Town and Country and Compass Done Dart Coming Soon

Chrysler Shifts its Focus

Harry Lloyd

Out with the old

Chrysler has been on a roller coaster ride the past few years. Flirting with bankruptcy seems like just a distant memory, even though it was just a few short years ago. A surge of new car deals flooded in after its initial Imported from Detroit commercials, and fueled its unlikely turnaround story.

Taking its new shot at life for all it has been worth, Chrysler has been steadily making moves to ensure it stays on the right path. One of the early success stories for Chrysler was its position as one of the best minivan manufacturers around.

With changing times comes changes in thinking, and the minivan is hardly a car segment in high demand anymore. With that in mind, Chrysler has announced that it will end production of the Chrysler Town and Country minivan effective in 2014.

This will leave the Dodge Grand Caravan as its only minivan left in its lineups, which surprised many who felt like it was definitely going to be the Caravan that was going to get the axe. The Town and Country has been one of its mainstay vehicles since it first rolled off assembly lines in 1989. It will be replaced by a new Chrysler crossover model.

Chrysler has announced they are also done with the Jeep Compass in 2014. The Compass is very similar to the Patriot, although the Patriot is a more inexpensive new car and sells better. This cut should provide a bit more breathing room for the remaining lineup of Jeep vehicles.

In with the new

All of this is part of Chrysler's vision to eliminate its own vehicles competing against each other and to establish more specific brand identities for its four major divisions; Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Chrysler.

They are even getting back into old markets they once left behind. Chrysler and Fiat are joint developing the Dodge Dart, which will be revived and hit Dodge dealerships in 2013. This compact car looks to compete in one of the most competitive car segments, and the competition has never been stronger.

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