Chrysler's new owner will face a marketing quagmire

A consultant says Chrysler has ignored Jeep's "crown jewel," the Grand Cherokee.

Want to buy the Chrysler group? You'll need a lot of marketing savvy, experts say.

The company faces a huge market-positioning challenge: how to define and distinguish its three brands. The group has failed to do that, according to industry analysts.

Vic Doolan, nonexecutive chairman of the Courland Automotive Practice LLP consulting firm, says overlapping Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler models compete too much with each other. As the Chrysler group works to curb that redundancy, Doolan says, it also must build its global presence in fast-growing markets such as China's.

John Morel, director of product and market planning at American Suzuki Motor Corp., agrees that Chrysler's marketing must concentrate on differentiating the group's brands. The group has too many similar models, he says, citing the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen.

The Chrysler brand probably needs the most work, Morel says. Consumers perceive the brand as "vaguely premium," he says.

As the company has stretched the Jeep brand too far, Morel argues, the Jeep Commander is hurting the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Jeep Compass is competing directly with the Dodge Caliber.

"Jeep is an iconic brand," Morel says. "They need to keep it pure."

Automotive consultant Gordon Wangers says Chrysler has ignored Jeep's "crown jewel," the Grand Cherokee. The company also should redo the Dodge Ram, he says, to enable it to compete again as a key player in the full-sized pickup segment.

Wangers notes that the Ram last got a redesign in 2001.