A sad and infuriating story, from Eric Peters at ericpetersautos.com:
It’s all but official. Chrysler is about to be cancelled.
This can be inferred by the recently disclosed decision to “put on hold until further notice” the new Chrysler models that aren’t coming. A leaked email from within Chrysler to a supplier – of parts for the new models that aren’t coming – reads as follows:
“The C6X (CA) program has been put on hold until further notice. Therefore, any spending associated with this program should be suspended immediately. Please contact [redacted] at [redacted]@stellantis.com if you have any questions.”
The C6X was supposed to be the first of a new line of devices to fill up the currently all-but-empty Chrysler dealer lots around the country. The only new vehicle they’ve had to offer buyers since 2023 – the last year you could buy a new 300 sedan – is the Pacifica minivan. It’s hard to maintain a brand on that basis.
But that’s all there is – and soon (apparently) there will be no more.
It’s probably a good thing. In the manner of letting go when an elderly or terminally ill person passes. It is sad, of course – but the inevitability of the thing provides a degree of both comfort and closure. Put another way, deluding oneself into believing the end isn’t inevitable makes the end – when it comes – more traumatic.
When Stellantis – the parent company of Chrysler as well as Dodge and Jeep and Ram – decided to play Climate Change Kabuki and cancelled models with engines like the 300 and the Dodge Charger/Challenger it was based upon – in favor of battery powered devices, it sealed the fate of both Chrysler and Dodge. The former CEO of Stellantis – Carlos Tavares – thought he was being both politically correct and financially sensible in that Chrysler and Dodge were having to pay huge sums to Elon Musk (Tesla) for “carbon credits” to offset the dearth of devices in the lineups of these two brands. The V8 300 and Charger were especially burdensome – in terms of regulatory compliance costs.
