Bhuvana

"I'd trade in my Corvette convertible in a minute to buy this car", exclaimed

an excited observer at an advance showing of the then Chrysler Motors Corporation's

(now Daimler Chrysler, www.daimerchrysler.com) design ideas for the 1990s. Since battling back from the brink of bankruptcy in the late 1970s, Chrysler continued to run a distant third to GM and Ford in the American automobile market, and even that position was challenged by Honda in 1990 (see Table 1). Chrysler dramatically rebounded in the early 1980s and gained almost two percentage points over the first five years of the 1980s by adding more economical, middle-class cars to its line of luxury sedans. However, increased competition from Japanese imports, poor product quality, and unimaginative design led to falling market share in the latter half of the decade.

Chrysler did, however, succeed with its minivan. Because of their triumph with the minivan, Chrysler was even more determined to succeed in the car market, so engineers and managers tried to design automobiles that fit the stylish, high-quality image Chrysler needed. Chrysler continued to maintain its business strategy of focusing on profit instead o market share, avoiding global alliances, and thriving on a shortage of capital. In 1989, Chrysler held an advance showing of concept cars for the 1990s that included a V-10 engine for both trucks and cars. Two stylish, yet pragmatic concepts were released, including the Chrysler Millennium and the tiny Plymouth Speedster. Both cars featured eye-catching design but failed to deliver performance because underneath they were based on the traditional Chrysler platform and power train. The reviewers, however, did take note of the rear-drive two-seat sports car, made available in 1992, which incorporated the V-10 engine. Code- named the Dodge TBD (To Be Determined) and later named the Dodge Viper, it looked like a Chevrolet Corvette - but carried a price tag of $55,000. Since the introduction of the Viper (www.dodge.com/viper), Chrysler raised the starting price several times. At the beginning of 2002, Chrysler added a four-figure price hike bringing the price to a starting value of $75,500 for the RT/10 Roadster model and $76,000 for the GTS Coupe model. The Viper was positioned to restore Chrysler's reputation for designing exciting cars.