Stellantis idling Belvidere Jeep Cherokee
plant indefinitely, laying off 1,350 auto workers
Chicago Tribune,
by
Robert Channick
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
12/10/2022 11:55:19 AM
Stellantis is idling the Belvidere Assembly Plant, the exclusive production home of the Jeep Cherokee, and laying off its remaining 1,350 workers. The indefinite plant closure is set for Feb. 28, the automaker announced Friday. (Snip) Last year, Jeep Cherokee sales fell 34% to 89,126 vehicles, according to Stellantis. Cherokee sales have plummeted this year, falling nearly 61% to 30,852 vehicles through the third quarter, according to Kelley Blue Book. Most of the 1,350 workers at the Belvidere plant are hourly employees who could be eligible for a combination of state unemployment and supplemental unemployment benefits, which are paid by
Ya think, OP? I know a guy who just paid a few grand short of 6 figures for a Wrangler Rubicon.
6 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Gordon Mills 12/10/2022 12:24:45 PM (No. 1353676)
#1, the problem is someone that stupid with that much money.
11 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
thefield 12/10/2022 12:27:58 PM (No. 1353682)
Jimmy Carter redux
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
DVC 12/10/2022 12:41:18 PM (No. 1353690)
Fiat buys Chrysler, and then the French Peugeot combined with that mess. So....not any American roots left in that Italian-French mess.
I'm sure that they are all on board with the WEF "make them walk or drive electric golf carts" move. Better get a car that is VERY durable.
But, of course, at some point, unless you can refine your own gasoline, you'll be riding a mule or maybe a bicycle.
7 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
DVC 12/10/2022 12:47:37 PM (No. 1353693)
Remember that the shadowy figures behind the scenes took the "Hunger Games" movies as a nice plan to be followed. They are heading the world towards that dystopic disaster, with us all living in shacks and them all living like the old European kings and queens.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
snakeoil 12/10/2022 12:50:07 PM (No. 1353695)
Elizabeth Warren is devastated.
8 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Skinnydip 12/10/2022 12:50:56 PM (No. 1353697)
FTA: "While the plant has been idled by Stellantis, it could find new life at the center of the automaker’s plan to convert 50% of its U.S. production to electric vehicles by 2030." Do they really believe that they'll be selling half their output as electric in 8 years?
15 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
formerNYer 12/10/2022 12:54:34 PM (No. 1353698)
The idiots on the left have been arguing the xiden's economy is still good because the unemployment rate has stayed low. With all the layoff the past few months there is no way they can continue that argument. I wonder what will be there fall back? And it all started with shutting down the pipeline.
9 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
pugetpower 12/10/2022 12:59:02 PM (No. 1353701)
Of the main car makers, generally speaking, IMO, the most reliable are (in order): japanese, korean (the koreans have really improved),& german, last are the domestics, Of the domestics, Chrysler is the worst. Ive always regarded Chrysler owners as Lo Info types. That being said, back in the day, I had a 95 Grand Cherokee Limited which back then worked out ok.
5 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
JHHolliday 12/10/2022 1:07:45 PM (No. 1353706)
Some years ago, I was riding with some friends to play golf at a course about an hour away. The driver had a brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'll have to say it was a nice looking ride. We got about halfway there, and one of the passenger electric windows decided to just drop out of sight into the door. No way would it come back up. By the time we got home, two more windows had done the same. This was over twenty years ago, and Chrysler quality hasn't improved a bit.
10 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Noj15 12/10/2022 1:11:28 PM (No. 1353707)
Jeeps are garbage. Fiat ruins everything it touches (FIAT = Fix It Again, Tony). Knew a kid who bought a new Jeep, went on his honeymoon and the tranny blew after 1500 miles. Good riddance.
10 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
CallMeHank 12/10/2022 2:17:21 PM (No. 1353729)
After a few generations of careless breeding, the battle-hardened, offroad-tough Jeep has become . . . well, whatever.
4 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
Zeek Wolfe 12/10/2022 2:23:28 PM (No. 1353732)
Chrysler has been run by fools, greedy fools, since after the time of Lee Iaccoca. The merger with Fiat and Peugot is the latest example. Peugot and Fiat have always made crappy cars topped only by the execrable Renault brand. All electric cars are not the future. This is because battery technology is beginning to slow down in development. Also, I have a camera using a battery which in size/weight ratio is similar to that of an electric car. I push one button, the battery slides out and can be replaced. Oh, can't design a car battery to do that! Need a thousand for labor and 8-10 thousand for a new battery. See what might be a problem for a lot of buyers?
5 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
Strike3 12/10/2022 2:30:41 PM (No. 1353736)
Jeeps have been historically overpriced and they are asking us to purchase a mediocre quality vehicle in inflationary times. I look for all domestic auto manufacturers and Harley Davidson to fall into hard times next.
3 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
DVC 12/10/2022 2:52:55 PM (No. 1353749)
Re #14, the problems with Harley are that they have been locked into their big hog bikes for so long that they no longer have any real engineering skill working there. I had a friend who was head of frame engineering for Harley, and a really talented smart younger engineer. When Willie B decided that they were going to make the V-Rod, they hired Porsche to design the motor, and Willie B, with zero engineering skills, just an artistic eye, "designed" the frame. Then my friend and his frame engineers had to "make it work, and don't change ANYTHING". Literally the ONLY variable that the engineers could change on the 'styled, not engineered' frame was the tubing wall thickness. Some of it is WAY too small for the load it has to take, so is extremely thick walled tubing, bordering on solid bar. And......it didn't sell very well.
I think the issue is that you have to have at least trace amounts of testosterone in your blood to want to ride a motorcycle, and the latest generation is pretty well devoid of that for about 80-90% of the males, so no way in hell they want to buy and ride a bike. My last motorcycle ever is a tiny Honda 125 that I piddle around on some fine summer weekends on the country roads near here, just enjoying the sounds and smells of the country and finding a place to get lunch and then head home. Not too impressive, but at least I still ride a little bit, but I'm an old man. So many of the old Harley guys have to buy the trikes now because they can't balance or stand up the big hogs any more.
The pussification of American is nearly completed.
10 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Heil Liberals 12/10/2022 2:53:05 PM (No. 1353750)
The future is uncertain. Inflation is driving the cost of food beyond what many can afford. New vehicles require mortgage length loans.
Obiden is destroying the national economy. There is a storm ahead. You cash will have no value as we switch to digital currency. It is then that the reality of what they have planned begins.
6 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
mc squared 12/10/2022 3:05:26 PM (No. 1353755)
Do not buy one manufactured after this announcement. Check the build date on the VIN sticker in the door jam. Jeep workers won't be happy knowing they'll be out of work after Christmas.
As far as German car quality, It isn't what it was - and the repair prices... My Son-in-law keeps buying them and has no end..
3 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
Birddog 12/10/2022 3:17:00 PM (No. 1353762)
Back in the day...before even the CJ7, my jeep friends called the "New Stuff" JIMPS...half jeep and half Impala..I have had 6 chrokees/grand cherokees, they ALL made it over 300k and did everything I ever asked of them, including towing a 30ft sailboat over a mountain, and dragging chained logs down off from one. Their problem is that the size/style has become sooo popular that every manufacturer now makes several similar sized shaped vehicles that compete, Jeep had a chance to split off from Chrysler and become a stand alone company, they blew it. Grand cherokees are all made in Windsor I think, the Jeep plant in Toledo still makes several of the still popular models....the Cherokee has faded. I now have a 4runner, and while only an inch or three longer, it has enough room for 4 grown ups front and rear, and can hold two dog boxes and a weeks worth of gear still in the rear, has a true body on frame structure, rather than unibody, and is actually muuuuuch tougher.
4 people like this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
KTWO 12/10/2022 3:29:31 PM (No. 1353771)
Many good remarks. Yes, Jeep, Chrysler, Fiat, Peugeot, , Whatever........ is a disaster.
IMO there are no really bad modern cars. But while manufacturing methods were steadily improving the increasing complexity of cars was adding thousands of new ways a vehicle can fail. And that increased complexity also made it more difficult for dealers and garages to repair the failures.
3 people like this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Vincent Vega 12/10/2022 5:02:19 PM (No. 1353789)
Good information on the V-Rod #15, now I know why I hated them so much. I don't know what Harley was thinking. IMO, they were a disaster.
Another problem with Harley is they've priced themselves out of an entire market of young people. Most 20-somethings can't afford a 35-40K bike. So they ride rice burners.....cheap, lightweight, high horsepower (relative to weight) and some of them do some really stupid things on the road and wind up as organ donors.
I still ride a "big hog" (as you say), and the day I can't balance it or stand it up I'll quit riding before I buy/ride a trike.......no offense to any trike riders out there, just not my cup of tea. A motorcycle has 2 wheels and you steer with your body weight which is what makes them so fun to ride.
2 people like this.
Reply 21 - Posted by:
nwcudagal 12/10/2022 5:39:51 PM (No. 1353806)
Owned many Jeep, Chrysler vehicles and a couple of Harleys. Not a problem with any of them.
3 people like this.
Reply 22 - Posted by:
mifla 12/11/2022 2:59:35 AM (No. 1353976)
Had a Jeep, generally a good car, but it leaked oil everywhere.
0 people like this.
Reply 23 - Posted by:
Old Army Vet 12/11/2022 8:36:25 AM (No. 1354052)
I had one Jeep in my life. The vehicle was a real piece of garbage and I have never had another Chrysler product since. They will be the next American car maker to close their doors.
0 people like this.
Reply 24 - Posted by:
DVC 12/11/2022 3:24:17 PM (No. 1354322)
Re #18. I replaced my old Blazer with a 4Runner. An impressive vehicle for the snowy mountain roads in backwoods mountains of Colorado.
0 people like this.
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Sales down sharply probably due to escalating sticker price and less-than-stellar quality control.