Can Chrysler Turn Itself Around?

With Jim Pressure now at the wheel of Chrysler's new product strategy, Nardelli can expect a dispassionate dispatch of the biggest losers in the lineup. And he'll have a lot to choose from. "Chrysler is absolutely choking with product that steps all over itself," says John Wolkonowicz, auto analyst with Global Insight in Boston. Nardelli and Press are still figuring out how to sort out that mess. One thing, though, seems certain: they want to clear the shelves of the stuff that isn't selling. They won't say what is going yet, but here are some models analysts say are headed for the end of the road:

Jumbo SUVs As gas prices began to soar a couple of years ago, Chrysler decided it was high time to add SUVs to their lineup. What were they thinking? First to go will be the Chrysler Aspen and Jeep Commander—seven-passenger, Hemi-loaded behemoths. They are the slow-selling siblings of the Dodge Durango, which itself could be threatened by a breathtaking 28 percent sales drop this year. The success of GM's new fuel-efficient, seven-passenger crossover utility vehicles—the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook—show that old-school guzzlers just aren't how we roll with our kids and cargo anymore.

Small SUVs Chrysler also introduced a dizzying array of small SUVs in the last few years. There's the Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, Dodge Nitro, Dodge Caliber and a four-door Jeep Wrangler. Only the Wrangler is selling well. So here's how analysts expect Cerberus to cull the herd: The Compass, a "girly Jeep," according to Peterson, bites the dust. The Nitro gives way to the similarly sized and priced Caliber, which sells better. The Patriot stays in the lineup, but perhaps at the expense of the older Jeep Liberty, which is also similarly sized, but pricier.

Sport Wagons Personally, I loved the low-rider look of the Dodge Magnum when it hit the market three years ago. But apparently, too many car buyers think it looks like a hearse, (which, in black, it really does). How else can you explain its 79 percent sales drop last month? Yikes! Analysts expect Nardelli and Press to let the Magnum drive itself into an early grave. The days are also numbered for the Chrysler Pacifica sport wagon. Chrysler's previous owners, DaimlerChrysler (which retains a 20 percent stake in the company) already planned to pull the Pacifica from the market after the 2008 model year. Don't expect Cerberus to reverse course since the Pacifica, a confusing mishmash of minivan, SUV and station wagon, never caught on with car buyers. The PT Cruiser, on the other hand, could get a reprieve from the new owners. The modern interpretation of a 1930s gangster getaway car long ago ran out of gas—sales are down 26 percent this year. But the latest word inside Chrysler is that the PT will get a new design and be built alongside Dodge's new Journey crossover utility vehicle in Mexico. Apparently, GM's success with the Chevy HHR—a PT clone—has emboldened Chrysler to try to revive its one-time hit.

Pickups The slump in the housing market is taking a toll on sales of big pickups. Small pickups, though, have always been a hard sell. Automakers produced them mostly to meet federal fuel-economy regulations. But those mileage rules are changing, which could give Cerberus an opening to drop the salesproof Dodge Dakota small pickup.

Cars The arrival of $3 gas has sent many of us rushing back to good, old-fashioned family cars. You remember those things with four doors, but no four-wheel drive? Chrysler's biggest recent hit came three years ago with the 300C, which for a while was the official ride of Hip-Hop Nation. Chrysler, however, did not repeat that success with the Sebring sedan, which critics panned. "The Sebring is every bad Chrysler design cliché thrown into one car," says Peter De Lorenzo, editor of the Detroit car blog autoextremist.com. Toyota, under Press, has owned the family-car market with the Camry. So analysts expect him to kill the Sebring and order up a new sedan that is a worthy Camry competitor.