Jim Press Confident About Chrysler's Future

Anthony Fontanelle
September 28, 2007

In what is said to be the biggest coup yet staged by the new Chrysler, former Toyota USA President Jim Press became the American company's vice-chairman. Recently, the marketing genius talked about his views on how to help Chrysler get back on its feet after years of lagging behind Ford, Toyota, and General Motors. In a recent interview with TheFirehouse, the new Chrysler vice-chairman said that in order for Chrysler to become a major competitor in the United States auto market, it needs to focus on its dealership base.

"One of the things I've learned over the years is the talent in the organization doesn't rest wherever the executive floor might be," said Jim Press. "What we need to do is create the atmosphere and the environment for people to realize and do what they need to do to take care of the customer," he added.

Jim Press reportedly left Toyota because of the challenge posed by reviving a legendary American automaker. While Toyota is on track to become the world's largest automaker, Chrysler continues its downward slide. Some analysts said that the challenge of Chrysler may have been more appealing to Press than the prospect of just putting Toyota on auto pilot mode.

With his arrival in Chrysler, the only non-Japanese to become a member of Toyota's board member will be bringing a wealth of experience to the American automaker. He said in the interview that they are going to turn around Chrysler's fate by improving the way they do business with their consumers. "I don't have any playbook, I don't have any secret codes, and there's no silver bullet here. It's about empowering the organization, driving decision making closer to the level where they know what needs to be done, closer to the customer," he said.

On the first four days of his new job, Press has already visited three Chrysler dealerships. Aside from those three dealerships, Press is also planning to visit more as he continues his job. According to the report from TheFirehouse, Chrysler dealerships have more experience in selling vehicles than the new management. By going around and talking with dealership people, Press will be getting pertinent information which can help him turn the company around.

According to Press, one of the reasons why he joined Chrysler is because of the latter's veteran dealers that have been an integral part of the company as Subaru distributor caps are to an Impreza. "I have a saying and that is the strongest steel comes from the hottest fire, and there's been a lot of fire here and there's a lot of strength," said Press.

As for the future of the new Chrysler, Press is optimistic that they will be having a good future with the help of their current and future lineup. "The bones of our products are really strong," said Press. "They're emotional, they're fun, they're exciting. They have an appeal that other products don't have. And they have good integrity."

"We're nimble. We have new ownership. Our new ownership has empowered us to do things right. We don't have a lot of constraints that other companies do. We can be nimble, we can be fast, we can be flexible," added Press.

Source:  Amazines.com