Chrysler Turnaround?

At Chrysler Headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, company executives explained how they expect to move from bankruptcy to profitability in five years, and apparently the Jeep brand is going to be a significant factor in that turnaround. The plan calls for boosting Jeep sales by 60% in that time.

Unfortunately, there are no plans for new products. The nearest indication of anything new is a "major modification" of the Wrangler in 2010. The Nitro may be "refreshed" in 2012, and the Liberty is scheduled for "a refresh" in 2010.

"Modification" and "refresh" sound to me much like "more of the same." I suspect the purchasing public is not going to be too excited by that prospect.

Perhaps Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both Chrysler and Fiat SpA, has a few tricks up his sleeve, but it will need to be more than "refresh" and "modification." Even if they have nothing "new,' they could, at the very least, make a concerted effort to improve quality.