Cherokees challenge the White House

Chrysler’s gas guzzlers refuse to quit

Isn’t this downright rude? Just a week after the White House scolded Chrysler for relying too much on gas guzzlers, the company is heading to a marquee car show to launch yet another SUV. I will be there if the Online Cash Advance I applied for comes through.

According to Chrysler, its Jeep Grand Cherokee is a crowd favorite and a crucial part of its lineup. “It’s a very important vehicle for us. It’s one of the primary legs of the Chrysler stool,” Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau said. “Customers have told us they want this vehicle and that it’s the right size.”

Merge or else

It’s true that Chrysler has tried to reduce consumption and that the 2011 model is 11 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessor and is powered by a cleaner and more powerful engine. But this debut is odd timing. At the end of March, the Obama administration rejected the company’s survival plan and gave it 30 days to secure a merger with another automaker, most likely Fiat of Italy.

In addition, Chrysler was slammed for its heavy product lineup of trucks and SUVs. But Chrysler stands by the Grand Cherokee. It’s not only profitable and highly recognizable, it’s the No. 2-selling vehicle in the Jeep lineup.

It’s hard to argue with popularity

John Wolkonowicz, senior automotive analyst for the consulting firm IHS-Global Insight, says, “It’s one of their most important vehicles. The market for SUVs still exists, particularly for smaller ones like the Grand Cherokee.”

Once the Chrysler-Fiat deal is sealed it will be the Fiat end that supplies the small-car offerings. Small fuel-efficient Fiat cars, like the two-seater 500, are expected to sell well on this side of the Atlantic. But the Fiats are not expected to make it to the U.S. until 2011, so until then, Chrysler has little choice but to survive on revenue from its current vehicle lineup.

The comfort factor

The new Grand Cherokee’s engine does achieve higher fuel economy on top of additional power. The Cherokee does not compare with say the 2009 Toyota Camry when it comes to gas mileage.

Chrysler, the weakest of the Big Three automakers, says it plans to unveil two dozen vehicles over the next four years. The Cherokee is the first of this series. If the automaker goes ahead with its merger plans and all the concessions promised by union and other stakeholders, and the $6 billion in additional loans promised by the federal government, will help it reach that goal.

Who to please first

Karl Brauer, editor in chief of the automotive Web site Edmunds.com, said it’s hard for Chrysler to please both the government, which is demanding greater fuel efficiency from the Big Three auto manufacturers as well as its customers, many of whom still demand big cars.

“It would be far more foolish for Chrysler to abandon its core competencies in the Jeep brand lineup than it is to come out with a new” Grand Cherokee, Brauer said.

Walter Chrysler could fix it

The company was founded by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925, when the Maxwell Motor Company was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation. Walter Chrysler had originally arrived at the ailing Maxwell-Chalmers company in the early 1920s, having been hired to take over and overhaul the company’s troubled operations after he had completed a similar rescue job at the Willys car company.