DodgeAvenger

There's nothing unusual about seeing a product in an advertisement that doesn't look anything like the real thing. Have you ever gotten a Big Mac that looks like the one in commercials? Classified ads for cars are no exception and are usually assembled by low paid copy editors using stock photos.

As you'd imagine, it's pretty tough to run a successful auto company if there's no viable product in the pipeline. Chrysler has seen its fair share of negative press for not announcing a clear strategy to rebuild the heart of its line-up, namely the Chrysler Sebring and the Dodge Avenger, and it's unclear how much life the aging 300C and Charger platform has in it. According to Chrysler's product development chief, Frank Klegon, though, there's nothing to worry about... assuming that the Feds pull through and "show them the money" they need for future development. If Detroit's number 3 automaker doesn't get the cash? Don't ask.

Gas prices are up, which has led to increased interest in midsizers, more specifically, the midsize offerings from Chrysler's competition. The Sebring has taken a 30 percent sales whack this year, mostly due to reduced fleet sales. The Avenger's year has been a little brighter, posting a two-percent gain. Contrast that with everyone else; Malibu, Fusion, and Accord are up ten percent or more this year; and therein lies Chrysler's problem. Ditching Chrysler's outmoded V6 for the four-cylinder powertrain will deliver more competitive fuel economy, if you can stand the NVH increase.

Amidst all the wheeling and dealing going on at Chrysler LLC., the automaker still has a lineup of current cars that needs attending to. The Chrysler Sebring/Dodge Avenger duo have been underperforming in the marketplace since they were introduced in 2006, and in an interview with The Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's executive vice pres Frank Klegon reveals exactly what's going to happen to this company's midsize sedans in the future. Chrysler is readying a mid-cycle fix for the Sebring/Avenger that will include improvements that Klegon calls "cosmetic" and some "more functional things".

Twenty-four year Chrysler employee Mike Donoughe has left the company after two months in his new post. Named to head Project D in January of this year, the program is creating new mid-sized cars that would replace the Sebring and Avenger and have actually have a chance against the Camcordimabu.