Doomed Chrysler Car Gets Place of Honor

Considering Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne essentially sentenced the Chrysler 200 to death the other week, it’s ironic a dressed-up version of the midsize sedan occupies a place of honor on the floor of the Chicago Auto Show.

It proudly sits amid fellow FCA products and is decked out with an assortment of Mopar options to show the handiwork of the automaker’s accessory unit.

The car stands out. Granted, it’s not dramatically displayed at a 45-degree angle on steel beams like a nearby Ram pickup truck is. But after what Marchionne said, one might expect the Chrysler 200 would get off-in-the-corner treatment.

Marchionne essentially said days are numbered for the 200 and Dodge Dart compact sedan because the market is shifting so much away from cars and to light trucks, SUVs and CUVs.

Yet, two years ago at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, FCA heralded the arrival of the all-new ’15 Chrysler 200. After years of making so-so midsize sedans, it seemed as if Chrysler finally got it right with a vehicle worthy enough to compete with segment leaders Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Ford Fusion.

With the redone 200, Chrysler was ready “not just to compete but to trump the competition,” Al Gardner, the brand’s president and CEO, said at the vehicle’s unveiling.

He pledged the automaker would build the 200 to perfection at an all-new assembly line in Sterling Heights, MI. “This is a plant story as well as a new-product story. A flagship car requires a flagship facility.”

Chrysler spent $1 billion on the new line. High hopes rode on the 200. It has done reasonably well in the market.

The 200 sold 177,889 units last year in the U.S., according to WardsAuto data. On the other hand, the Camry delivered 429,185 and the Accord 355,493.

In 2015, the Jeep brand, where Marchionne is putting much of his money, really moved the metal. The Cherokee alone sold 220,260 units last year. That’s a 23.4% increase over 2014, illustrating the growing popularity of trucks over cars in the U.S.

At the Chicago show, a veteran of the Chrysler side of FCA stands near the gloriously displayed 200 and shares his reaction to Marchionne saying the 200 basically will run through its current product cycle, and then that’s it.

“I was a bit surprised and bummed out, too,” he says of the death sentence, noting there’s no set execution date. “It’s still for sale.”

Does he recall how much Chrysler ballyhooed the debuting vehicle at the 2014 Detroit auto show? He does. “And it deserved that praise. It’s a great car.”

As for that facility that makes the 200, “it’s a flexible-manufacturing plant,” he notes. In other words, the 200 can be easily replaced.

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