I hope Chrysler gets their "stuff" together with the new 2007 Sebrings

With the introduction of the 2007 Ultima and 2007 Camry the midsize market
is even tougher. I'm a die hard Chrysler fan and was hoping for a Civic
competitor with the Caliber but it seems Chrylser failed. I'm starting to
be afraid the Sebring will again be another disappointment. I've seen the
spy shots and it looks a little underwhelming. I have not even heard if they
are going to update the V6 2.7L engines- which are way behind the engines
that are used in the Honda/Toyota/Nissan midsize cars. I hope I'm wrong.

Scott

 

Don't worry about it, I thought the new 300C with the itty bitty
windows and the giant butt-ugly grill would flop but apparently the
new car purchasers of today have absolutely zero taste in good
auto styling. If the new Sebring is butt-ugly, based on what is
selling now, they will sell a ton of them. In fact the uglier it is
the more they will sell.

Ted

 

Hi Ted,

I love the 300C ... I drive one as a company car, and yeah, it's a love
it or hate it styling... but to me, it's hot. It screams authority!!

The Caliber is nice too!! I'd love that for a personal car, sure, it's
different!! And its priced REALLY competitively.

I don't think anything can really beat it!

Cheers

The old Sebring was fine, sure, not as good as the others, BUT.. $$$ it's
still cheaper than the rest.. and Chrysler styling has really improved over
the other US manufacturers.

 

Personally I'm not interested in the Civic (yawn) nor would I be interested
in a DC-made Civic clone. But I might well consider a Caliber when my Focus
wagon comes to trade-in time. It's interesting, and offers a lot more
versatility than either the Civic or Corolla.

 

I guess my main beef is the gas mileage with the Caliber- it's nothing to
write home about. I was hoping for more mid to upper 30's for highway.

 

I spent a year deciding if I loved or hated the 300C, I finally decided I
loved it and bought one. Chrysler has hit on the right formula, highly
distinctive cars that generate strong reactions. It doesn't matter if 90%
of the public hates your car if 10% love it so much they'll buy one at any
price. GM and Ford are heading towards bankruptcy because the only way
they have to sell a car is with huge rebates. Any company has to have a
value proposition to sell their products. Toyota gets premium prices
because their cars have a reputation for reliability. Toyota's cars are
all dull and uninteresting with the exception of their hybrids which the
tree hugging crowd finds exciting. But they don't have to discount because
people know that the transmission isn't going to fall out of them and that
they'll be able to sell them in 10 years. Chrysler can never compete with
Toyota on Toyota's terms and they are smart not to try. Instead they've
been able to write their own rule book. You don't buy a Chrysler for fuel
economy, durability, or resale value because those all suck on Chryslers.
You buy a Chrysler because it offers more performance then anything else
in it's class or because it's in a class by itself. Chrysler got there
with minivans and SUVs before anyone else and they had a long profitable
run before everyone else caught up. With the 300C they came out with a
radically styled sedan at a time when everyone else was putting all of
their design money into yet another SUV. The 300C also has the performance
of a car that cost's $20K more, when I was shopping last year the only
other cars that had a V8 and AWD cost >$60K. As a result they don't have
to offer any discounts on the 300C and they are the only Detroit auto
company making money. It's doubtful if they can make any money on Calibers
because of the price point, but if thats the car where a generation of
kids lose their virginity (it looks like that's the design goal for
the Caliber) then they'll have a bunch of customers for the future.

 

I'm not looking for a Civic, but the Caliber has my interest for my next
car for which I need a smaller wagon. Much easier to load golf bags.

I'm wondering about the the spy shots that scared you. Does it have
another Chrysler macho truck like front end and grill?

Yes the 2.7 is a good engine, but how much betterit should be with VVT.
Perhaps the Caliber engine designers will get the job, although I
haven't heard any solid info on the Caliber engine performance.
By performance I mean fuel mileage as well as acceleration.

Since my wife will probably keep her 2001 Sebring for another 10 years,
she and I don't care what the coming configuration is. As long as it's
back to reasonable for us in YR 2015, but by then our needs are sure
to be different than today.

 

Hopefully for Chrysler the new Sebring will be the same success as for
the 300, but if the change is to a different type of car than the
Sebring now is the customers will be different, as the 300 customers are
different than the LH car customers.
The turned off customers will do what the LH turned off customers did;
buy elsewhere.

 

It interests me for my next car in 3 or 4 years.
I've only seen the bottom three models and the upholstery does not whet
my appetite.
Driving it may also tell another story.

My test drives are at least a few day rental. A test drive around the
block is a complete waste of my time.

So far the Caliber passes my "sit in it" test and the functional test,
although I'm not too interested in a pop cooler in the dash. <

 

We are in agreement.

I've also looked at the Caliber's cousin, the new Mercedes B200.
Very nicely fitted out vehicle, but it just looks too much like the all
to common Matrix.

 

Last year Toyota said they could drop prices a bit, but they sell well
at their current prices and they also said they they don't want to hurt
GM any more at this time.
A new Toyota plant in Ontario has been significantly increased in size
while in final design because demand warrants it.
Yes Toyotas are dull and Chrysler doesn't always compete directly with
them, except that the Sebring competes with the Camry and the Caliber
competes with the Matrix. At our golf course I actually mistook a B-200
for a Matrix, not nice for a car that costs twice as much.

As for quality I could tell you a real story on a local VW service rep
who bought a Toyota. Yes he still had his job the last I heard, but
lost his friendship with his boss. His wife works at Toyota and they
compared notes re customer's problems. >

Not true in the NA North West, where the number of 300s is low. Here
mid sized and smaller cars, then truck/large SUVs sell best.
I can count on two hands the Magnums I've seen here since they came out.
In 3 minutes I can't count on two hands the Toyotas I see here.
The 300 and Pacifica are discounted here in Vancouver, BC and you'd
be shocked as I am at the discounted prices on 2005s, both used and the
new ones still FS. This weeks ads even had a number of unsold Chrysler
2005 large trucks and Jeeps. Gasoline is very expensive here and is
taking it's toll on gas eaters.

It's all about volume, in many countries around the world.
I feel they will sell a ton of them, but my observation of the Chrysler
dealer I pass each day is it's starting very slow. That dealer still
has his first two, plus a few more, after about 3 weeks.
However I have seen a few on the road and I'm betting by summer they
will be more common on the road than the 300s sold here.
The Caliber customers may surprise Chrysler as much as Honda was
surprised by the Element buyers. The Element here is a lady's car.

Seeing the Matrix buyers locally, I know it won't just be just the
young. The Matrix buyers here tend to be middle aged women.
I'm expecting the Caliber will be a middle aged and perhaps older man's
city car. That has been the case with the two I've seen on the road so
far.

 

I saw spy photos of the new Sebring and don't like it. It sounds like
they are going to base the convertible on that body too so I may have
to buy one of the current models sooner than I think, before they
disappear.

 

in re: the old Sebring

in case this wasn't posted here b4: Chrysler has sold the entire
production line for the Sebring/Stratus fo Russia where they will build
em.

Good Luck, Ivan.........but if Chrysler retains the rights to
replacement transmission lines, they'll have quite a source of income
for years!

 

You mean they can't build over-rated generic people movers bland enough
to make a tree sloth die of boredom?