Chrysler Confirms Death of Town & Country and Jeep Compass

[whitejeep1989]

Chrysler finally has made up its mind about which minivan will get the axe, and the Caravan is the winner. It makes sense to me, as a premium-ish brand should not be selling a utilitarian minivan. A crossover makes much more sense for the brand. If they can execute it as well as Buick's Enclave, I think it will sell. I always like the old Pacifica, no reason why they can't pick up where that vehicle left off.

Also, the linked article confirms that the Compass will die and the Dart will get an SRT variant.




http://www.leftlanenews.com/chrysler...dged-dart.html
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that the Chrysler Town & Country minivan will be phased out after the 2013 model year. This will leave only the Dodge Grand Caravan to represent the Chrysler group on the minivan segment in the United States.

The move is part of Marchionne’s quest to put an end to product overlapping among the divisions of the Chrysler group.

The gap left by the Town & Country will be filled by a luxury crossover that might keep the decades-old nameplate alive. It will be smaller than the minivan and it will likely ride on Chrysler’s CUSW platform.

Marchionne did not specify when to expect the crossover but we wouldn’t be surprised to see it debut in 2014 as a 2015 model.

[DJMRDARK]

[GruuvenNorth]

Does Ford or GM still make a minivan?

Chrysler is the only N/A minivan producer now...and can offer that practicality for familys for a great price. Otherwise, you're spending 25+ k for a base Honda/Toyota equivilent. Buddy of mine Just picked up a Brand New Dodge Caravan for $22K taxes in for some weird Canada Package. Came with pretty much everything but fancy things like GPS, but had the basics like PW, PM, Air, and whatever is considered base nowadays.

[logdog]

Obviously there must not be enough sales to support both, but the people I know with T&Cs love them and are very loyal. Most have had several in a row and many have kids that long moved out. The Caravan seems much more popular with young families. I cant imagine there is much content difference between a loaded Caravan and a T&C

[gonzo08452]

there goes my free upgrade from Enterprise

[invisiblewar]

Shame about the compass. After the refresh, it was actually a pretty good looking car. Will there be a next Generation Patriot

[mraguilar]

Lets see what we got in Mexico, we only get the Chrysler version, and is a very good seller.

the caravans rolling here are old and beaten, since we got the 10+ year old ones imported from the US.
so if they change the name to Caravan, people will associate with them.

hope they analyzed the international sales. and hope for their own good, keep the T&C if they dont want to loose vs Honda and Toyota at least on export sales.

[Aonarch]

[Buzzkill]

For sure, out of the two the patriot should go if you ask me.

[kimilein]

That's kind of silly though, since the T&C is sold as in Europe. Wouldn't it make sense to keep the T&C which shares more body panels and components with the export version?

[Chris16vRocco]

That's kind of silly though, since the T&C is sold as in Europe. Wouldn't it make sense to keep the T&C which shares more body panels and components with the export version?

They're probably going to restyle the Caravan by that time anyway, and will likely make the new export version closer to the Caravan at that time as well.

[Vettes, Volvos and VWs]

For sure, out of the two the patriot should go if you ask me.

Ummm no, the Patriot is far more congruent with Jeeps corporate styling and heritage. The Compass was marketed as the feminine version and the Patriot the Masculine one.

[Punch Dub]

I actually like the idea of the T&C as a luxury crossover. If they can execute it as well as the new Grand Cherokee, they'll have a winner.

[Inspector Detector]

I actually like the idea of the T&C as a luxury crossover. If they can execute it as well as the new Grand Cherokee, they'll have a winner.

I think it's just a fad victim. Mommy and daddy, are blowing them off now and have come to the ludicrous logic that SUV's an cross dressers will haul brats and groceries just as well

[Air and water do mix]

They're probably going to restyle the Caravan by that time anyway, and will likely make the new export version closer to the Caravan at that time as well.

This makes sense. If I were running the show, I'd have them be exactly the same, save the nose and badging. There's no reason to differentiate them further if they're not being sold in the same market and this way there's almost no cost to keeping both. Here the Caravan sells better but in Mexico and Europe the Town and Country sells. It looks like the best of both worlds if you're trying to consolidate.

[Mike!]

Great decisions, in my opinion. Fiat's doing a lot more good for Chrysler than Daimler-Benz ever did.

[BRealistic]

Great decisions, in my opinion. Fiat's doing a lot more good for Chrysler than Daimler-Benz ever did.

Long term =/= short term.

We will have to wait several more years to be able to judge the Chrysler-Fiat thing with any clarity.
Remember, the Daimler-Benz deal allowed Chrysler to make rear drive cars.. which gave Chrysler a strong image spark in the 2000s and also helped every 22" chrome wheel manufacturer.

[hussdog426]

i like the compass and its sad to see it go

[Blonde Guy]

VW still sells Routan; maybe T&C customers will go there.

[Buzzkill]

Ummm no, the Patriot is far more congruent with Jeeps corporate styling and heritage. The Compass was marketed as the feminine version and the Patriot the Masculine one.

So men are buying these? Would you say the grand cherokee has feminine styling?

[Vettes, Volvos and VWs]

So men are buying these? Would you say the grand cherokee has feminine styling?

To my knowledge that is how Jeep originally marketed these vehicles. In the real world I don't think this is entirely the case. Although I know more men who own Patriots I see a fair amount of women driving them as well. The Patriot was arguably a more cohesive design when it was introduced. Another large reason why the Compass is getting the axe is because of sales numbers, as both the Patriot and Caliber manage to outsell it. I will admit that the Compass refresh does look spectacular compared to the design it replaced.

[whitejeep1989]

Long term =/= short term.

We will have to wait several more years to be able to judge the Chrysler-Fiat thing with any clarity.
Remember, the Daimler-Benz deal allowed Chrysler to make rear drive cars.. which gave Chrysler a strong image spark in the 2000s and also helped every 22" chrome wheel manufacturer.

The 300 and Magnum were close to launch when Daimler came along. The Daimler influence is pretty minimal on those cars. The current Grand Cherokee and Durango probably owe more to the Daimler marriage than any other Chrysler products, besides the short-lived Crossfire.

[Buzzkill]

Yeah, post refresh I stand by my statement that I would axe the patriot and keep the compass, I would think the market buying those two models would be okay with that.

[Vettes, Volvos and VWs]

Yeah, post refresh I stand by my statement that I would axe the patriot and keep the compass, I would think the market buying those two models would be okay with that.

The problem with the Compass is that it is too bubbly. Traditionally Jeep customers adored the Cherokee, however, it was discontinued, and many looked for a vehicle that was similar. The Cherokee being a boxy SUV had a similar size and look to the Patriot. The Patriot in large part was a Quasi-Cherokee, and this led to it's sales success over it's Compass twin.

[das internet]

The 300 and Magnum were close to launch when Daimler came along. The Daimler influence is pretty minimal on those cars. The current Grand Cherokee and Durango probably owe more to the Daimler marriage than any other Chrysler products, besides the short-lived Crossfire.

They merged in '97, the 300/Magnum came in 2004 and used chassis bits from the S-class. The Pacifica came before that and the Daimler influence was obvious even in that car.

[BRealistic]

It is kind of odd that we use the term "kill" when we just mean "stop making them".

[kimilein]

It is kind of odd that we use the term "kill" when we just mean "stop making them".

Deep, bro, deep.

[Live-Wire]

VW still sells Routan; maybe T&C customers will go there.

IIRC it's done in 2013 too. Don't thing VW even wants it anymore. I know the dealers don't, aside from having a roomy shuttle.

[vdub10golf]

IIRC it's done in 2013 too. Don't thing VW even wants it anymore. I know the dealers don't, aside from having a roomy shuttle.

I know there won't be a 2013 Routan because there are still too many 2012s left. Not sure after that though.

[warren_s]

They merged in '97, the 300/Magnum came in 2004 and used chassis bits from the S-class.

The 300 platform was pretty much based on the W211 E-Class.... I don't think anything other than the front suspension came from the W220 S-Class.

[Lwize]

IIRC it's done in 2013 too. Don't thing VW even wants it anymore. I know the dealers don't, aside from having a roomy shuttle.

Time for the VW Vanagon/Caravelle/Transporter/whatever to make a triumphant return to the US?

[whitejeep1989]

The 300 platform was pretty much based on the W211 E-Class.... I don't think anything other than the front suspension came from the W220 S-Class.

Wikipedia has some thoughts on this subject:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysle...rst_generation

The Chrysler 300 is based on the rear-wheel drive Chrysler LX platform which features components derived from the W211 Mercedes-Benz E-Class of 2003 to 2009.[4] For years it was incorrectly believed that the LX platform shared components from the older Mercedes W210, but it has been recently revealed by an LX chassis engineer that it wasn't the case. "One thing that a lot of people said at the time and probably still think is that when we were doing that car, that we were just giving the old E-class stuff and that’s not true at all. They were doing the new E-class, which is called the 211, that was their code name for it. They launched that one year before we launched the LX."[4] Shared components include the rear suspension design, front seat frames, wiring harnesses, steering column, the 5-speed automatic transmission's design, and a derivative of the 4Matic all-wheel drive system. The Chrysler 300 also features a double wishbone front suspension that is derived from the W220 Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

[BRealistic]

Time for the VW Vanagon/Caravelle/Transporter/whatever to make a triumphant return to the US?

The Touran makes more sense (price).
The Vanagan would be really expensive in the US.

[DaddyOfPayton]

For sure, out of the two the patriot should go if you ask me.

The Compass is a Caliber with different badges.

Death to teh suck! The Caliber was the WORST rental car I ever drove (and that includes the Sebring and the Pacifica, both of which explain why an Italian entry level car company now owns them).

I say, bring on the Dart SRT, and I will shed no tears for the three ring circus of underachievement that was the Compass

[sakigt]

Last I heard they were rumoring a 2013 hybrid T&C. So much for that I guess.