The Patriot, Compass, and Caliber will be three of the 12 vehicles that will receive a total of 260 upgrades in the immediate future. They will also all receive price cuts.
Looks like a $150 million dollar investment. Looks like it will begin to go into effect next month.
Wonder what it could be. CVT upgrade? All MK's share that in common. More sound insulation....a common complaint. Lots of options and room for improvement.
Also:
Press said Chrysler has already made 260 upgrades to its vehicles, mostly improvements in materials and appearance. That was part of a $150 million investment in existing products, he said.
"Over time you'll see an evolution to much stronger interior packages," he said.
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I wonder what they have in mind with this statement? Chrysler also aims to shore up the image of its brands, such as Jeep, after being criticized for expanding into vehicles such as the Compass that detract from its outdoor and off-road performance image. "It's got to be true to the brand. Don't put Jeep on something that is not a real Jeep," Press said of Chrysler's emerging brand strategy.
This should be interesting. They've already fixed my one complaint I have with my Caliber by darkening the interior. (The 07 caliber light gray sucks to clean!!!)
Otherwise, a stick shift AWD caliber would be my next gripe. Finally, MyGig on ALL models as an option Other than that, no improvements needed!
I wonder what they have in mind with this statement? Chrysler also aims to shore up the image of its brands, such as Jeep, after being criticized for expanding into vehicles such as the Compass that detract from its outdoor and off-road performance image. "It's got to be true to the brand. Don't put Jeep on something that is not a real Jeep," Press said of Chrysler's emerging brand strategy.
What does that mean for the Patriot and the Compass? I think they'd be foolish to cut either out of the line up (I wrote a letter to include with my Customer Service Survey to that effect). Wranglers and Grand Cherokees are great, but lets face it-with $3.50/gallon gas, who can afford it? We love the gas milage on our Pats! If they discontinue these, then people would be looking at Suzuki's, Honda's and Toyotas-Not Cool!
It's a definite maybe :laugh: . It's funny too that looking through the parts manuals I find stuff listed for 49 (Compass) with a DWD (FD II) description. These listing are separate from the 74 (Patriot) DWD listings. So what's up with that.
Whether they sell the Compass to the Chinese to manufacture over there, drop it at Belvidere or fix some of the supposed deficiencies that started with the bobble head ads created by Jeep, it won't matter much to me. I'll still love my Compass for it's uniqueness and rebuild whatever I need to with Patriot parts (I'm doing that anyway) and park it right next to my obsolete Challenger. It's always been my opinion that the factory builds compromises, I rebuild them to suit me. :thumbsup:
It appears that the US is hot for the Patriot but the Compass is doing VERY well in the export market. It has also brought new buyers into Jeep, those that really don't like the classic Jeep looks and would have never considered buying one before the Compass came out.
$150M for 260 upgrades on 12 vehicles doesn't leave much for each individual unit. Will it be upgrades for the new ones coming off the line, retro fits and fixes on those already produced? Nobody is saying. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I did some poking around...it looks like this is an effort to show that Chrysler (and Jeep) won't wait for the product cycle to come around again to do a redesign. It looks like the Patriot and Compass will both get interior makeovers, in the Compass' case to keep it from getting axed (right away). http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080116/BUSINESS03/801160323/1014/BUSINESS01
Quote from the article:
Chrysler this fall is expected to dramatically make over the interiors of the Jeep Compass and Patriot, vehicles that were launched within the past 16 months, people familiar with the plans told the Free Press.
I don't quite know what to do. We're planning on buying a Patriot in the next couple of weeks, but this makes me think twice. I guess there's always something better and nicer coming down the line. Oh well.
I wonder what they have in mind with this statement? Chrysler also aims to shore up the image of its brands, such as Jeep, after being criticized for expanding into vehicles such as the Compass that detract from its outdoor and off-road performance image. "It's got to be true to the brand. Don't put Jeep on something that is not a real Jeep," Press said of Chrysler's emerging brand strategy.
going with that quote from chrysler and the jeep name with OFFROAD performance, they did make the grand charakee SRT, I'm sure as heck owners of that don't plan on taking it of road. That along with the compass I beleive what could be called "street jeeps"
The Compass without FD II is no more a street Jeep than the Patriots without it, too. I'll take mine off-road LONG before the wife does her GC or the Daughter her Libby. Off-roading is just as much attitude as it is vehicle. I didn't tell Jeep to run the stupid bobble head commercials and destroy a good image before the Compass even had a chance. If it had been promoted the same way that the Patriot was then people may have had a different attitude about it regardless of it's non-classic looks.
I'll also always be in the markert for a Jeepster at the right price. Is that why they quite making it, too?
"IF" i were Chrysler, i would 'move' the Compass to the Chrysler line. this way Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep would ALL have an MK in their stable. just change out the nameplates and add a Chrysler eggcrate grille, and it would be good to go. the Chrysler MK would be more 'upscale', the Dodge MK (Caliber is actually a "PM") would be the 'performance' model and the Jeep MK (Patriot) would be the one to carry on the FDII pkg and off road equipment. make sense?
hummmm, "Chrysler Compass".....kind of has a ring to it!!!
"IF" i were Chrysler, i would 'move' the Compass to the Chrysler line. this way Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep would ALL have an MK in their stable. just change out the nameplates and add a Chrysler eggcrate grille, and it would be good to go. the Chrysler MK would be more 'upscale', the Dodge MK (Caliber) would be the 'performance' model and the Jeep MK (Patriot) would be the one to carry on the FDII pkg and off road equipment. make sense?
hummmm, "Chrysler Compass".....kind of has a ring to it!!!
There is one flaw with your plan Jeepster, that being that besides the SRT 4, none of the Calibers are exactly performance machines. My R/T is definitely not.
There is one flaw with your plan Jeepster, that being that besides the SRT 4, none of the Calibers are exactly performance machines. My R/T is definitely not.
There is one flaw with your plan Jeepster, that being that besides the SRT 4, none of the Calibers are exactly performance machines. My R/T is definitely not.
ok, i'll give you that. i was looking at buying an R/T AWD but couldn't locate one without that gawd-awful tu-tone interior. could have ordered one, but then couldn't make use of the current rebates, so i chose the Compass instead. very happy with my decision...
but getting back to what you said about 'performance', Dodge has ALWAYS been the "Performance Division" as long as i can remember, dating back to the '60's and maybe even '50's. the term "Performance" is relative, just as anything else.....
:nono: i dont' know about THAT! have you seen the interiors of the base Sebring? my Compass with the 'Yes Essentials' material is far nicer than THAT! :teehee:
OK, but see what I mean by perceived? Dodge is perceived performance, Chrysler is perceived elegance and Jeep is perceived Off-Road. None of the lines holds true to peoples perceptions. So what's the point of trying to single out the Compass of not fitting the image as in their statement:
Chrysler also aims to shore up the image of its brands, such as Jeep, after being criticized for expanding into vehicles such as the Compass that detract from its outdoor and off-road performance image. "It's got to be true to the brand. Don't put Jeep on something that is not a real Jeep," Press said of Chrysler's emerging brand strategy.
on the 'flip' side of that, if Dodge were strickly 'PERFORMANCE', would they still be the leader of the free world in production of the "Mini-Van"? to me, "Mini-Van" and "Performance" don't exactly go 'hand in hand'.
'maybe' they should divide the lines as follows; Chrysler; passenger cars/daily drivers, Dodge; trucks and vans and Jeep; sport utility vehicles.
this would work but only IF Mopar could do the 'alpha' concept with all dealerships. that is EVERY dealership would carry ALL the lines. it's happening now, but won't be completed for several years.
have you seen some of the dodge turbo minivans? i though some of them pulled mid 12s in the 1/4 mile (might be wrong there or maybe Im thinking of a modified one), complete with factory fake wood siding :rofl: if I can find a link Ill put it up.
but really I do think jeep should concentrate their ads and vehicles on "go anywhere" rather than "more cupholders."
going fast never hurt though.
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