JULIE M. McKINNON BLADE BUSINESS WRITER - - At the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex, defects and other quality issues are slowing the launch of the redesigned Jeep Wrangler and all-new Dodge Nitro at neighboring plants.
At a sister DaimlerChrysler AG assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass vehicle production continues to be interrupted because of new body shop robots bumping into each other. Those plants produce half of the 10 vehicles Chrysler is introducing this year, and their pains are indicative of what may be an overambitious plan to introduce products out in an increasingly competitive market, the onetime chairman of the former American Motors Corp. said.
"I admire their aggressiveness, but they have to pay the price," said Gerald Meyers, an adjunct business professor at the University of Michigan.
Greg Gardner of Harbour Consulting, which conducts a closely watched annual productivity study, said, "While it's not unusual, that's part of the problem."
He added of the Wrangler and Nitro: "It's too early to draw any sweeping conclusions."
Having two vehicle launches, one of them at a new plant, complicates the situation in Toledo and calls for caution, Mr. Meyers said.
The next couple of months will be the real test as Toledo Jeep gets production to full volume, which typically precedes achieving quality, he said.
Chrysler spokesman Michele Tinson maintained there are no issues with either SUV, which merely are going through a routine process to check quality. In Belvidere, Chrysler is working through the robot problem, she said.
Wrangler production started July 17 at a new $900 millio n multi-factory plant off Stickney Avenue that is partially operated by suppliers, but the first one didn't roll off the line until July 31, a week later than expected.
More than 200 Wranglers are being built a day, but none has been shipped while defects are corrected, Dan Henneman, chairman of United Auto Workers Local 12, has told The Blade. Quality problems don't end there, he said.
At part of the Toledo Jeep complex, Nitro production was supposed to start last week with about 50 of the sport-utility vehicles interspersed with about 750 Jeep Libertys on each of two shifts. That production was to move to three shifts this week, when the mix would be 60 percent Nitros and 40 percent Libertys.
Yet the plant still is building about 50 Nitros a shift, and all three shifts won't begin working until next week, officials said.
Ms. Tinson said that delaying the first car by a week as in the case of the Wrangler isn't unusual, and neither is containing a number of models to continue testing before shipping them to dealerships.
Chrysler is wise to not release vehicles until officials are sure about their quality, which will help prevent recalls, said auto analyst Rebecca Lindland of Global Insight Inc.
"It's a very complex product, and I think it's often underestimated," she said of building vehicles. "People remember recalls a lot longer than the three days they have to wait, or a week or even two weeks," Ms. Lindland added.
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