Rolling in the Benjamins...

With the crash of the economy around 2009, the fall of the auto industry went with it. With the resurgence of the automakers in the United States Chrysler has been seemingly on fire. This quarter it will report a net income profit of $436 million. It has made headway with the innovative Jeep Grand Cherokee and will be cutting into new market vehicles with the all new Dodge Dart compact. The Aurburn Hills based company will be happy with its quarter profits compared with a previous year loss of $370 million. The second quarter 2011 profits reflected a one time payment to the government of $551 million. This payment was for the loans the government made to bail out the failing company and industry as a whole. The bailout helped stabilize thousands of jobs and saved even more on the trickle down. Chrysler's sales increased by 23 %.

Chrysler has forecasted its sales will soar to the $1.5 billion mark this year.

“Chrysler really has hit the ball out of the park here in the first half gaining additional market share in the U.S.,” Richard Hilgert, a Chicago-based analyst for Morningstar Equity Research, said in a telephone interview before the results were released. Chrysler’s car sales gains probably will continue in the second half because of the Dart, which will reach full inventory at dealers by September, he said.

This was quoted from an article in Bloomberg Business which can be found here!

Chrysler Seeking to Attack the Urban Market

As the Auto Industry nudges its way forward its starts to change and adapt. Auto ads used to appeal to American values of trust, loyalty and more. Now marketing campaigns need to be more and more clever and appeal to younger and wider audiences. This is no more apparent than in Chrysler's infamous Superbowl Ad featuring a song and appearance from the rapper Eminem. Though Eminem came onto the scene as a wildly esoteric artists he has transformed himself as the voice of a people restrained and chained. He represents breaking free from those restraints and hardships pushing down on him. Chrysler similarly was in a desolate position with the collapse of the auto industry and economy as a whole in 2009.



Sergio Marchionne appeared as a white knight to Chrysler and resurrected them from seeming destruction. He reflects the morals and ideas that Eminem and other artists push through their music, taking nothing and turning it into something. Though Chrysler and its sibling brands seemed dusty and debilitated like a piece of coal, Sergio survived the pressure and was rewarded with a Gem. 


Now, Chrysler has seen an opportunity to change the appeal of its brand and widen it to a greater audience. Their cars appear sleeker and neater giving them a little European dusting up. The appeal for a more Urban Audience can be seen with the Dodge Citadel in the music Video for another infamous rapper, Dr. Dre. The video opens up to a grille shot of the Dodge as well as many other shots through out the video.



Appealing to a young audience gives Chrysler the mystique it has always been looking for. With the addition and update of the Chrysler 300 it breathes life into car that seemed destined for destruction after many years of staid improvement.

Chrysler's new ad platform features a new "Imported" but its not from Detroit. "Imported from Gotham" the new ad that coincides with the new Dark Knight Rises movie is a clear marketing ploy that may just give Chrysler the appeal its been looking for.

In summation, the 'Imported from Gotham City" is a perfect match for Chrysler.The Batman movie features
the Dark Knight, and Chrysler has found its White Knight in Sergio to help resurrect the brand and move it into a new direction.