Chrysler Cuts To Hit Moscow, S/Point

13 comments on this post so far. Add yours!

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  moscow_minidoka on May 14 at 12:08 p.m.

  I’ve got a Jeep, and although it has had more mechanical problems than my old Toyota ever had, it has been a good vehicle for the past 8 years. I take it to Ambassador Auto for service, because the JiffyLube in Moscow is not exactly up to snuff, and Ambassador does a nice job.

  I doubt that Ambassador Auto will close, because they are not a full Chrysler dealership - the only Chrysler brand they sell is Jeep, and otherwise they are a Subaru dealership. Not good news for Ambassador, but I doubt it’ll be fatal, because I see a lot of Subarus in Moscow, and nearly all of them came from Ambassador.

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  HonestGeorge on May 14 at 12:26 p.m.

  I’ve never owned one - but I have rented Chrysler’s PT Cruisers - and believe me they are as much fun to drive as the old VW Beatle ever was - but with a better heater.

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  Don_Sausser on May 14 at 1:54 p.m.

  The Cruiser stands out in Consumer Reports annual survey in contrast to worse than average reliability for the rest of their car line.
  These are not editorial judgements but derived from owner surveys based on their experiences with a vehicle.

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  Digger on May 14 at 1:55 p.m.

  DFO - you need to update the front page to reflect that Ambassador Auto is NOT closing and that its only the Chrystler portion of their business that will be affected.

  Ambassador Auto is about 75% Subaru and only 25% Chrystler (Jeep). I was just glad to see that Wsyup Chrystler Dodge wasn’t on the list of closure - that would be devistating for our area.

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  spokelooneh on May 14 at 2:38 p.m.

  I’ve had Jeep Grand Cherokee and a PT Cruiser. The Grand blew it’s engine out completely at 85K.

  Had no problems with the PT (they’re made in Mexico BTW) but sold it after a couple of years. Gas mileage wasn’t as good as I’d of liked, about 18 mpg all around. Really large turning ratio, as bad as the Jeep practically. Odd for a small car.

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  spokelooneh on May 14 at 2:39 p.m.

  I’ve had Jeep Grand Cherokee and a PT Cruiser. The Grand blew it’s engine out completely at 85K.

  Had no problems with the PT (they’re made in Mexico BTW) but sold it after a couple of years. Gas mileage wasn’t as good as I’d of liked, about 18 mpg all around. Really large turn radius, as bad as the Jeep practically. Odd for a small car.

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  Howard_Martinson on May 14 at 3:57 p.m.

  Don has it right.

  I reviewed the new Consumer Reports auto study a week or so ago. At the top of the list for reliability, safety, consumer satisfaction et al are the Japanese manufacturers, Honda, Toyota, and the rest. Sadly, dead last, or close to it, Chrysler and the other US companies.

  Oddly, many of the Japanese cars are manufactured in the US and exported to Japan, so I don’t think the situation can all be blamed on US Autoworkers.

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  spokelooneh on May 14 at 6:08 p.m.

  I don’t think there are any foreign nameplate vehicles made in the US that are exported to Japan, they’re sold in the US/Canadian domestic markets.

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  Cis on May 14 at 6:39 p.m.

  Taylor Parker may not close either as they also sell Chevrolet’s

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  Arpie on May 15 at 7:55 a.m.

  Now I read GM is following suit. Taylor Parker could be in trouble. I wish they had Subaru too. I know they wish they had 5 million to build a fancy showroom so they could have Subaru.

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  spokelooneh on May 15 at 8:26 a.m.

  In most towns, auto dealers are the biggest contributors to the tax coffers, the local portion of the sales tax, property taxes, etc.

  I’m wondering what’s happening in Kellogg, with the giant Dave Smith Motors. The taxes that outfit pays the town must be huge, and now GREATLY reduced.

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  Digger on May 15 at 10:09 a.m.

  @Cis - Alpine Motors will have problems before Taylor Parker because GM is eliminating the Pontiac brand. That would leave Alpine with only GMC and Cadillac I believe. The worst that could happen is GM could force them to join forces.

  RE: Dave Smith. They’re safe from any cuts from above. Dave Smith is also the reason all these little guys are going out of business.

  There used to be a GM dealership in Troy, Moscow, Pullman and Colfax. Now its just the one in Pullman.

  Why?

  Because instead of even giving the local guys a shot many consumers are running to Kellogg to buy their cars. Dave Smith only makes you think you’re getting a better deal - I learned this first hand trying to compete with them when I was selling cars.

  A customer of ours wanted a new truck and our price was like $32,000. Dave Smith quoted him $22,500

  I pressed my customer to get the VIN number of the exact model they were quoting him as “the same as what (our dealership) will sell you.” and we looked it up on the dealer trade system to pull the spec sheet.

  What they told him (“the same truck”) was true in the most basic of senses. It was a truck made by GM in the color he wanted. But when we got into the features it was way different from what he test drove with us.

  I made the list of differences for him (which included simple things like tinted windows, tow hitch, CD radio and a number of other features) - when he had them quote all those “add ons” to his truck he actually came out about $500 under our price.

  We were able to then match Dave Smith’s price on the truck he wanted originally.

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  Digger on May 15 at 10:10 a.m.

  I guess the point to my long diatribe about Dave Smith was not to blame the entire failure of the auto industry on Dave Smith but rather to highlight the importance of giving your local dealer a fair shake first.

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