Boss slams standards

A top car boss has made a shock admission – that his company’s models aren’t quite good enough yet

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Richard Yarrow

09th April 2007

And although it’s rare to hear an executive being critical of his own vehicles, it’s even more unusual when the car he’s talking about hasn’t even been launched! But that’s exactly what George Murphy, senior vice-president for global marketing at the Chrysler Group, suggested during a recent interview with Auto Express.

The American was asked about interior quality on Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge models, and said: “It’s not where it needs to be, and is driven by cost competitiveness, rather than cus-tomer requirements. The materials we are using are a bit too hard and the dashboard designs look complicated.” Murphy also spoke about the firm’s Sebring, the Ford Mondeo rival which isn’t due in the UK until June.

And his verdict on its cabin? “It’s only three-quarters of the way there in terms of quality,” he explained. “It’s much better than before, but it’s still not where we want it to be.” Interior standards have never been a problem with US buyers, who are usually more interested in the lowest dealership prices. However, Murphy said exposure to European rivals such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes was changing the way of thinking at the company.