Our friends at Bloomberg are reporting this morning that Chrysler---to no one's surprise, at least not around here---has decided to discontinue the Grand Cherokee-based Commander SUV, with production said to come to an end by mid-2009. As Chrysler's new owners, Cerberus Capital Management, is looking for ways to improve efficiencies and cut costs, the decision to kill the Commander is certainly defensible. Never a big seller in the Jeep model line, it is on a pace to sell 36,000 units this year after a high of 88,000 in 2006, its first production year.
With the demise of the 'Mander, The next question is, what's next? Chrysler still has 10 SUVs in its stable and is likely looking to whittle away vehicles that compete against each other. So what'll it be? The Dodge Nitro? Jeep Compass? We'll keep you posted whenever we hear anything.