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Maybe this info is a little late now that SRT8's are finally arriving but I felt it necessary to have this info here for reference for those with questions about the SRT program.
In order to help shed some light on the subject you will need to see the entire picture and hopefully this information will help to do that. The SRT8 puts Chrysler in a unique position for several reasons. The SRT division is committed to finding the ideal balance between two dynamics in the retailing of their vehicles. For one thing, they have made it clear (at least to those of us in the dealer circle) that the SRT division is primarily focused on keeping demand high by producing only the highest quality production vehicles using race-bred technology. This means that any vehicle that becomes designated as an SRT product will contain refinements and comforts like the original mass produced versions along with the adding the latest in high tech, high horsepower power plants. That being said, they are also well aware of the fact that if they overproduce any of these vehicles, they loose much of the mystique (and consequently value) of producing them in the first place.
In simple terms the SRT vehicles are low production, high output vehicles which are built for the purist.
I’m sure to most of you this is no secret but, it’s important that you understand this because it has a direct impact on how and why these vehicles are sometimes difficult to find and furthermore, why it seems some of the dealers have trouble with their orders.
So far then, we know SRT is a great vehicle and they will be limited in production to maintain hype, value and desirability in the modern day muscle car market.
SRT and Daimler Chrysler know exactly what they are doing to the retail market but perhaps what many of you may not realize is that they know too, exactly what they are doing to the dealer network also. They have been masterful at creating desire for these cars in the consumer market and this in turn creates a reason for the dealers to want these vehicles to sell. Having said that, every dealer wants these cars because their customers are asking for them and because they are SRT, you simply don’t find rows and rows of them lined up on the dealer lots, like so many other within the inventory. Can you imagine 5 rows of Caravans and another 5 rows of 300 SRT8 or Magnum SRT8 next to them? I can tell you one thing, there would be no such thing as an SRT8 forum if this was the case.
Y’see, this is all in the plan for SRT. On the heels of some of the largest auction prices ever seen for domestic muscle (and don’t get me wrong here, I am in no way making a comparison to 60’s muscle), they see the value in creating desire in the market to drive up demand and maintain excitement levels in certain models. Doing this also produces sales in regular vehicle lines too. It brings people in to see what all the excitement is about and by doing so, creates interest in regular mass produced vehicles along the way.
By grand design, SRT is a way of cross platform marketing that works very well to sell not only limited production SRT’s but several different vehicles made by Daimler Chrysler.
So now we understand that the manufacturer has created this demand in the marketplace which in turn puts pressure on the dealership network to deliver the SRT cars. This car is limited production every year and if there are (for example), only 100 cars produced in Canada but there are over 500 dealers this obviously creates a problem for approximately 400 dealers or more. In fact, many dealers will receive two or more (and I’ll explain that…just keep reading) which magnifies this problem at the dealer level.
Hmmm…now we have only say... 60 cars for the same 500 dealers because some dealers get more than one. You can begin to see how the demand begins to rise on the second level after consumer demand. We now have a wholesale demand for these vehicles too. “We are a dealer that sells such and such many regular vehicles per year and we should get one” is what you can imagine being said by most, if not all of these dealer managers and principles.
How then does Chrysler and its highly sought after SRT vehicles decide who can have these cars and who cannot? Is it overall volume? Maybe. Is it geography or location? Maybe. Is it who knows whom on the inside? Possibly. Think about it. Every dealer wants one, because every dealer has at least one customer they know who should have one.
Here is where getting these cars goes beyond simply going into your local dealer (and from what I understand it is supposed to be a five star exclusive product) and ordering one. Keep in mind that many dealers are simply wishing they could get one and it seems they may not be willing to let their customers know that the order they take, may not become reality (I’m not saying it’s happening but I cannot help but think that from all I have heard and read that it may be possible).
So your local dealer wants an SRT and he orders one for you (or his inventory, or just because). Now Chrysler has a list a mile long requesting these cars but they only want to produce (using our example scenerio) a total of 100 of these for the Canadian market.
They have this huge demand for a great new line, but yet they also have acres and acres of regular cars, minivans and SUV’s coming off the line that they need to move out to dealers. They need to keep them moving too, regardless of how many Caravans, Sebring’s, Grand Cherokees or SX 2.0 have been sold on any given month, regardless of auto sales dipping (or rising) during any quarter in the market these vehicles keep flying off the assembly line and have to go somewhere.
Mass produced vehicles are just that. They are mass produced before they are sold. There are thousands of vehicles on hundreds of lots across the nation that must be sold.
The manufacturer doesn’t sell to the public directly. The manufacturer’s customers are the dealers and they need the dealers to buy (or at least commit to) these acres of regular cars, trucks and SUV’s. They need to sell them, everyday, regardless of local economics, weather or fuel prices. There is enormous pressure to keep the factories churning out vehicles without as much as a single real owner. In order to sell these vehicles, they have to put pressure on their customers (the dealers) to buy more. Of course it’s a little more complicated than that but I want to establish for you how the distribution channels work from the build right through to the end user…you.
There are top dealers from every province and state who constantly produce results and just like a professional sports team in the playoffs, when the heat is on to score, the chain of command above expects big results from their ‘big guns’.
This is where SRT comes in. If your dealer network wants these limited production vehicles to sell to there customers, bring people into their showroom and create excitement at their dealership they are going to have to produce results.
However, there is a significant difference between saying that you can produce results and actually producing results. This is where the line is drawn between dealers who can and will get SRT’s and dealers who seem less likely to actually fulfill an order...ever. It would easy for any dealership to say to the manufacturer something like “if we get one of these SRT cars we will sell 60 extra xyz models next quarter”. As much as this represents a ‘commitment’ of sorts to sell more vehicles, it’s really just talk.
The kind of commitment the manufacturer wants is a real one and thus, the dealer has to actualy buy (and agree to receive and pay for) a significant block of the manufacturers ‘grab bag’ of regular vehicles (the mass produced, and sometimes boring minivans and sedans).
Therefore, the manufacturer will really only fulfill the orders of a dealer who has or will agree to, take receipt of a large block of these ;other’ vehicles in the lineup. This means a dealer has to ‘put up or shut up’ if they really want SRT anything. No big deal you might think, but consider this. We’re talking about a dealer now having to find a way to sell an extra maybe…25 vehicles, 35 vehciles…just to take delivery of one SRT. Let’s say it’s 25 vehciles at an average cost (not immediately mind you) of $20,000 each. That equals $500,000 in inventory that sooner or later he is going to receive. If they already have a healthy average of sales numbers that they work hard to achieve each quarter, they now have to find a way to sell 25 more! Therefore, the manufacturer uses SRT's as leverage against the dealers with mass production vehicles and it works extremely well too. The dealers have no choice but to sell more vehicles.
If you were to layout this scenerio in a pie graph, you would see a continuing circle of supply and demand built around a marketing plan that goes way beyond making ‘just another fast car’ like what Ford and GM seem to do. The SRT division is much more complex than that, it is a vital part of a continued pattern of growth for Chrsyler.
The benefit of all this complexity, is that these great cars being produced as SRT’s are creating life in the market and they are creating an adreanaline rush for anyone lucky enough to drive one.
So if you really want an SRT, visit a large volume five star dealer and find a salesperson who is passionate about the car and who can be 100% honest about what they can or cannot do for you and of course, keep reading the forum. It is the best!
I work for Langley Chrysler in BC
Simon Scott
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06-11-2005, 11:42 PM
for $250 below invoice. Told him I'm paying cash and I and my new car will be outta here in 30 minutes or the deals off. No finace guy, no bull****, just PDI it, cash the check and I'm gone. He went for it. Best time I've ever had buying a car. That is until I get my 8...
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