Chrysler’s fleet preview meeting on Friday the 13th was somewhat ironic considering the very scary financial situation the company was forced to battle through just over a year ago; thankfully, reorganization and a partnership with Fiat has led the company out of the darkness. Feeling good about its future and determined to be a player in fleet, Chrysler showcased its upcoming 2011 models through two presentations in California and one in Arizona from August 11-13. NAFA attended the third and final meeting in Phoenix on August 13.
The main purpose of these fleet previews was to show just how quickly Chrysler has changed and how far the company has come under Sergio Marchionne’s leadership. Vehicle interiors, which once were a place for budget cuts, are now stylish; significant design changes have improved the way vehicles look from boxy to round and sleek; and the company’s overall portfolio is being enhanced through technologies such as the new Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, Wi-Fi connectability, and knowledge sharing opportunities (such as with CNG vehicles) with Fiat.
"If Sergio could do this in eight months, just imagine what he could do in three years," was the response by one fleet manager. Marchionne, who has kept a tight lid on Chrysler products since taking over as CEO, believes in giving every vehicle a true launch, which means very little advanced information is leaked to the media. In fact, some of the vehicle photos shown at the preview were being revealed to fleet managers even before the majority of Chrysler dealers had gotten the opportunity to see them.
Chrysler recognizes that the staggered model introductions may have affected fleet ordering cycles, but the company believes they have helped put the company in a much better place for the future and they stressed their desire to be a major player in fleet.
"I’ll give you my opinion of where we are today," said Frank Dankovich, Chrysler’s National Sales Manager - West. "We are a growing company with strong leadership and strong management right now. To give you an example of our leadership, Sergio Marchionne is our CEO. He’s basically a CEO that’s running two companies right now. He’s running Fiat in Italy and he’s running Chrysler in Auburn Hills, so he flies back at forth pretty regularly. Well, our fleet show was on a Monday and he flew in Sunday and worked all day Monday in Auburn Hills. He showed up in downtown Detroit around 6:30 p.m. to give a speech. 
"He walks up to the stage and somebody gave him a binder containing the speech. There’s an audience of about 400 people. He gets up to the podium and he apologizes to them. He says, ‘I hate reading speeches, but I’ve been in meetings all day.’ So, he starts reading the speech and he looks up to the crowd and says, ‘You guys are too important for me to do this to you. I honor your business, I want to get more of your business, I can’t do this speech.’ And then he proceeded to speak, unscripted, off the cuff for about an hour and twenty minutes and you could just tell how much passion this guy has – not only for us as a company, but for the industry."
Chrysler’s presentation provided a side-by-side comparison of the 2010 and 2011 models to show just how much the vehicles have changed in a brief period of time. Afterwards, the fleet managers were able to get a hands-on view of several new models in the parking lot. One gets the feeling that Chrysler is not only proud of its latest offerings, but cannot wait to show them to the world.