Wheels Deal

Chrysler's daring guarantee

If Brigham Young were alive today, he might want to trade in his covered wagon for a shiny new Chrysler. At least that is the hope of company officials, who this week kick off a test campaign in northern Utah that promises an unheard-of money-back guarantee if buyers are not satisfied with any 1980 model Chrysler Corp. car or small truck. Anybody who meets normal credit tests can make a down payment, take home a new Chrysler vehicle for 30 days and, if not fully satisfied, return it. He will then get back his down payment, the cash value of any used car that he might have traded in, plus any fees that he paid for the title.

This may seem like an open invitation for a sharpie to have the free use of a new car for 30 days. Probably the Salt Lake City metropolitan area was chosen for the test because its heavily Mormon population has a reputation for stability and honesty. Another safeguard is that dealers may turn down sales to prospects who look chancy. Losses from returns will be borne mostly by the dealers, not the company. Chrysler will test the program for a month, then decide whether to continue and expand it to other areas.

Detroit competitors are skeptical. American Motors President W. Paul Tippett Jr. says that if there are many returns, the losses could be "staggering." But, he adds about Chrysler: "I admire that they're trying to do different things. One of the things that we in Detroit are not is unconventional."

Chrysler has tried several unconventional ideas. In 1976 it gave the first rebates of modern times to customers, and it repeated the rebates last year. In Kansas City and Cincinnati last month it began dispensing checks of $50 and $25 respectively to anyone who first test drives a Chrysler product and then buys a car --any car, even a Chevrolet. The promotions all aim to get the potential buyer behind the wheel of a Chrysler. Once he is there, asserts Vice President John R. Givens, there is a better-than-even chance that he will buy one of the company's cars. Certainly Chrysler is beginning to benefit from the credibility it gained after Congress passed the federal loan guarantee on Dec. 21. From that day through Dec. 30, Chrysler's sales jumped 71% over the previous ten-day period.

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