PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE '80s
Chrysler continued its commitment to value and safety throughout the '80s. In 1987, Chrysler introduced an unprecedented 7-year/70,000 power train warranty and a 7-year/100,000-mile outer body rust protection warranty. The continuous-flow fully electronically-controlled fuel injection engine was a key product development in the early '80s. Chrysler became the first company to offer air bag restraint systems as standard equipment, in 1988.
INTO THE FUTURE
In the summer of 1989, Chrysler began a $1 billion cost cutting and restructuring program to focus its resources on its core automotive business.
The restructuring led Chrysler to begin a new approach to car and truck production called "platform teams" where representatives from various departments -- such as design, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing and marketing -- work together on a single vehicle line through its entire life cycle. Each team functions like a small company with total operating responsibility. The team approach cuts development time, because everyone works together from the start.
The Dodge Viper, a V-10 roadster, was the first vehicle developed by a platform team. Following the successful development of the Viper platform were the 1992 Jeep® Grand Cherokee and a new line of family sedans with innovative cab forward design: the 1993 Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision.
Iacocca dedicated the Chrysler Technology Center in 1991, a 3.5 million square-foot megastructure on a site where the corporation's new world headquarters is scheduled to be completed in 1995. The facility supports cross-functional work among product design, engineering, manufacturing and other departments in vehicle development.
In 1992, Chrysler dedicated the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in downtown Detroit, a $1.6 billion investment, including product development costs, to manufacture Jeep Grand Cherokee sport-utility vehicles. Chrysler built the plant in Detroit's inner-city to offer continued employment to its dedicated work force and to support Detroit, rather than following an industry trend toward building new assembly plants in rural sites.
The year 1992 brought a changing of the guard at Chrysler. On March 16, the board of directors named Robert J. Eaton as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer. Lee lacocca stepped down as Chairman and CEO on December 31, 1993, and the board elected Robert Eaton to fill the posts effective January 1, 1993.
In 1994, Chrysler set a company record for U. S. retail sales and earned more money -- $3.7 billion -- than any other year in the company's history, including 1993, the previous record. That year also marked the introduction of the new sedans -- the Chrysler Cirrus and Dodge Stratus -- and the new coupes -- the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger. The Cirrus was named Motor Trend's "Car of the Year."
In 1995, the Dodge Caravan, with the industry's first driver's side sliding door, became the first minivan to win Motor Trend's "Car of the Year" award. Overwhelming consumer demand for Chrysler's new cars and trucks spawned 19 separate sales awards in the same year.
Chrysler continued its worldwide expansion in 1995, announcing plans to build a manufacturing plant in Argentina and invest $100 million in Japanese distribution. In May 1996, Chrysler began production of right-hand drive Neons for shipment to eight foreign countries, symbolizing its growing competitiveness in the global marketplace.
On June 5, 1996, Eaton dedicated the Chrysler World Headquarters Building, a 15-story office complex crowned by a two-story Pentastar, attached to the Chrysler Technology Center. It is now possible for Chrysler Corporation to design, engineer, test, build, evaluate and develop marketing plans for its vehicles under one roof. These superior facilities have helped make Chrysler the lowest production-cost, highest profit-per-vehicle manufacturer in the industry.
Today, Chrysler's mission is to produce cars and trucks that people want to buy, enjoy driving, and want to buy again. With its award-winning vehicles, world-class facilities, and rapidly expanding share of the global market, Chrysler Corporation is closer than ever to accomplishing this goal.
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