[rayzazoo]

ChallengerDad Tammie ResumeSpeed TIGwelder Tannehill

The following are topic areas of interest that'll be consolidated posts from around the forum.

Feel free to assist by posting links to posts of feedback (whether an entire thread or specific user post) that you feel could assist with the matter.

Ideally, I would like to get this referenced to Dodge so that they can easily go to one spot regarding issues/feedback in order to develop better strategies to handle the issues customers are going through.

(1) Dealership business practice, culture, and customer service
[ ] Questionable Ethical Business Practice? - taking $5000 deposit 4 months prior to MY2016 order banks opening to get on a "waiting list"
Taking Orders for 16 s at MSRP SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Reporting dealerships taking deposits without an Invoice to the Better Business Bureau; since the bottom of a Purchase Order Confirmation sheet states "orders are accepted only when the vehicle is shipped by the factory", there should be no money transferred from a customer to a dealer until that vehicle ships from the factory - Taking Orders for 16 s at MSRP Page 2 SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Dealership Markup? - $30,000+ MSRP - $100,790 for a $66,680 Challenger -
30 000 Dealer Markup SRT Hellcat Forum
Dealerships to avoid buying a Hellcat way overpriced SRT Hellcat Forum
Another Dealer to avoid Central FL Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM SRT Hellcat Forum
HERE ARE SOME OF THE RIP OFF DEALERS AND CITIES THEY ARE IN DON T BUY ANY CARS FROM THESE IDIOTS SRT Hellcat Forum
Gotta be kidding me...3 HC Chargers listed same day all 19-20K over...SAME DEALERSHIP SRT Hellcat Forum
Hellcat VONs - Customer Sold Order List Page 179 SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Long waiting list at one dealership - Bob Frederick orders SRT Hellcat Forum

(2) Communication to the customer regarding transparency of product status/availability/discussion (e.g. SRT Chat Sessions)
[ ] Hellcat ordering opened in July 2014/September 2014 and no official announcement was made by FCA to future owners until February 2015 regarding the allocation methodology; resulted in early orders going unfulfilled, duplicate orders being placed - Avoiding Hellcat ordering disappointment FCA Corporate Blog
[ ] Prior to the merge of SRT and Dodge, SRT Chat Sessions existed, however, are no longer occurring. Please bring these back and even schedule them on a monthly basis to gain direct feedback from your customer base. It will help address issues quicker between customer, dealer and corporate and also serve as a check and balance on dealership sales culture.
[ ] Allocation process and lack of clarity - Finally got an answer on allocation SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Last 90-days of sales and how does a customer know where to order from to ensure delivery of the vehicle in a timely manner? - Official FCA Fiat Chrysler of America blog news about avoiding hellcat buyers disappointment SRT Hellcat Forum

(3) Known manufacturing issues surrounding the release of the product
[ ] Customer mentioned issues occurring - Hellcat Known Issues SRT Hellcat Forum

(4) Evaluation techniques for demand vs available supply forecasting
[ ] MY2016 Customer Requests - 2016 Challenger Hellcat Thread SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Customers that still want the Sublime color are being told this will not be an option in MY2016; demand still exists for the color yet production looks to be closing out - Breaking News - Challenger Hellcats 11 12 14 Page 594 SRT Hellcat Forum


(5) First in first out ordering/delivery methodology
[ ] Orders placed in Dec/Jan/Feb getting built before orders placed in July/Aug/Sep/Oct - Hellcat VONs - Customer Sold Order List SRT Hellcat Forum
[ ] Enthusiasts who placed an order on opening day are some of the people waiting the longest to receive a vehicle - Official FCA Fiat Chrysler of America blog news about avoiding hellcat buyers disappointment SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[Dances With Empties]

Rayzazoo, they should hire you & few others around here to help them launch & market 16 models! Not kidding; I think my Shep could of handled some of these messes better than corp. did!

 

[Johnny]

Ray,
good Job man .
I hope they can hear the words here.

 

[CoffeeJunkie]

here's a DB dealer. check out the price. Hmm, hellcat or Lambroghini, I would go lambo over the hellcat at this price any day.

 

[gasser]

Good job on your post. I agree with all. May need class action . Lol

 

[Tazman]

I think you should include links to Tim Kuniskis quotes in articles, regarding everyone getting their cats and everyone being happy.

Thanks, Ray.

 

[TIGwelder]

You rang?

So here we go..

August 13 Charger Reveal - Dodge CEO Charger and Challenger SRT Hellcats brand halos limited production rumors false MLive.com

"I want to get as many of the cars out on the road, I want to get as many people talking about Dodge and excited about Dodge as possible." - TK

"I don't know what the life cycle's going to be," he said. "I was very clear when we launched the Challenger: If you missed the first muscle car area, don't miss this one. I don't know how long this could last, so take advantage of it now." - TK


"You build cars like that to build brand," he said. "You build cars like that to be halos for the brand." - TK


September 9th 2014
This one explains the "Rewards Program"
Dodge Challenger Hellcat dealer ordering begins -- with a catch

“I want this car out in the marketplace so that somebody is sharing it with 50 of their friends and elevating the brand. That’s what I want; not sitting in your showroom with a rope around it. I want people driving these cars, talking about them, revving the engine and having everybody go ‘I want one of those.’ That’s why you build a halo car.” - TK

Kuniskis said Dodge “worked hard” to price the Challenger SRT Hellcat at what he called an attainable $60,990, including shipping, “but that all goes out the window if this car ends up with $20,000 market adjustments on it.” - TK

....and that's what happened. Awesome job


HRM: Will there be a future for the Hellcat? Is it a limited production car?

TK: "This one I love, because I’m so pissed about this. Someone wrote an article and said, ‘F Dodge, they built this awesome car but they are only gonna build 1200 of them and I’ll never be able to get one,’ Bull$hit.
We never said that! I don’t know where the guy got that information. The Hellcat is not limited production. We’ll see what the demand is, but definitely not limited to 1200."

 

[TIGwelder]

No longer on HotRod website..but here is the quote about limited production



Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis Answers Your 2015 Hellcat Challenger Questions (while sitting in a Hellcat)
Written by: Elana Scherr on July 25 2014

Dodge is pretty proud of the ‘Cat, and of all the new model Challengers, enough so that Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis brought a bright red Hellcat and a sleek silver Scat Pack to the HOT ROD studio to show them off.



HRM: Will there be an SRT4 Dart? If so, will it be AWD?

TK: (Laughing) We don’t talk about future product. But we’re right now figuring out what we want the future Dart to be. Remember, SRT is the 5-percent. It’s the most extreme end, so we’re going to design the car
for the 95-percent, then we’ll look and see if it can be a credible SRT. If it won’t be a credible 5-percenter, we’re not gonna do it, but if it will, then we will.



HRM: But how about the AWD part? What do you think of AWD? Could we make an AWD Challenger?

TK: AWD would be awesome. The Charger has the capability of being AWD, the question is, can it handle the power of this (he waves at the Hellcat). For the Challenger, the floorplan is different (than the Charger).
That’s a massive job, to stamp new sheetmetal.



HRM: How will you make cylinder, cam, and intake options more readily available and mechanically allowable from the typical consumer and drivers point of view?

TK: We launched the Scat Pack packages at SEMA, Stage 1 (CAI, cat-back exhaust, oil filter, ECU reflash) is certified. Stage 2 is coming. We’ll have cams, heads, and controller. If there’s demand, we’ll look at something
like this (again, he gestures at the Hellcat). As far as the aftermarket, our controllers are very cryptic, and it’s become a problem for us. That’s why we launched the Scat Pack.



HRM: How much for a factory installed roll cage for the Hellcat?

TK: Never, liability. As soon as you do that you have to re-crashtest the car.



HRM: Will the new engine be available in the Charger?

TK: A lot of people ask that. (Ed note: Rumor mill says yes, and Tim didn’t say no)



HRM: Why didn’t you put wider rubber under it?

TK: The tires are 275/40ZR20 Pirellis. We went with 9.5-inch wide rim, different offset than the Scat Pack. The Scat Pack (392) has a 9-inch wheel, and you can see that it’s tucked in a little. The Hellcat is literally
flush with the wheelwell. We hemmed the rim of the wheelwell on the new Challenger, all of them, you could put wide tires on the V6 now. The 9.5-inch wheel, the 275, that was the biggest we could put in there and
still pass all of our turn testing. The aftermarket will put 305s on it no problem.

HRM: Will V6 model Challengers, and Chargers in general ever be offered with a manual trans?

TK: Every other Challenger engine package does, but not the V6.



HRM: Will there be a future for the Hellcat? Is it a limited production car?

TK: This one I love, because I’m so pissed about this. Someone wrote an article and said, ‘F Dodge, they built this awesome car but they are only gonna build 1200 of them and I’ll never be able to get one,’ Bull$hit.
We never said that! I don’t know where the guy got that information. The Hellcat is not limited production. We’ll see what the demand is, but definitely not limited to 1200.



HRM: Have you ever considered making a two-door Charger or convertible Challenger?

TK: No. The reason why is the Charger is an amazing car for us, we sell 100,000 of those a year, because it doesn’t fit the mold of anything else that is a full-size sedan. Nothing else is like it in its segment. I’m not
messing with that. That’s why this is different than a Camaro or a Mustang. I don’t want to compete with Camaro or Mustang. I want people who are looking at midsize cars to go hey, those are cool.



HRM: How is the Viper going to respond to the new Vette?

TK: We’ll see, but really, who wins with this horsepower stuff? We do, the customers. The enthusiasts.

HRM: Has the frame for the Hellcat Challenger been modified by the factory to accommodate the horses?

TK: No, the only thing is the Independent Rear Suspension. The differential has a four-point mounting system rather than a three-point system to hold up to the power, but the rest of the chassis was very strong already.



HRM: Is it true that you guys could of made the new Viper more powerful if not for Ferrari?

TK: No.



HRM: What kind of car do you drive?

TK: My personal car is a ’71 challenger, an R/T. Right now I drive one of these, the Hellcat, as my work car.



HRM: Why are the cars so heavy?

TK: Sound deadening, airbags, technology, cars are heavier now, but also much safer.



Read more: Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis Answers Your 2015 Hellcat Challenger Questions while sitting in a Hellcat

 

[rayzazoo]

TIGwelder thanks TIG

 

[rayzazoo]

Rollover of 2015 orders to 2016 according to SRT:

Jeff says orders WILL rollover to 2016 SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[gasser]

Rollover of 2015 orders to 2016 according to SRT:

Jeff says orders WILL rollover to 2016 SRT Hellcat Forum

I hope the sublime is rolling also. be a lot of P O people if they don't.

 

[rayzazoo]

Idea for FCA/Dodge to provide customers with a "Birth Certificate".

Hellcat Cerificates SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[rayzazoo]

Hellcat VONs - Customer Sold Order List Page 199 SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[Tannehill]

Confronted my dealer today about them "stealing" my Challenger order that went D1 with a manual transmission (I wanted to roll over to 2016 for the A8). Interesting info from region rep: If true, telling info on how FCA is "stealing" VONs. If rep is lying, shame on rep or communication at FCA sucks. Either way not good.

Hellcat VONs - Customer Sold Order List Page 225 SRT Hellcat Forum

 

[Colorado Hellcat]

I still think you need to call your State Attorney General about what they did. Its a very! Unfair business practice as far as I'm concerned. There are laws governinthe way business's can do things.

 

[TorRed]

Until Hellcats sit on showroom floors and don't sell, FCA will not care much. So what if a dealer gets an extra $5K to $30K for a limited production vehicle. The factory may say they don't like it, but behind closed doors they are high 5'ing and patting each other on the back that their dealer is doing well. You and me may not like it but it is reality. Its all about the money.

 

[Profezzor X]

^ Too true.

 

[Coldheartid]

I went to Kendall Dodge in Miami to get the fuel rail and upper radiator hose fixed, also a PCM and TCM update. My wife was with me as her 2014 Jeep had a Airbag safety recall. When we walked out onto the showroom floor to my surprise was a beautiful white Hellcat with the flat black hood. Then we looked at the market adjustment of $35K and just laughed, a salesman came over to see if we needed any help and my wife made him feel small.

Wife: You guys are nuts.
Salesman: huh.
Wife: Well we have a Hellcat and got it at MSRP from Arrigo Dodge just North of here, besides a person could fly to anywhere in the nation 8 times and bring back a Hellcat at MSRP for $35K.
Salesman: grumbled good for you, and walked away.

As we were talking to other customers in the service area, many comments were how they could get a better car for what this stealership is asking for that car.

Just wanted to share my experience with others.

Best day with the Wife Kicking A$$; I sure wish Dodge would go direct sales like Tesla.

 

[PlumTexasCrazy]

U the man Ray!!! Great Stuff thanks for the continued hard work!!

 

[Halfshaft]

Very very good post, I waited till July of 15 before I decided to get a Cat, was to late, all the bull crap mentioned, 15 to 20k over MRSP with 5k down and no guarantee, then Chrysler cancelled orders, surched the web for three months and found a great used one, bought it from original owner drove it home same day. I didn't have a lot of faith of ording a 2016. Mybe l should have waited. On second thought Hell no I love my 15.