Well, we’re officially into the third quarter of 2023, which means it’s time for automakers to release their quarterly sales reports. You’ll hear all sorts of things about stock prices, profitability, and EBITDA, and we’re sure those are important if you’re an important entrepreneur with enough money to invest in something other than just a fund. number. But talking about that isn’t much more fun than the fact that, apparently, someone bought a Chrysler 200 previous quarter.
You have read correctly. According to Stellantis’ quarterly sales report, Chrysler sold one (1) 200 sedans last quarter. Maybe for one person? We can’t imagine any car rental company would be interested in adding a Chrysler 200 for its fleet. Even if you ignore the history of transmission problems of the 200s, we are talking about a car that rolled off the assembly line no later than December 2016. That was six and a half years ago.
But that means a person actually walks into a dealership, sees a car that no one has wanted to buy for nearly seven years, and decides to exchange their hard-earned money for keys. How much they spent, we don’t know, but whatever it is, we’re sure it’s too much. It’s a Chrysler 200, after all, not an Alfa Romeo 4C.
And no, that’s not a random example. According to the same sales report, another person (well, we can’t technically prove it was someone else, but we’ll assume it is) got his hands on a single Alfa Romeo 4C highest in the previous quarter. A car that has also been out of production for many years. That in itself is surprising enough, but unlike the Chrysler 200, at least the 4C is a car we can understand when someone spends money on it. They are uncomfortable cars, but at least they are fun to drive. You can’t say the same about the Chrysler 200. Not at all.
