Originally Posted By: Silverado12
Generally speaking, Chrysler makes good products.
Out of the Detroit 3, Chrysler and Ford tend to better engineers working for them - it's the cost cutting that gets them. Chrysler was probably the most innovative out of the 3 back in the 1980s-1990s even though they also needed Mitsu's help to get out of bankruptcy. Sure, Ford made a big push for EFI first and wanted to bring a few things from Europe over like the Escort and the Taurus was groundbreaking.
The K-Car, as plasticky, cheap and monotonous/ubiquitous as it was is a good example of having a common platform to build cars off - GM tried doing the same and they just couldn't get it down for years. The Chrysler minivans were also innovative and again, everyone else struggled until the North American-specific Odyssey and the Sienna hit the market. Say all you want about Mopar's FWD 4-speed automatic tranny, but it was the first attempt from Detroit to be competitive against the Japanese who rolled out electronic controls in their transmissions in the early 1980s.
Generally speaking, Chrysler makes good products.
Out of the Detroit 3, Chrysler and Ford tend to better engineers working for them - it's the cost cutting that gets them. Chrysler was probably the most innovative out of the 3 back in the 1980s-1990s even though they also needed Mitsu's help to get out of bankruptcy. Sure, Ford made a big push for EFI first and wanted to bring a few things from Europe over like the Escort and the Taurus was groundbreaking.
The K-Car, as plasticky, cheap and monotonous/ubiquitous as it was is a good example of having a common platform to build cars off - GM tried doing the same and they just couldn't get it down for years. The Chrysler minivans were also innovative and again, everyone else struggled until the North American-specific Odyssey and the Sienna hit the market. Say all you want about Mopar's FWD 4-speed automatic tranny, but it was the first attempt from Detroit to be competitive against the Japanese who rolled out electronic controls in their transmissions in the early 1980s.