Chrysler Admits Nitro & Sebring Are Mediocre Products, But Vows To Make Up

We could’ve avoided being so blunt and titled the post as “…Nitro & Sebring miss mark”, but what’s the point of hiding behind your finger when this is so evident in a recent Chrysler Group internal employee question-and-answer report that “accidentally” fell into the hands of Detroit News.

According to the report, Bob Lee, head of powertrain engineering who answered several employee questions noted that Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda and Chief Operating Officer Eric Ridenour, are "quite upset" and agree the company "missed where the market was to end up versus our projections."

Among other conclusions from the report is that in concern with the Sebring and Nitro -- two of 10 products Chrysler launched last year, the company underestimated competitors, set standards too low in some areas and was not where it needed to be in areas such as fuel economy, interior quality, and limiting noise and vibration. Commenting on this Lee wrote, "as a result of these embarrassing 'misses,' there are extremely aggressive actions being taken on many of the existing products -- and also the yet to be introduced products to get us at least to the middle of the competitive pack in very short order.” In other words, we’re going to get it right next time.

According to Detroit News, Chrysler Group spokesman Rick Deneau confirmed the authenticity of the employee Q&A report noting that it was designated to be seen by a relatively small group of employees. Obviously not. What do we think? Well, first of all, by admitting a problem you’re halfway to solving it. Our second thought is that we seriously doubt that a report like this would have ever “accidentally” fallen into the hands of journalists if Mercedes hadn’t announced Chrysler Group’s sales. Sounds to us like someone’s searching for an escape goat.

Read Detroit News article here

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