Re: [Chrysler300] Chrysler be warned re new 300 - TBird bites dust?!

[Andy Mikonis <r41hp@xxxx>]

Hi Christopher

The new Thunderbird was initially planned for a 4-year
run, with a limited number of cars each year. I'm
unclear if they're falling short of that plan, but I
think they achieved more or less what they set out to
do. They built the car cheap by using the Lincoln LS
platform and that car's 3.9 V-8 (I believe that's the
only engine it got in the US) and they created a lot
of buzz for a while, and got people into Ford
showrooms.

This is different from the new 300 in a couple ways. 
The 300M is just a slightly smaller/sportier version
of the "big Chrysler." There is nothing unique about
it otherwise - it's a relatively high volume car. The
300 name had nothing to do with its success, they
could have called it anything. The next version "300C"
or whatever, will be a little more interesting, but
still a mass-market product.

Yes, the 300 name has already been diluted, but you
must understand it doesn't have nearly the name
recognition of the Thunderbird. Everybody knows a
Thunderbird. How many here know the 300 letter
series? Hardly any. People still think my car is
Cadillac or Studebaker as often as a Chrysler, never
mind a legendary Chrysler 300. It just never made the
impression the T-bird did on American culture. I'm
not sure why Chrysler bothered to revive the name at
all.

You may criticize the new T-bird all you want, but it
has stayed true to its heritage. Jim Mateja of the
Chicago Tribune asked the main T-bird marketing guy if
there would ever be more doors or a back seat, to
which he replied "over my dead body."

Regards,
Andy


--- christopher beilby <thelastbestgenius@xxxx>
wrote:
> 
> Firstly an apology for a typo in my earlier email
> with list of 3 world's 
> greatest production 'pre 2000 high performance
> styling' icons that were 
> ahead of their peers - I should have typed
> Lamborghini MUIRA, not Espada - 
> the Espada is a great car, but never deserves the
> greatness that is the 
> Muira - those astute car lovers may have realised I
> meant the Muira when 
> they saw me mention it was world's first mass
> production rear engined V12 
> GT.
> 
> Re discussion or debate re Chrysler's plans to
> re-launch the 300 name - may 
> I suggest that D-C take serious note of the fact
> that print media here in 
> Australia now says Ford is to drop the new
> Thunderbird.
> 
> Reasons for this include:
> 1) mentioned in article was that once the more
> correct size motor (bigger) 
> that Ford should have put in it's Ford (a 60s Datsun
> Fairlady copy looks 
> wise?!) Thunderbird 'rebirth' was announced (sorry
> for the difficult to 
> read sentance), that massive discounting was needed
> to sell the smaller 
> motor ones they were still building until ready to
> build the new larger 
> motor one. This apparently buggered the values of
> existing ones.
> and 2). to my mind the car looked to bloody
> ordinary, see my above thoughts 
> in brackets.
> 
> You might ask what has this to do with D-C, any new
> 300. Well amongst my 
> ongoing thoughts sent to Ford over 2 years re their
> Australian product, I 
> also warned them I thought their new Tbird was
> doomed to short term success, 
> for exactly the two reasons above. They acted to
> put the larger motor in, 
> but too late, or wrongly.
> (They also have acted on most every other suggestion
> I offered them, all 
> except a new 3 word Ford World marketing theme,
> which they initially thought 
> meritorious enough to send direct to US Bosses. Now
> a much better product, 
> sales of new Ford family size sedans have increased
> 50% in last six months. 
> )
> 
> Anyhow, here is another prediction, this time for
> D-C, either do any new 300 
> properly, in the same vein as the original '55 300
> to say '62 300 - OR ELSE 
> FORGET IT , LIKE FORD YOU WILL HAVE WASTED A GOOD
> IMAGE, ICON. AND YOUR NEW 
> 300 WILL BE SHORT LIVED.
> 
> Here is hoping D-C hold off on using the 300 name
> until they have a car that 
> looks better than it goes!!??
> 
> Enough for now, petrol here down to 79c a litre
> today, but I see on TV oil 
> overseas is nearly back up to $30 a barrel again, so
> how long before our's 
> here is back up to a dollar a litre !?
> 
> Keep those 300s rolling, our dollar is 65c to your
> 100c, so we still can't 
> afford much from you.
> 
> Aussie Christopher
> 
>
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