Chrysler (including Dodge and Jeep) cars, minivans, and SUVs

Chrysler was once an undisputed leader in mass-market automotive innovation, bragging of hydraulic brakes in 1924, and following through with nearly constant engineering triumphs. Unfortunately, a series of autocrats, megalomaniacs, and beancounters combined to make Chrysler a contradiction in terms.

Lee Iaccoca rescued the company, brought it close to extinction, then worked with Bob Lutz to rescue it, then killed it again by putting Bob Eaton into the driver's seat. After being acquired by Daimler-Benz, the poor management got worse; even as Stuttgart recognized Chrysler's capabilities in computer based engineering and flexible manufacturing, and allowed Chrysler to restart and continue its push for empowered work teams (after a brief and disastrous attempt to impose German "quality methods"), even as the company clearly showed its contempt for American engineering.

FiatÕs Sergio Marchionne took over the company after a Cerberus-and-Daimler-caused bankruptcy, and immediately started work on invigorating the product line and improving quality; internal measures show major improvements in quality, with Ò20% better than averageÓÊbeing targeted and achieved. Quality is likely to improve more quickly than surveys can show.

Car reviews for discontinued or past-generation Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep models