The 300 and Magnum were well recieved, but then the Charger and Caliber appeared, which made me think the first two were flukes. This one seals the deal for me - they have no idea what they are doing. Trevor Creed did a great job zooting-up Mopar interiors in the early '90's. Putting him in charge of the whole shebang has proven disaterous. He has knocked Bangle off the top step of the bad design pantheon.
The sad thing is, many of the things done wrong on this car were previewed and panned on DCX concepts in the past (Super8 Hemi, etc.), or worse, plucked wholesale from other ugly cars - dig those 'Dame Edna' headlights!. Corrugated hoods, anyone? It's the classic fashion designer attitude of 'you're just not sophisticated enough to understand', IMO.
Blech!
Fresh Sebring takes on foesChrysler is hopeful model will boost sales, but analysts warn midsize segment is competitive.
Josee Valcourt / The Detroit NewsDaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group will unveil an edgy, all-new Chrysler Sebring today with a scowling grille and sharp lines that the automaker hopes will make it a player in the tough midsize sedan market.
The striking redesign comes as the midsize segment is expected to grow, with consumers shifting attention away from gas-hungry trucks to more fuel-efficient cars.
Chrysler still faces an uphill battle to woo buyers away from such stalwarts as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, but Chrysler executives are confident the Sebring, packed with a host of features and a more powerful engine, will be a contender.
"We have a better mousetrap," Scott Slagle, senior manager for Chrysler car marketing, said of the Sebring, which launches in the fall.
The made-over Sebring needs to be a success if Chrysler is to bolster its car lineup and continue the momentum started by the wildly popular Chrysler 300 in the full-size sedan segment.
Car sales for the Chrysler Group, which includes the Chrysler and Dodge brands, rose 2.6 percent in May and are up 17.9 percent for the year, mainly on the strength of the big Dodge Challenger sedan and Dodge Caliber hatchback. But Chrysler brand car sales fell 21.5 percent last month, including an 8.5 percent drop for the 300, and are down 1.5 percent for the year.
Analysts say the new Sebring, to be built at Chrysler's Sterling Heights plant, is one of 10 vehicles the automaker is introducing this year and could increase the Chrysler brand's overall sales volume, but it won't be an easy sell.
"What Chrysler has is an uphill struggle," said Tom Libby, an analyst with J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, which tracks vehicle sales.
Every auto manufacturer is present in the segment, Libby said. And the Camry and Accord are "tough, tough competitors." The Camry is the best-selling vehicle in the United States.
"You have a huge owner body of Camry and Accords," Libby said. "The (cars) live up to their reputation. They don't break down. "There's not going to be a reason for (owners) to leave or switch unless there's a new model that's substantially better. The Sebring will have to go over and beyond to attract new buyers."
Dealers are confident the Sebring will appeal to consumers.
"It looks more European, where as the current Sebring is kind of like vanilla," said Brian Ackerman, sales manager at Mike Riehl's Roseville Chrysler-Jeep. Ackerman was among dealers invited to Chrysler's Auburn Hills office last week to see the new car.
The Sebring first hit the market as a 1995 coupe and convertible. Chrysler added a sedan to the mix in 2000, and sales peaked in 2001 when demand for the three models totaled 118,459 units. Last year, Chrysler sold 90,321 Sebrings.
Overall, about 2.4 million midsize vehicles were sold last year, according to CSM Worldwide Inc., in Farmington Hills.
The segment will continue to grow slightly this year as a result of new models, including Ford's Fusion and a redesigned Nissan Altima that rolls into the market later this year, said Mike Jackson, an automotive analyst with the Farmington Hills-based firm.
Chrysler doesn't expect the Sebring to outperform the Camry or Accord, Slagle said, but the automaker does hope to lure away some of those fans.
"We look at this vehicle as inspiration for the common car," Slagle said. "The car will have more styling, technology, performance and more value. In general, we're offering more car to consumers than our competitors."
Midsize sedan buyers want features typically found in higher-end vehicles.
"They want more refinement and more technology," Slagle said. "The Sebring solves that consumer dilemma."
Chrysler offers a slew of amenities in the new Sebring, including heated and cooled front-seat cup holders, a 20 gigabyte hard disk drive that includes a music juke box to organize music and photo file. Bluetooth wireless technology will be in all Sebrings, and premium safety features such as front- and side-curtain airbags will be standard as well.
Chrysler declined to say where it plans to price the vehicle, but said it will cost less than the Accord and Camry, which both start above $18,000.
The 2006 Sebring coupe was priced between $20,055 and $24,290.
The vehicle also offers three engine options including the new 2.4-liter four-cylinder World Engine built in Dundee, a 2.7-liter V-6 and a 3.5-liter V-6. The engines will pump 172 horsepower, 190 horsepower and 235 horsepower.
Brian Chee, managing editor of the online auto research site Autobytel.com, said some competing midsize sedans offer as high as 280 horsepower.
"That could potentially be a competitive disadvantage," Chee said.
But, he said, the new Sebring's 31 mpg on the highway could be an advantage, as well as its new styling.
"People will probably look at the new Sebring as a different car because it's been completely revised," he said.
The Sebring isn't expected to have as sensational performance as the Chrysler 300, which was a bona fide hit when introduced in 2004. Yet it will appeal to more people, Ackerman said.
"Chrysler's really trying to market it to younger buyers. The current buyer of the Sebring is more of the baby boomer age," Ackerman said. "They're really trying to benchmark the competition."
