>It seems pretty obvious to me that Chrysler has rolled out a re-designed
>Neon that isn't as sporting as the old one. Everyone who has driven one
>of the new cars says the the new car won't be as competitive in S2 or
>road racing.
True, but then again.. those are the neons that are the bread and butter
neons. (Meaning the money makers)
>So now Chrysler can bow out of the contingency program that supported a
>car they no longer make and make it look like SCCA is the bad guy for
>them pulling the plug. I think this is the real reason. Obviously,
>Chrysler stands to get a lot of good press out of Topeka, so the S2
>contingencies stand. But with the "trunk kits" in road racing their
>chances of getting good press were substantially reduced so they bailed.
Obviously you don't keep up with whats happening. For M.Y. 2001, they are
bringing back the ACR and R/T with a kick ass power plant, double adjustable
struts and 15" alloys (16" on the R/T).
>But essentially the contingency program would have been ended by the end
>of 1999, anyway IMO.
>Part of this is just business. Contingency programs come and go based on
>the business goals of the company who puts up the money. If the company
>feels it is getting a decent return on the dollars expended, they like
>the program. Chrysler used the contingency program to hype up its new car
>and was able to position their product as a sports car by doing so.
Hmmm, so 160hp in a lightweight car with double adjustable struts, 16"
alloys among other things isn't sporty to you?
>Now,
>they have changed their design philosophy of the Neon so the contingency
>program doesn't fit their business philosophy any longer.
So what is their new philosophy? Do you know?
>The fact they were able to shift the blame over to SCCA because of the
>"trunk kit" issue helped them dodge the "bad press" they would have
>gotten had they waited until after the runoffs to pull the plug.
They didn't have to "dodge" the bad press. They chose their timing to
protest the trunk kits.
Besides, with the trunk kits allowed no neons were going to place anyhow.
-Last comments on this subject..
Greg Croft
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