2011 Chrysler 200 Touring on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2006 Chrysler Sebring Touring Convertible

Quick, what was the cheapest new convertible Americans could buy in 2006? If you guessed "Chrysler PT Cruiser" ($19,890 MSRP) you're right, but the Pontiac Solstice cost just 25 additional bucks. After that came the likes of the Miata, Mustang, New Beetle, and so forth, all priced below $25,000 in their most affordable ragtop versions that year. The Chrysler Sebring was the cheapest midsize convertible in 2006, with a price starting at just $26,115 (about $39,005 in 2022 dollars), edging out the Toyota Camry Solara SE by 825 bucks. Here's one of those roomy-yet-reasonably-priced Chrysler convertibles, now absolutely used up and residing in a Colorado self-service wrecking yard. Chrysler sold Sebrings from the 1995 through 2010 model years, in three generations. The convertible version appeared early on, starting in 1996; it started out on the same platform as the now-long-forgotten "Cloud Cars" (Chrysler Cirrus, Plymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus), then moved in 2007 to a Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler-developed platform that went under everything from Outlanders to Avengers. That makes today's Junkyard Gem one of the newest American members of the Cloud Car family tree, though GAZ built Sebring-derived Volga Sibers in Russia for a few more years. By the time it got to this place, it had become a total hooptie. Rattle-can paint, duct-tape trim repair, the works. Just 16 years old, but it's done. The baling-wire repair to the torn convertible top shows ingenuity on the part of a former owner. Plywood appears to be keeping the roof from collapsing. Because so many Sebrings were invisible fleet cars, it's easy to forget that a convertible even existed. In fact, the Sebring was the best-selling new convertible in America in the middle 2000s. When the 24 Hours of Lemons race series first went to Sebring International Raceway in 2014, I used my vast powers as Chief Justice of the Lemons Supreme Court to get entry fees waived for Chrysler Sebring race cars. We got two Sebrings that year, both convertibles. The base Sebrings for 2006 got the 2.4-liter straight-four out of the just-discontinued Neon, while the Touring, GTC, and Limited trim levels got this 200-horsepower DOHC V6 (originally developed for the Chrysler LH cars) displacing 2.7 liters. Early U.S.-market Sebrings could be purchased with five-speed manual transmissions, but a four-speed automatic was mandatory by the time this car was built.

Fiat to list on New York Stock Exchange?

Citing the ever-nebulous "two sources close to Fiat," Reuters is reporting that the Italian automaker and owner of the Chrysler brand is likely to list itself on the New York Stock Exchange. The move could reportedly happen as soon as 2015, marking the end, at least in the minds of investors, of Fiat's 115-year base in Turin, Italy.
The Italian government is not likely to react favorably to Fiat's potential move from Italy to the United States, despite initially positive reactions to Fiat's landmark final purchase of Chrysler, the third-largest automaker in the US. Fiat spent $3.65 billion to buy out the 41.46-percent stake in Chrysler that had been owned by the United Auto Workers' VEBA trust fund.
With little sign of a swift European recovery, Fiat has little choice but to focus on markets outside its traditional home, and a listing in New York could potentially be a boon for investors. According to International Strategy and Investment analyst George Galliers, speaking to Reuters, "People [would be] more likely to think of the entity in the same context as they do Ford and GM" if it were listed on the NYSE.

Chrysler Q3 profits surge to $611M but per-unit profits trouble

Chrysler Group has announced its third-quarter financial results a little later than its crosstown rivals at General Motors and Ford, but the company has reason to celebrate thanks to strong numbers across the board.
The biggest attention-grabber from the automaker is that its net income was up 32 percent in the third quarter to $611 million, compared to $464 million over the same period last year. Modified operating profit was also strong at $946 million - a 10 percent gain. Furthermore, net revenue grew as well to $20.7 billion - 18 percent higher Q3 2013.
Growing sales pushed the strong financials. Chrysler Group sold about 711,000 vehicles worldwide for the quarter, up 18 percent from a year ago. Things looked especially good in the US, where its market share grew to 12.3 percent, versus 11.2 percent in Q3 2013.