Maintaining Midsize Models Keeps Customers in the Chrysler Family
Canadian Auto Press

Chrysler is under new management and by the looks of things it should be under better guidance. After overcoming its own near-death-experience, the recovery assisted by a couple of billion from GM’s put option a number of years back, mind you, Fiat is now one of the most successful car companies globally, so it knows a thing or two about negotiating tight curves while keeping everything shiny side up. One of the curves it has to overcome is a replacement for Chrysler’s Sebring, a model that previously was a bread-and-butter income earner for the brand and now isn’t pulling its weight, whereas the Dodge Avenger, the better looking platform cousin, is doing slightly better.

2010 Chrysler Sebring

Fiat plans on sharing midsize architectures with Chrysler for Sebring and Avenger replacements, but this won’t happen tomorrow. In reality it’s going to take years to sync up production, so flying in the face of Cerberus which had shown its intentions of cutting the two models, Chrysler’s new leadership will keep the two sedans on for at least two more years.

Both will get revised styling and updated interiors, the updates to the Sebring being more dramatic. Its straked hood will be “delineated” and front fascia toned down and cleaned up, a move that will make the car less original yet more appealing to the majority of buyers.

The Sebring and Avenger currently represent great value due to large discounts and good leasing deals now that Chrysler can write its own paper again, keeping volumes at a reasonable level, so it makes sense for the new company to maintain the two models and keep customers in the family, instead of sending them to rival domestic or imported brands and potentially losing them forever.