• by Karl Greenberg , July 15, 2009

Chrysler, which recently overhauled its marketing structure at its Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge brands, is doing likewise on the nuts-and-bolts side of marketing: product development.

The Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker, which last month emerged from bankruptcy protection, and this week announced it has paid back its TARP loan, has appointed Joseph Veltri head of product planning. Veltri adds the new job to his current role as head of truck and SUV product planning.

Kevin Metz has been appointed head of product planning for Jeep Wrangler, arguably the most sacrosanct vehicle in Chrysler LLP's portfolio, excepting perhaps the Viper. The company says that Metz' job will be to make sure new product ideas align with the Jeep Wrangler consumer's sense of propriety.

With Jeep, consumer opinion is critical. The company has for years courted core Jeep owners and enthusiasts with events like Camp Jeep, Jeep Jamboree, Jeep Safari, and a huge licensed-merchandise program. After 14 years in a row, Jeep canceled both the 2008 and 2009 Camp Jeep events, which had been held in the wilds of Virginia.

Matthew Nyquist, Joanne Sevrain and Richard Kukucka have also been tapped to lead product development.

JoAnn Heck continues as head of consumer insight and product research. She will head product design clinics, design for Six Sigma (DFSS) studies, customer/market research, component and systems research, brand and customer attitude/behavior, customer measures research, and all other global market trend studies performed by the company.

Timothy Suchyta was appointed head of long-range product mix, volume, pricing, demand and portfolio planning. That means he will handle the 30,000-foot view of vehicle volumes, price positioning, and product and portfolio mix. The latter comprises vehicle-segment definition, vehicle attributes and customer and brand alignment.

The company, post-bankruptcy, has also decided to retain a brand it had slated for termination: Dodge Viper. The ultra-low-volume super car was invented as Dodge's answer to Corvette, but because of price, interior and handling attributes has done poorly against iconic vehicles from Chevy and Ford (Mustang).

The company had planned to stop production of the car, which is made exclusively at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant by December this year. Now Chrysler says it is no longer looking to sell the Viper business assets.

"The Dodge Viper has successfully captured the hearts and imagination of performance enthusiasts around the globe," said Mike Accavitti, President and CEO of Dodge, in a release. "We're extremely proud that the ultimate American-built sports car with its world-class performance will live on as the iconic image leader for the Dodge brand." The company posted sales of 594 Vipers year-to-date through June, a 48% drop versus the period last year. Chevrolet, by contrast, sold 7,498 Corvettes in the first sixth months this year, also about a 49% drop in sales.