WOW this kinda sucks. I bet it would have been a bit suscessful! (SP?)
Thursday, January 6, 2005
DaimlerChrysler puts brakes on concept car
Chrysler sports vehicle costs too much to mass produce while the firm is rebuilding, official says.
By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
After a year of study, DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group decided this week not to build the Chrysler ME Four-Twelve sports car, a concept vehicle billed as the fastest street car in the world.
The Auburn Hills automaker unveiled the sleek super car in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show last year as a "production prototype" and said it would build the 850-horsepower rocket in low numbers if it made financial sense.
Chrysler killed the project after an internal study completed Monday showed that building and marketing the car would cost "hundreds of millions of dollars" at a time when the company is still rebuilding, said spokesman Jason Vines.
Named for its mid-engine design, four turbo chargers and 12-cylinder engine, its top speed is 248 mph.
"We're proud of the excitement it generated around the world," Vines said. "But we could not make a legitimate business case for it."
Chrysler may also have less need for the hot sports car than it did a year ago. Last year at this time Chrysler was just completing a three-year restructuring, profits were down and new models such as the Chrysler 300 sedan had not yet hit the market. The ME Four-Twelve seemed the perfect distraction from the company's woes.
Today, however, Chrysler is entering this month's Detroit auto show from a position of strength, ending 2004 with a 3.7 percent increase in sales and a 13 percent U.S. market share, up from 12.8 percent the year before, according to Autodata Corp.
Yet many consumers still give Chrysler poor marks for the quality, reliability and durability of its cars and trucks. Investing money in those areas is smarter than building a super car, even if the model could add prestige to the Chrysler name, said David Hofer, chief executive of Above All, a marketing and brand communications firm in Birmingham.
"Branding is only as good as the promise you live up to," he said.
The ME Four-Twelve was a pet project of former Chrysler Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Bernhard, who takes charge of Germany's Volkswagen brand next month. At the Detroit auto show last year, Bernhard said that in an auto market crowded with a dizzying variety of choices, vehicles like the ME Four-Twelve are needed to get customers' attention. Chrysler will unveil another high-end sports car concept at the Detroit auto show this month. The Chrysler Firepower is a rear-wheel-drive coupe based on the Dodge Viper with a 425-horsepower engine and an estimated top speed of 185 mph.
Credit - http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins.../C06-51812.htm
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Originally Posted by TheOne
