Chery-based Dodge Hornet dead for now
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It's now looking like Chrysler's hopes of getting a fuel efficient small car from China's Chery Motors are dead in the water. The company had agreed with Chery in late 2006 to collaborate on small car development and production. This had led to hopes that the Dodge Hornet concept might become a reality at some point. The first stage in the deal was to sell Dodge-badged versions of the Chery QQ in Mexico and central America before bringing all new cars to the U.S. Apparently money problems at both companies, combined with the poor quality of the Chinese-made cars, combined to kill the deal. Chery's cars had no hope of passing U.S. safety standards in their current form and an all-new car was apparently out of the budget. If Chrysler survives, it may have to rely on a more recent deal with Great Wall Motors of China or Nissan. The Japanese brand recently started providing a Dodge-branded version of the Versa for sale in South America.
Gallery: Dodge Hornet
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DriverG 5:01PM (11/17/2008)
Does anyone seriously think Chrysler will ever introduce another car of any kind?
Reply
freshforged 12:41AM (11/18/2008)
Yes.
azrael4h 6:27AM (11/18/2008)
Chrysler has a better shot at survival than GM; with much lower losses, far more cash in the bank, and flexible lines that are building some profitable cars. They've also not canned product development, which as Ford's CEO said is the key to surviving; you can't make profits by selling nothing.
Had Daimler not stolen 8 billion and canceled the Neon's replacement in favor of buying drugs for Dr Z, Chrysler would probably be in the black right now. The loss of a profitable small car (which the Neon was, and the jointly-developed Lancer-based replacement would have been) just before that segment takes off really hurts.