By Bernie Woodall
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - U.S. Chrysler dealers were asked on Sunday morning to take a leap of faith that Chrysler and Fiat SpA
Chrysler "seems like a preacher on Sunday. It's easy to preach the Ten Commandments. It's living it (that is hard)," said Chris Saraceno, vice president of auto group Kelly Management, which has 11 dealerships including a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep one in eastern Pennsylvania.
Saraceno and several other dealers said Chrysler executives, led by U.S. sales chief Fred Diaz, asked them to hang on during the first half of 2010 with a lineup laden with dated vehicles because help was on the way by the fourth quarter, when 75 percent of the lineup will be new or greatly refreshed.
Diaz and other managers kept to a script first laid out by Marchionne three months ago, said Chrysler dealers at the annual convention of the National Automotive Dealers Association.
Some dealers were disappointed that while Chrysler voiced support and asked dealers to have faith in a turnaround that was yet to come, there was no mention of new incentives to lure customers or floor plan financing.
"Nothing surprised me," said Paul Walser, owner of a Chrysler dealership in Hopkins, Minnesota. "I didn't come out of there saying 'Wow!' but I also didn't come out of there saying 'Darn it!'" He added that the first half of the year "will be a struggle."
Since his arrival to take over Chrysler as the company came out of bankruptcy last year, Marchionne has said the automaker suffered from the lack of new product.
Chrysler emerged from a U.S. Treasury-sponsored fast-track bankruptcy last June under the management control of Fiat, led by Marchionne.
Chrysler saw a 36 percent decline in U.S. sales last year, the largest drop among the six biggest-selling automakers in the U.S. market. Overall, U.S. auto industry sales were down 21 percent to 10.4 million vehicles, their lowest level in 27 years.
The new year did not start well for Chrysler, either. In January it recorded its 25th consecutive month of falling year-on-year monthly sales.
Chrysler has already announced plans for new models including the much-awaited subcompact Fiat 500, to be sold in the United States late this year.
Chrysler is to bring out redesigned models for the Jeep Grand Cherokee in June. In the second half of 2010, it will introduce new versions of the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, and the Dodge CUV, a crossover vehicle.
Chrysler spokesman Rick Deneau said that once refreshed models are included, 75 percent of the product lineup will be changed by the end of the year.
Dealers attending the meeting on Sunday are already in the fold, having avoided liquidation in Chrysler's bankruptcy.
Chrysler came out of bankruptcy with 2,392 dealers and that number has dropped to 2,352 by the end of January. Some 789 dealers were cut in the bankruptcy, and 418 of them have filed for arbitration to have franchises reinstated.
At the end of 2008, Chrysler had 3,298 dealers, while at its peak in the late 1990s there were more than 5,000.
Ray McKenney, a dealer in North Carolina, said dealers believe in Chrysler because the automaker's management has convinced them there is a coherent strategy, even if some of the details are sketchy.
"Stay tuned, they are working hard behind the scenes to get it done," said McKenney.
(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; editing by Gunna Dickson)
