Ralph Gilles Sets the Record Straight on the Airflow Concept's Future

In an interview with MotorTrend, Ralph Gilles, the Head of Design at Stellantis, clarified the status of the Chrysler Airflow Concept and Airflow Graphite Concept. He stated that these concepts, while impressive, will not be brought into production. However, he emphasized that this setback does not hinder Chrysler’s ambitious plans for an all-electric vehicle (EV). … (read full article...)

 

[cgseller]

Whether it was their intention all along to evolve, or they pivoted, in the end is may be in everyone's favor. They got feedback and were able to tune things w/o delivering the product to market. They set the expectations that Chrysler's portfolio was going to be lean while they regroup and they are taking advantage of that timewindow.

Since it takes 2-3years to bring a vehicle to market, if you can pivot along that way to adjust and sacrifice a few months of sales for a longer sales run or better volume or respect, it is a long game. Some would argue that the 200 played the short game, in neglecting to account for the impact of a low headline would have on reception regardless of ergonomics, style and features. That didn't pan out well (although in hindsight moving it and dart to be co- on the Cherokee line may have likely paid off)

Maybe they are driving to be the best.... and not first, most, biggest.... Meanwhile, others are blazing the trail and adjusting the market, consumer, and infrastructure.

No matter - it must be a respected vehicle or something that significantly differentiates itself from the market. The fear I have it will have every bell/whistle and be overpriced and overwhelming... and underwhelming at the same time.

 

[Mike201]

2025? What? That would mean it would be a 2026. So once again Chrysler is behind the 8 ball. Now I do not like EV’s, but seeing they are being jammed down our throats, we so far behind in getting cars to the market. Seems most foreign car companies already have 1 or 2 EV’s out and more coming sooner rather than later. Yes we have plenty hybrids, but I believe they will be gone in 10 years.
I really can’t tell if Stellantis is dragging their feet and will use this to write off Chrysler, or if they have no clue what to do with them.
In order to survive Chrysler needs this crossover, a full size sedan (300 replacement) to go with the mini van. If they wait to long, loyal Chrysler customers will leave and it will be a tough fight to sell cars if you’re late to the EV party. There is no way to catch Tesla at this point, but at least keep up with the rest.

 

[patfromigh]

The fear I have it will have every bell/whistle and be overpriced and overwhelming... and underwhelming at the same time.

My fear also. The legacy Chrysler Corporation has such a rich legacy of concept cars. On the AMC side of the family tree, does anyone else remember the 1960s AMX concept with the "Ramble Seat". One of the 1950s Ghia concepts which did get built wasn't a Plymouth or a Chrysler, but a VW.

 

[patfromigh]

There is no way to catch Tesla at this point, but at least keep up with the rest.

I suspect Tesla is just a fad like the VW Beetle was in the late Sixties and early Seventies. Other automative fads, also from the Seventies, are the Firebird Trans Am and full size custom vans. This decades automotive fads which are fading fast are full size pickups and the Jeep brand.

 

[bill burke]

Just my opinion here, but two points. First, the Airflow was clearly not inspirational, a disappointing cookie cutter, blandly styled and certainly NOT a flagship vehicle needed by the brand. Second the all electric self imposed mandate for Chrysler is a doomed future based on the quickly eroding electric market as its shortfalls become public knowledge.
Chrysler can survive, but what is coming to the fore so far is flawed, uninspired, clearly something that needs a fast “hold it guys” moment to rethink the thinking and getting some gas powered Chrysler vehiles in the pipeline ASAP.
Frankly Ralph has had some duds in his time in charge and let’s hope he avoids another one with Chrysler and this reboot gets things on track.

 

[cgseller]

In order to survive Chrysler needs this crossover, a full size sedan (300 replacement) to go with the mini van. If they wait to long, loyal Chrysler customers will leave and it will be a tough fight to sell cars if you’re late to the EV party. There is no way to catch Tesla at this point, but at least keep up with the rest.

What is the makeup of a loyal Chrysler customer? A minivan owner? someone who has been an owner for decades? I'm curious if there is a base that is large enough to justify keeping them at this point.

I do not feel that Chrysler at this point faces the same situation as Olds did. When Olds tried to go "wow" and get younger audience, they flopped because their base, which was established, was not interested in wow, and the young'ns didn't want and Olds boat. So they lost their audience and could not capture new. Bill Knapps tried the same thing. (Caddy was able to do that somewhat and is an interested story but an aside)

I think Chrysler has been slowly shedding any image it had. The first 200 drew some younger attention with Eminem. The Pacifica Hybrid teased a more modern audience. The 300 had a hip-hop following a much as it had a retiree following. I'd love to hear what others think the makeup of a Chrysler customer is.

 

[vbondjr1]

To answer cgseller's question of what the makeup of Chrysler customer is, in my humble opinion, someone who is confident in themselves and their uniqueness. Someone who is bold but still refined. Someone who likes quality but isn't over the top. in short, a well rounded person.

I feel like certain brands pigeon hole themselves into specific genres at times and honestly, even though the brands under the Mopar umbrella (Stellantis, North America) have a diverse history, I feel like at times CEOs get tunnel vision and they forget all that they really have at their disposal. I'm going to do my best not to be long winded about this, but I have NEVER seen a brand with so much potential for absolute market dominating greatness struggle this hard and struggle pointlessly. It literally frustrates me to no end with what Stellantis is doing. They are tripping over their own feet and not just with the Chrysler brand but all of the Mopar brands. If you already have all four STLA platforms (small, medium, large and frame) and you already have full BEV, hybrid and ICE (Hurricane) powertrains, what's the issue? Okay so TK (Tim Kuniskis) said that the rules changed and they're studying the market and blah blah blah..... okay cool. From all of the stuff people in the industry are talking about, we know the majority of people are going for crossovers and SUVs. cool, we got that. We know that the switch to electrification is coming somewhere down the road and the EPA is doing what they do best by getting on everyone's nerves and trying to save the planet by killing off V8s again like they did in the 70's. Okay cool, we got that. We know that us Mopar fanatics love obscene amounts of horsepower and torque. Okay, got that too. So, if we have all that, why is it so hard to put this all together? The goal here is to reduce the carbon footprint across the entire portfolio. Okay simple, take the Hurricane engine family and make them all hybrids with the same tech that the 4Xe system has to run on full electric power while offering high performance fuel efficient engines. Do that for most of your trim levels and then offer the 400V & 800V EV systems on your upper level trim packages. So simple. I've already posted hp/torque numbers in several other comments so I'm not going to belabor that point, if anyone has seen my comments from before we know what the numbers look like, they're ridiculous and they destroy anything sub-hellcat with way better fuel economy.

Next point, real simple. If SUV's and crossovers sell in volume, MAKE THEM!!! Crossover coupes are a big thing now and we have vehicles like the Toyota Crown which look like a sports sedan and crossover mixed together. Not to mention things like the new Chevy Blazer SS EV, the Kia EV6-GT and the Polestar-4. But we've got vehicles out here like the Lamborghini Urus, the Audi RS-Q8, Aston Martin DBX, the Ferrari Purosangue, the X4M Competition, the glorious BMW X6M Competition and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe along with some of the AMG Crossover coupes. Most of those vehicles have serious performance credentials so it's not like they can't be made on the STLA: Large platform and be made to perform like muscle cars! If you're going after what sells, and crossovers sell, this might be a good direction to move forward in. Even that god-awful ugly failure of a vehicle the blue oval people disrespectfully refer to as the Mustang Mach E. The idea itself sells. The STLA Large platform could handle having every single vehicle on it's platform either being something like those kinds of vehicles or a midsize pickup. STLA Medium Platform inspiration should come from cars like the Honda Civic Type-R hatch, Integra Type-S the Golf R, the Ioniq-5 N, the Dodge Caliber SRT4, the Ram Rampage, etc. We already know where the STLA Frame vehicles are going to be focused on so we can skip over that. The brands can still keep their identity with their vehicles even while being seriously competitive in the market.

Another thing about the brand is they seem to have an issue with naming certain vehicles while trying to appease the purists and traditionalist at times. Dodge took the Charger name and put it on a 4-door car and made it the best sedan on the market, PERIOD!!! Now they're trying to put it on an EV, which looks awesome and will more than likely perform awesome. But let's not forget the Mopar brands have so many muscle cars and performance vehicles that we don't have to get stuck in one spot. Chrysler wants to change it's image a bit. Okay, There is a now gone Mopar brand that has a bunch of names that Chrysler could use from the Plymouth Brand as well as it's own Brand. Barracuda, Road Runner, Valiant, Duster and Fury, Laser, Conquest, and Prowler, just to name a few from the Plymouth brand. Imperial, Lebaron, New Yorker, Fifth Avenue, Concorde, Newport, LHS and Cordoba to bring back luxury names from Chrysler's past as well as the Infamous Chrysler 300. Even the Dodge brand has the Dart, Coronet, Charger, Challenger, Magnum, Aspen and Viper. And, if they're going to continue to use names from AMC like the Hornet, then the might as well bring out the Javelin, Marlin (AMC's version of the '67 Charger), The Ambassador SST (another almost Charger/Coronet/Roadrunner) and the Rebel Machine. Hell, at this point bring back the Dodge Caravan Turbo and inject some life into the multi-passenger vehicle segment. Jeep is another brand that could be revamped as well seeing that it's vehicles have grown stagnant as well. If the Wrangler and Gladiator are moving to the STLA Frame platform that brings room on the SLTA Large platform for a Jeep Honcho/Golden Eagle as the stable mate to the upcoming Dakota along with a new Jeep Cherokee/Golden Eagle a Renegade (which should have been the Recon's name and marketed like a sub-brand of the wrangler just like the Bronco & Bronco Sport) along with the STLA Medium vehicles like the Compass and the rebirth of the Liberty.

I'm not going to go into at length the benefits of offering Jailbreak packages, Direct connection performance upgrades, Jeep off-road upgrades or any of that stuff right now because we already know all of this. Along with the fact that I've mentioned before that no model should be pure EV, just trim levels of all of the models in each of the Mopar brands' portfolios. This is how you move the brand into the future without alienating your customer/enthusiasts fan base. This is why I say the Stellantis has no business having these many issues when it comes to the future of the brand.

 

[patfromigh]

The death of Plymouth muddied the waters because the Chrysler brand inherited the PT Cruiser, Prowler, and Voyager and the other models (Cirrus/Sebring) were cheapened to cover the previous Plymouth price points. The LH sedans and cloud cars were tasked with repairing the damage the square K-based products had done to the Chrysler image. The last remaining K-based Chrysler was the beautiful Sebring convertible. When Daimler took over they replaced it with that hideous Karman constructed lump of a convertible, along with the cheap Sebring sedans. The minivan no longer has the prestige vehicle that the Town & Country name used to convey before the death of Plymouth. Today, it is named the Pacifica. If Sergio had his way there would have been a cargo version as well. Having said this, it is ironic, but not surprising, that the typical Chrysler buyer is now a rental fleet.

The way forward for the brand is do what LX based Chrysler 300C became. A lower priced copy of some very expensive vehicle. Whatever the production version of the Airflow is, it should remind consumers of the Porsche SUV battery electric. Each vehicle model under the Chrysler brand doesn't have to match the performance of a high end product, but close enough to be convincing.

 

[bill burke]

The death of Plymouth muddied the waters because the Chrysler brand inherited the PT Cruiser, Prowler, and Voyager and the other models (Cirrus/Sebring) were cheapened to cover the previous Plymouth price points. The LH sedans and cloud cars were tasked with repairing the damage the square K-based products had done to the Chrysler image. The last remaining K-based Chrysler was the beautiful Sebring convertible. When Daimler took over they replaced it with that hideous Karman constructed lump of a convertible, along with the cheap Sebring sedans. The minivan no longer has the prestige vehicle that the Town & Country name used to convey before the death of Plymouth. Today, it is named the Pacifica. If Sergio had his way there would have been a cargo version as well. Having said this, it is ironic, but not surprising, that the typical Chrysler buyer is now a rental fleet.

The way forward for the brand is do what LX based Chrysler 300C became. A lower priced copy of some very expensive vehicle. Whatever the production version of the Airflow is, it should remind consumers of the Porsche SUV battery electric. Each vehicle model under the Chrysler brand doesn't have to match the performance of a high end product, but close enough to be convincing.

So much heartfelt advice here, I hope someone at Chrysler at least gives them all a read. I think this comment has some sound thinking which I’d like to comment on in support. Make it simple. Commit to a next generation 300 sedan that draws on the Chrysler 300 styling themes and forget the “sedan is dead” group think and get a near luxury Chrysler back out. Get two SUVs to market. So much to spinoff from with Jeep and Dodge, just make it look Chrysler and upscale. Get a halo car built off a Challenger that reinvents the LeBaron/Sebring midsize coupe and convertible and market the hell out of these next generation retro inspired Chryslers. Yes I said Chrysler’s, not some uninspired, cookie cutter electric appliance like the dull Airflow that locked the Chrysler brand into an all electric suicide pack that is destroying Ford and will do so to others like Alfa Romeo if management doesn’t wake up and face reality. I’d go 300, SUVs and a cool coupe to relaunch the brand based on past success. Simple.

 

[Mike201]

To answer cgseller's question of what the makeup of Chrysler customer is, in my humble opinion, someone who is confident in themselves and their uniqueness. Someone who is bold but still refined. Someone who likes quality but isn't over the top. in short, a well rounded person.

I feel like certain brands pigeon hole themselves into specific genres at times and honestly, even though the brands under the Mopar umbrella (Stellantis, North America) have a diverse history, I feel like at times CEOs get tunnel vision and they forget all that they really have at their disposal. I'm going to do my best not to be long winded about this, but I have NEVER seen a brand with so much potential for absolute market dominating greatness struggle this hard and struggle pointlessly. It literally frustrates me to no end with what Stellantis is doing. They are tripping over their own feet and not just with the Chrysler brand but all of the Mopar brands. If you already have all four STLA platforms (small, medium, large and frame) and you already have full BEV, hybrid and ICE (Hurricane) powertrains, what's the issue? Okay so TK (Tim Kuniskis) said that the rules changed and they're studying the market and blah blah blah..... okay cool. From all of the stuff people in the industry are talking about, we know the majority of people are going for crossovers and SUVs. cool, we got that. We know that the switch to electrification is coming somewhere down the road and the EPA is doing what they do best by getting on everyone's nerves and trying to save the planet by killing off V8s again like they did in the 70's. Okay cool, we got that. We know that us Mopar fanatics love obscene amounts of horsepower and torque. Okay, got that too. So, if we have all that, why is it so hard to put this all together? The goal here is to reduce the carbon footprint across the entire portfolio. Okay simple, take the Hurricane engine family and make them all hybrids with the same tech that the 4Xe system has to run on full electric power while offering high performance fuel efficient engines. Do that for most of your trim levels and then offer the 400V & 800V EV systems on your upper level trim packages. So simple. I've already posted hp/torque numbers in several other comments so I'm not going to belabor that point, if anyone has seen my comments from before we know what the numbers look like, they're ridiculous and they destroy anything sub-hellcat with way better fuel economy.

Next point, real simple. If SUV's and crossovers sell in volume, MAKE THEM!!! Crossover coupes are a big thing now and we have vehicles like the Toyota Crown which look like a sports sedan and crossover mixed together. Not to mention things like the new Chevy Blazer SS EV, the Kia EV6-GT and the Polestar-4. But we've got vehicles out here like the Lamborghini Urus, the Audi RS-Q8, Aston Martin DBX, the Ferrari Purosangue, the X4M Competition, the glorious BMW X6M Competition and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe along with some of the AMG Crossover coupes. Most of those vehicles have serious performance credentials so it's not like they can't be made on the STLA: Large platform and be made to perform like muscle cars! If you're going after what sells, and crossovers sell, this might be a good direction to move forward in. Even that god-awful ugly failure of a vehicle the blue oval people disrespectfully refer to as the Mustang Mach E. The idea itself sells. The STLA Large platform could handle having every single vehicle on it's platform either being something like those kinds of vehicles or a midsize pickup. STLA Medium Platform inspiration should come from cars like the Honda Civic Type-R hatch, Integra Type-S the Golf R, the Ioniq-5 N, the Dodge Caliber SRT4, the Ram Rampage, etc. We already know where the STLA Frame vehicles are going to be focused on so we can skip over that. The brands can still keep their identity with their vehicles even while being seriously competitive in the market.

Another thing about the brand is they seem to have an issue with naming certain vehicles while trying to appease the purists and traditionalist at times. Dodge took the Charger name and put it on a 4-door car and made it the best sedan on the market, PERIOD!!! Now they're trying to put it on an EV, which looks awesome and will more than likely perform awesome. But let's not forget the Mopar brands have so many muscle cars and performance vehicles that we don't have to get stuck in one spot. Chrysler wants to change it's image a bit. Okay, There is a now gone Mopar brand that has a bunch of names that Chrysler could use from the Plymouth Brand as well as it's own Brand. Barracuda, Road Runner, Valiant, Duster and Fury, Laser, Conquest, and Prowler, just to name a few from the Plymouth brand. Imperial, Lebaron, New Yorker, Fifth Avenue, Concorde, Newport, LHS and Cordoba to bring back luxury names from Chrysler's past as well as the Infamous Chrysler 300. Even the Dodge brand has the Dart, Coronet, Charger, Challenger, Magnum, Aspen and Viper. And, if they're going to continue to use names from AMC like the Hornet, then the might as well bring out the Javelin, Marlin (AMC's version of the '67 Charger), The Ambassador SST (another almost Charger/Coronet/Roadrunner) and the Rebel Machine. Hell, at this point bring back the Dodge Caravan Turbo and inject some life into the multi-passenger vehicle segment. Jeep is another brand that could be revamped as well seeing that it's vehicles have grown stagnant as well. If the Wrangler and Gladiator are moving to the STLA Frame platform that brings room on the SLTA Large platform for a Jeep Honcho/Golden Eagle as the stable mate to the upcoming Dakota along with a new Jeep Cherokee/Golden Eagle a Renegade (which should have been the Recon's name and marketed like a sub-brand of the wrangler just like the Bronco & Bronco Sport) along with the STLA Medium vehicles like the Compass and the rebirth of the Liberty.

I'm not going to go into at length the benefits of offering Jailbreak packages, Direct connection performance upgrades, Jeep off-road upgrades or any of that stuff right now because we already know all of this. Along with the fact that I've mentioned before that no model should be pure EV, just trim levels of all of the models in each of the Mopar brands' portfolios. This is how you move the brand into the future without alienating your customer/enthusiasts fan base. This is why I say the Stellantis has no business having these many issues when it comes to the future of the brand.

WOW! Not only did you agree with my post, you broke it down and pretty much said what I was thinking!!! Thank you for taking the time and spelling it out. Your comment knocked it out of the park. I am 58 and have owned nothing but Mopar’s since I was 15. I have owned everything from Minivans, SUV’s, luxury cars, trucks, muscle cars, old Mopar Police cars and still have 2 classic cars that I show regularly. I love Mopar, and feel now with all the merges of late and all the tools at their fingertips they can do so much better, like you explained. Thank you again for your full definition of where they should be and what needs to be done.

 

[vbondjr1]

I do agree with patfromigh about Chrysler becoming an affordable competitor to the more premium brands but not as a copy. Chrysler caught alot of flak when they brought out the 300C and although alot of people looked at it and immediately said it appeared to be a Rolls/Bentley knock off, the car actually paid alot of homage to the historic Chrysler 300 cars of the 50's, but alot of people who made so much noise didn't know the history of the brand. As Patfromigh pointed out Chrysler already inherited the Plymouth names so it wouldn't be an issue for the brand to utilize what's at it's disposal. But honestly here's another thing that needs to be pointed out. The American auto industry has moved from being what is looked at as premium to being what is looked at as substandard. The Mopar brands could seriously change that. Now, what I'm not saying is for the Mopar brands to start jacking up prices on everything, but they need to set a standard for what a premium American brand can be. Could Chrysler come out with a Barracuda luxury muscle car to Challenge the BMW M8 competition gran-coupe on the STLA platform with hybrid Hurricane horsepower and all wheel drive along with a Chrysler Fury performance crossover to challenge vehicles like the Lamborghini Urus? Absolutely! Doesn't mean they need to be priced as high but yes they truly could be more competitive. Could Chrysler take that same M8 competition gran-coupe competitor and throw the Banshee 800V system in it on the STLA Large platform and go Destroy the Telsa Model S Plaid with 1200hp? Yeah they could! That means they took one car with multiple trims and competed with two completely different cars. Actually that one vehicle would also compete with the Audi RS E-Tron GT and the Porsche Taycan. Could Chrysler bring out a Chrysler Imperial as a large SUV that could go toe-to-toe with the Cullinan or Escalade V? Absolutely! Could Dodge bring out a Dodge stealth that blends features of the Hornet, the Banshee and the current generation Charger in an evolutionary way and Challenge the monster that is the BMW X6M and call it the Dodge Stealth? Yes the could! Could it make an EV version with the 800V banshee system and challenge the Telsa Model Y Plaid and destroy the abomination that Ford calls the Mach E in every way possible? Yup! Could Dodge take the Charger and turn it into a vehicle like the Toyota Crown but with way more performance? Could we see the return of a Dodge Magnum crossover that would compete with the Blazer SS & Kia EV6 GT with both Hybrid and EV Powertrains? Could we see a Corvette destroying Viper return with the Nettuno 3.0L Hybrid powertrain and have a EV Chrysler ME4-12 EV Supercar to fight with something like the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport? Could we see Jeep return to making cool vehicles instead of the little quirky things they have right now? Could we see the return of the most awesome mid-size pickup truck known as the Dakota with a bunch of performance options and that kind of stuff? Absolutely. That is, If anyone at Stellantis really and truly gives a care about the Mopar brands. Another thing is the brand needs to stop being afraid of directly competing with certain vehicles. It was expressed by a certain CEO of Stellantis that they didn't want to jump in the Mustang's "Sandbox", indicating that they were afraid to compete with the Ford brand pony car. While the Challenger wasn't a direct competitor to the Mustang and Camaro, the Cuda sure was, and so was the AMC Javelin AMX. Scrap the Challenger and bring out a Dodge Javelin AMX like the Hellcat powered one that the Ring Brothers made and drop a few Hurricane Hybrid powertrains under the hood with AWD and go stomp all over the Mustang. Want to make an EV version? Okay Have an AMX 401kW 400v variant with 537hp. If the Chrysler Airflow does come out, why not make it a hot rod crossover coupe with styling cues from the Chrysler airflow from the 30's. Give it a bit of the Prowler/PT Cruiser treatment. You have to remember, every aspect of the Stellantis-North America brands (Mopar brands) are built to cater to enthusiasts one way or another so if you're going to build vehicles for enthusiasts, these vehicles need to be geared to sell to this clientele. As enthusiasts, as loyalists, as customers, our voices need to be heard and our passions need to be expressed.

 

[Jeeprt]

Ralph seems like a nice guy and has done some great stuff, but I think it's time for him to move on. The recent stuff has been totally uninspiring while just about every other making is killing it on design.

 

[cgseller]

I am reading some conflation of Chrysler (co) with Chrysler (brand) in some of the comments above. I agree with @Mike201 that @vbondjr1 response was well thought out - thank you. And @bill burke you are totally correct, there is some great perspective shared in this thread. One thing we do have to remember is that we here are a self selected bias group, and due to our bias are subject to a bit of an echo chamber.

Since Chrylser (brand) has to justify itself to Stellantis for existence, it has to generate revenue that ideally covers all costs. If there are enough mopar die hards that are truly Chrysler diehards that will purchase vehicles then they can target the legacy that those fans desire.

I do not think there are enough people that make that a sound business model - unless you want to sell a thousand vehicles at $200k.

I'd like to hear more like what @vbondjr1 was sharing. The brand could set an image for itself by saying who Chrysler people are. If you say it enough times, people believe and embody it (look at politics for how that works).

I think if Chrysler marketing started right now by saying stuff like "Chrysler, we are your neighbor who is confident in themselves and their uniqueness. Chysler, we are someone who is bold but still refined. Chrysler, we are someone who likes quality but isn't over the top. " Some word smithing needed but riffing off the comments above. If you start that campaign now, when vehicles start to come out you already have a captive audience who relate to your image.

 

[patfromigh]

The Chrysler brand needs to put the 300 name back in the closet awhile like they did twice in the 1970s. It is very risky to come out with a radically different powertrain (battery electric) and engineering with an honored nameplate. The LH sedans were already established before the late 1990s 300H came to be. (It was a last minute change from an Eagle model.) Chrysler shouldn't be a copy as much, as their products should mimic high end vehicles.

The people pushing this battery electric panacea are lawyers, politicians and grifters. While engineers are involved with battery electrics and hybrids, they aren't the ones saying ready or not here it comes. The more sophisticated EVs are the ones which tend to go up in flames. As Bill and others have pointed out, going all in on battery electric is betting the farm on a shaky proposition. I hope the brand is hedging their bet on this.

The Imperial replacement is the Grand Wagoneer. The Chrysler brand doesn't need to go there. The brand does need to reclaim the segment they established with the original 3-row Pacifica. Here is an example from one of their competitors. The Lexis TX, by the way, uses a V6 plugin hybrid drive train in its top trim. Chrysler has a V6 hybrid in the Pacifica PHEV, but doesn't have any 3-row SUVs. Shame on them.

 

[TripleT]

Chyrsler needs to be the affordable competitor to Tesla X and Y. WIth more classic styling.

 

[bill burke]

Chyrsler needs to be the affordable competitor to Tesla X and Y. WIth more classic styling.

Always respect your opinion. Do you think, as I do, that Chrysler the brand can offer both electric AND gas powered products to bridge the gap of potential buyers. I can only speak to my life experiences with any sense of credibility, but the vast majority of folks I know are not buying electric now or in the future. The green crowd has sold too many business executives a false premise that is costing and will cost billions on a market they are trying to create based on this forced and false agenda. Should Chrysler, as you stated, be a Tesla competitor with traditional styling? I reply, absolutely, it’s the only way. But should they also have a product brand mix that keeps the gas option intact? I say that mix too and definitively that that mix is fundamental to survival. I don’t accept the inevitability of all electric and I base that on my and most others that I call close associates or friends who reject electric vehicles personally. They accept electric as viable and better options perhaps as fleet vehicles, but universally, never. There will be gas option brands that will be there for them and for millions of others and if and when a less “green” group get in power politically, a huge possibility, the foot of big brother will be lifted and things automotive will get things back to reality and normalcy. Global change, or warming, or cooling or something else unproven is just a gimmick to power and control and for many executives to money. Hello !
So Triple, can you buy into my thinking or dismiss these wisdoms as just biased, flawed banter? I say, don’t drink the Cool Aid. Make mine gas...with a twist.

 

[patfromigh]

Define classic styling, which decade? I can't help but see a blend of the 1999 Dodge Charger R/T concept mixed with the 1996 Chrysler LHX concept in the Tesla model S. As far as the Tesla X and Y they, along with the Ford Mock E, are bland lumps.

Has anyone else seen the Toyota Crown Sport? Something like that could never be a Chrysler or a Dodge, because that model hints too strongly of a Ferrari model. The families who own Stellantis would never allow that. I don't know if the Crown Sport will be sold here or just overseas, but it demonstrates what Chrysler should be doing. So far we only get the sedan stateside.