shot in Mexico by RiveraNotario
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: Chrysler Aspen – Forgettable
– Posted on April 13, 2023
shot in Mexico by RiveraNotario
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These were really just badge engineered Durangos. I did know someone who had one and drove it for 300,000 miles!
The only thing memorable was its name. It would be like calling a new Chevrolet SUV the Citation.
We bought this Aspen used in 2016…didn’t even make it home! Stopped for gas and it wouldn’t start. Finally got it started, so we drove it to the local Chrysler dealer (per the selling dealer) and it threw 30+ codes. We drove it home and when we went to start it the next day, the dash lit up like a Christmas tree! Needless to say, we returned it for a full refund. It ran and drove perfectly on the test drive, though, so there’s that.
The Aspen name with Chrysler is 0 for 2. And your wasn’t even a ’70s Chrysler product.
A potential multi-thousand dollar repair bill, would not surprise me.
And a money pit going forward. Or rather, continuing.
First time I saw this, my first thought was they were scrapping the bottom of the barrel. Upon further refection, they scrapped through the barrel. Aesthetically, for the most part, Chrysler’s worst era.
Holy smokes! Is that a pay phone?
Lido and Snoop Dogg on the golf course during the recession… it’s like a fever dream.
I don’t think the Dodge Durango was considered a bad (unreliable) car, at least no more than any generic Chryco product from this time frame, though as I understand it they dropped behind the competition (the Ford Explorer and their own Jeep Cherokee) by the time these came out, and of course their reason for existence disappeared with the merger of the Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge dealer networks. But the effort was poor, pointing out how little Chrysler has “known what to do with itself” for the past 20 years. Instead of trying to create something with distinction, they created something that almost entirely encapsulated the idea of blandness. Not the way to run a mid-upscale brand like Chrysler. Harley hired a shoe salesman to re-invigorate it’s brand, it’s probably too late for Chrysler, but in retrospect the idea has worked out o.k. for Harley. Maybe Stellantis should hire someone from Adidas.
I always had a bit of a thing for the original Durango. But when this one came out, that flame went totally out. Chrysler went from turning out really attractive cars to turning out cars (and trucks) that were not offensively ugly, but were also not the least bit attractive. I don’t know if that was a Daimler thing or not, or just a styling language that someone liked. There just wasn’t enough good in one of these to get me past the looks.
So Paul – (whispers), “Here’s the deal”
“The guys upstairs thinks that you are the magic man who could be in charge of a new market and show everyone that we can compete with Mercury, Lincoln, Olds, Buick and Lexus.”
“There is enough budget to do that if you don’t get carried away!”
“You take this on and you’ll be a major player on the redesign when it comes time to really put the hooks into this market!”
“Your luxury vehicles is going to be based on the HB chassis – we’re giving you the big guns – the Magnum engines – that ought to make the competition quit, amiright?”
“Your budget is $700,000. HEY – I tried to get you more, but you know how tight those bean counters are – and I assured them that you can turn that Durango into a Chrysler with your magic touch!”
“It will only be a placeholder until we get the green light for a real redesign – I’m rooting for you!”
“They boys even got a name already for your new luxury project – “Aspen” – DUDE you are so gonna score!”
YOU:
I still can’t believe they revived the Aspen name of all names for this, the equivalent of a Cadillac Vega or a Lincoln Pinto
Phil Edmonston’s 50 year running Lemon-Aid Used Car Guides, have been issued annually in Canada, since the early 1970s. It consistently referred to the ‘Classic’ Aspen, as the Ass-pain. ‘Ass-pain too’ would work suitably here.
Nothing positive to add here except to note (as I’ve noted about other Chrysler products of this vintage) that I’ve never understood Chrysler’s need to channel the Blue Whale in its hood design. One of the most repulsive automotive styling cues of all modern times, IMO.
Another faceless SUV with a name as exciting as a grade school soccer game.
From a really bad era of Chrysler design.
Never could understand what they were doing with these Durango/Aspen twins, the hunch back, bland front end. It was like they were trying to do oversized mini-van SUV. Major, major change of direction from the original Durango. Then the hybrid version that disappeared almost as fast the Edsel.