inventors of the minivan”? * In my eyes, Chrysler is merely repositioning its product into a more lucrative end of the market. By selling more generously optioned models, the company makes more per vehicle.
Chrysler also knows that the minivan market is a stagnant one, not having shown much of any growth for the last few years. Crossovers, on the other hand, are the hot thing to have. Dodge will be releasing the Journey Crossover in a few months and should pick up the market share lost at the lower end of the market.
While I am not really a huge fan of the new boxy as the box they came in Chrysler minivans, they do seem like a quality product with a well thought out content base. If I had to sell my soul because I thought the world would be a better place with innumerable copies of me in it, the Chrysler twins would not be a terrible choice.
There are so many entertainment options available in these vans that you can do most anything from watching videos to playing video games or even check out what’s on Nickelodeon via Sirius TV. Truly the best seat in the house is in the back. All I would need is someone to drive it for me. And maybe some tinted glass so no one would see I was in a minivan!
* Renault, the French automaker, actually invented the minivan a year earlier than Chrysler with the Espace.
via guest blogger Jim Hamel