HOUSTON — The stalwart. The bargain-hunter. The skeptic.
As Chrysler dealers across America try to sell vehicles with the auto manufacturer in bankruptcy, they’re meeting different types of customers: loyalists who aren’t fazed by the troubles, those seeking the best deal in a bad economy, and some who are willing to look, but aren’t sold on the company’s prospects.
"People hear the word bankruptcy and it makes them nervous,” said Richard Engel, a Chrysler dealer in Wyckoff, N.J. "We just hope it doesn’t scare too many people away.”
Chrysler, the nation’s third-largest automaker behind General Motors and Ford, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after months of surviving on government loans. The company hopes to emerge in as little as 30 days, allied with Italian automaker Fiat to build leaner, cleaner cars.
Some customers who spoke to the Associated Press in recent days said they were encouraged by President Barack Obama’s pledge that the government will back warranties issued by Chrysler.
Others say the government’s backing is a plus, but that survival will be tough in today’s market.
It’s hard to say, yet, if the bankruptcy will slow Chrysler’s sales even more, or if bargain-hungry drivers will see the company’s straits as an opportunity. Some dealers said they saw better-than-average traffic over the weekend, while others said it was slow.
Chrysler — whose brands include Jeep and Dodge — has used cash rebates, zero-percent financing to attract buyers.
For some, a good deal on a new car trumped the possibility that Chrysler may not survive.
Rebecca Jeffries wasn’t looking to buy when she went for an oil change Friday at Day’s Baum Boulevard Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep in Pittsburgh.
She has always loved the looks of Chrysler’s Crossfire convertible, but the $40,000-plus tab was out of her price range. When a sales representative made her a deal for $27,900, she said so long to her Sebring sedan and drove off in a new silver sports car.
Cody Nelson, a Pittsburgh dentist at a Chrysler Town and Country minivan Saturday, said dealing with any kind of company in bankruptcy is nerve-racking. Nelson, 30, was at Three Rivers Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge to compare prices but admitted, "I’m not sold on Chrysler.”
by the associated press
As Chrysler dealers across America try to sell vehicles with the auto manufacturer in bankruptcy, they’re meeting different types of customers: loyalists who aren’t fazed by the troubles, those seeking the best deal in a bad economy, and some who are willing to look, but aren’t sold on the company’s prospects.
"People hear the word bankruptcy and it makes them nervous,” said Richard Engel, a Chrysler dealer in Wyckoff, N.J. "We just hope it doesn’t scare too many people away.”
Chrysler, the nation’s third-largest automaker behind General Motors and Ford, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday after months of surviving on government loans. The company hopes to emerge in as little as 30 days, allied with Italian automaker Fiat to build leaner, cleaner cars.
Some customers who spoke to the Associated Press in recent days said they were encouraged by President Barack Obama’s pledge that the government will back warranties issued by Chrysler.
Others say the government’s backing is a plus, but that survival will be tough in today’s market.
It’s hard to say, yet, if the bankruptcy will slow Chrysler’s sales even more, or if bargain-hungry drivers will see the company’s straits as an opportunity. Some dealers said they saw better-than-average traffic over the weekend, while others said it was slow.
Chrysler — whose brands include Jeep and Dodge — has used cash rebates, zero-percent financing to attract buyers.
For some, a good deal on a new car trumped the possibility that Chrysler may not survive.
Rebecca Jeffries wasn’t looking to buy when she went for an oil change Friday at Day’s Baum Boulevard Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep in Pittsburgh.
She has always loved the looks of Chrysler’s Crossfire convertible, but the $40,000-plus tab was out of her price range. When a sales representative made her a deal for $27,900, she said so long to her Sebring sedan and drove off in a new silver sports car.
Cody Nelson, a Pittsburgh dentist at a Chrysler Town and Country minivan Saturday, said dealing with any kind of company in bankruptcy is nerve-racking. Nelson, 30, was at Three Rivers Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge to compare prices but admitted, "I’m not sold on Chrysler.”
by the associated press
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