"Omni Does It All! A To Z" (Promotional Film For The Dodge Omni) - 1977

thank you [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] documentary [Music] foreign [Music] foreign they began tearing out the inside of this plant in mid-july 1977. there was nothing wrong with a plant as it was but with what was here they manufactured the big size cars most of us have grown up with and that's not what they'd be making in the future American automakers have been working on smaller cars for years but mostly scaled down versions of the larger cars Americans are used to what's needed now is an entirely new design [Music] U.S automakers have known right from the beginning that Americans are critical of small cars on two counts they don't think there's enough room in them for real family use and they think they're too light on the road that's why front wheel drive was specified to help solve both problems as well as for the advantages you get in traction and handling and rotability over a rear-wheel drive car of this size Chrysler corporation's been making front-wheel drive cars in Europe for years add more front-wheel drive experience going in than the other American manufacturers combined the original plan for the new car was approved in May 1975 and what was then known as the L project was underway a car for American roads American Driving habits American needs a car designed and built in America if there's one thing American car buyers want its Comfort people simply don't want to give up the Comforts that they've gotten used to and that's where this car has some real advantages over others with this General shape in the way we seat our passengers legroom here and here give the rear seat passenger a chance to sit erect and with his knees at a comfortable angle give the guy in front some air between his body and the instrument panel nobody wants to feel cramped front-wheel drive gives you space by itself just by cutting down the hump in the floor and if you mount the engine across the car instead of with it you get more space in the passenger compartment four and aft we got more space inside and a new kind of instrument panel by designing a sort of binacle for the gauges neat simple and straightforward and of course the gut economy a big factor for this car you have to be careful of its aerodynamic qualities and it isn't just fuel efficiency wind noise can be a tremendous design problem for any car but as you work on wind noise you also reduce turbulence lower the drag coefficient and improve fuel economy [Music] foreign [Music] ERS released the new car it entered a world of engineering virtually by wire in that world all sorts of Engineers transform the design data into function and form body doors hood liftgate everything for a Time the car seemed little more than a number of disassociated components rack and pinion steering commonly used for sports cards precise stable [Music] dual brake system split diagonally for balance straight line stopping [Music] stage two barrel carburetion for economy and moderate driving and a reserve of acceleration when it's needed responsive underfoot fully independent isil strut front suspension that means a comfortably soft ride with good control and stability [Music] even in advanced development component testing a good deal of it was run with mules this is a mule the mule is a hybrid the components of the new car substituted for its own [Music] parts are approved and meet for the first time in pre-production prototypes foreign [Music] otype sole purpose more development more testing durability endurance evaluation [Music] not components alone the whole car [Music] foreign [Music] by August's end the assembly plant was not only beginning to look different you could tell it was going to be different for all practical purposes it was going to be a new plant created specifically to build the unique new Dodge Omni the first of its kind built in North America foreign [Music] over continued day and night production men steeped themselves in the new methods the new technology demanded by the new cars foreign pieces of newly formed steel to be joined later by Rubber glass trim materials and one sub-assembly after another begin their Journey a different kind of car built differently from others a special car the side aperture panel where the doors go a single stamping to assure rigid control of dimensional accuracy the aperture panel is Galvanized as other critical components are to resist corrosion and hinges are welded to the assembly not screwed or bolted to guarantee that doors fit and seal precisely the entire body shell designed to be built in as few pieces as possible the pure the pieces the less chance for error and the better the control of stamping's Door and Window openings and so on 92 percent of the wells during assembly are done automatically for welds of more consistent quality and an unusually tight solid body the hood is Loosely positioned while it's up but then is secured in place when it's closed for a highly accurate fit almost impossible to guarantee with conventional assembly methods foreign the chassis is built up quite literally from the bottom up instead of in the conventional way all for the sake of Greater accessibility product engineer's reason the more accessible the part of the car you're working on the easier the job can be done the better you can do it and the better the finished product special diagnostic circuits allow testing the car's electrical system quickly from a single point assure an electrically sound car leaving the plant and quick simplified servicing later at a dealership front end alignment is checked electronically adjustment fine-tuned to close tolerances and within a day of a schedule set months ago one phase of the project ends while another begins from here the all-new car the Dodge Omni goes to dealerships and to America foreign [Music] foreign Motor Trends car of the year as is the way of Detroit other cars like it will follow but the Dodge Omni will be remembered in automobile history as the first of a new kind of American car [Music] 4 [Music] Five Doors a four-cylinder engine with guts front wheel drive a surprisingly smooth ride real comfort and lots of options yep the new Dodge Omni has the stuff to do it all [Music] lots of talents lots of fun um [Music] does it all a day in the life of Mom's Omni toast the tots takes the gals to Fun and Games lugs cargo mom's new Dodge Omni does it all but then mom's Omni has front-wheel drive five doors of rugged engine lots of room a great ride and fits the family budget mom's new Dodge Omni it does it all [Music] we've got it all [Music] welcome my name is Dean Weber can I help you sure right over here no doubt about it cars are getting smaller Chrysler Corporation recognized this they also knew that a schmunken version of an existing car wouldn't make it unlike so many small cars you get a broad choice of exterior looks interior levels and options there are four different exterior packages six interior levels 19 color combinations including five two tones seven vinyl roof colors and a stripe package in blue or orange and since it's assembled right in our Belvedere Illinois plant you can have the car you want without waiting months to get it this model this is the Woody a couple of things about the styling I'd like to point out that make this car look good on the road first notice the full form and the subtle way the body is rounded off at the corners and notice how it's completely color coordinated throughout now some things you just take for granted in a car this size economy is one of them right you won't be disappointed here 39 miles to the gallon highway 25 City so a 13 gallon fill up figuring 70 cents a gallon costs about nine bucks and will take you about 400 miles so if you're used to a larger car look at it this way you'll go twice as far on a tank of gas for half the price it's 1.7 liter engine is the reason it's bigger and it's more powerful than Chevettes or fiestas or rabbits and that means good Highway performance and yet it incorporates Chrysler corporation's exclusive electronic spark control to give you fast starts quick warm-ups less emissions hardware and no points or condenser to have service and notice another thing about this engine it's mounted across the car transversely there are a number of advantages to this for one thing it's a space saver provides about a foot more room for the passenger compartment for another it offers exceptional serviceability the spark plugs the oil dipstick the filter and thermostat are all mounted on the front side of the engine easy for you or your mechanic to get at this device is a diagnostic plug-in connector our service department has a special electronic analyzer that plugs in right here and it will diagnose all seven of the car's electrical circuits and pinpoint the problem in a matter of minutes running parallel to the engine is what we call the transaxle it's the principal component in the front wheel drive system remember the front wheel drive toronados of the 1960s one reason front-wheel drive never really caught on with the public was because those cars were so heavy they really didn't need it but front wheel drive is ideal for this size car because 60 percent of the weight is over the front or the driving wheel and that gives added stability excellent cornering especially on wet surfaces rice or snow front wheel drives a space saver too with the drivetrain up front the tunnel inside the car is cut way way down the floor inside is lower and flatter front and rear and there's more usable luggage space back there too one of the main ideas with this car was to eliminate that choppy ride and Pitch so often associated with cars of this size the solution came in a remarkably good independent front suspension called ISO strut now in this wheel it's a bump or a Chuck hole the shock isn't transmitted to the other wheels or more importantly to the passenger compartment it's absorbed right here and that's what you want the system is also lighter in weight in keeping with the design of the car front and rear anti-sway bars are standard too to minimize body roll another way the car is suspension absorbs the bumps and Smooths the ride is by combining soft springing with longer jumps and rebound travel notice too that glass belted white wall radial tires is standard glass because they're lighter weight than steel that's in the interest of better fuel economy also you get excellent protection against punctures one other point about ride and safety the brake system is a dual diagonal design front and rear brakes are linked in a crisscross or x pattern so if one circuit inadvertently becomes inoperative you still have 50 braking capacity one front and the opposite rear wheel for straight line stopping control another unique design feature is the one piece side panel the entire side panel from here all the way over to here is one solid piece now this process combined with 90 percent machine welding contributes to the car's overall strength reduced body weight and helps assure a tighter fit of doors and hinges the Chrysler Corporation cars have always been known for staying solid and tight and rattle free after thousands of miles unitized construction is the reason unitized construction is ideal for cars at this size because the body is welded to the frame in one single solid unit of great strength without adding excess weight I mentioned before that utility was one quality that sets this car apart from others in its class as an example of what I mean check out this all-purpose utility rack for one thing it's demountable the screws at each of these four posts allow the crossbars to be added or removed in a couple of minutes this rack's designed to hold up to four pair of skis two bikes and comes with a cover that'll hold two suitcases what's more is load capacity is about 150 pounds more than most racks you buy in a store the five-door design was chosen for maximum utility you can get things in through this hatch that you can't get through the opening in many full-size wagons see how the security panel is attached to the lift gate well this makes the panel open at the same time you open the lift gate and if you want to fold the rear seat down you just detach these two cords unlatch the backrest and both the panel and the seat fold down forward of the trunk floor the security storage area is lockable and provides over 10 cubic feet of space with both the seat and the panel down the capacity is 36 cubic feet that's almost twice the average Trump putting that in terms you can use it'll hold over 11 pieces of luggage a Chevette for example uses its concealed storage area for the spare tire so about the only thing you could put in there is maybe a swimsuit natal the door openings are also extra large you'll have few complaints about getting in and out of this car look at the knee room back here I'm six foot four and it fits me fine there's more leg room back here than on any other comparable car another advantage of front-wheel drive but don't be fooled a lot of cars create the illusion of room by shortening up on the rear seat but this seat is deep and full where the difference really shows up is on long trips if you take the sum of all the interior Dimensions the knee leg head shoulder and hip room you get what they call the roominess index ours is big enough in fact to be officially classified in the latest EPA guide as a compact come on let's get in I want to show you something notice the feeling of spaciousness they've designed into this car the car is five inches wider than a Chevette another reason is the design of the dash the instruments are clustered behind the steering wheel the panel itself is as far forward toward the engine as possible plenty of leg room the large low glass line and the slope of the hood also contribute to that wide open feeling it's a quiet car too four-cylinder engines can be noisy but here the dash is padded with extra insulation to cut down the engine noise the steering in this car is rack and pinion design you probably heard about it in sports a racing cars it's known for its responsiveness and because of its lightweight design it's ideal for this car it's also what makes power steering really unnecessary in this car but if you insist on power steering it's available too another convenience choice you have is a four-speed manual or Torque flight 3-speed automatic although the design of some front-wheel drive cars like Fiesta doesn't permit the automatic transmission option Chrysler Corporation Engineers knew that for some automatic would be a must so they made it available another area where many smaller cars don't measure up is in their washer wiper system really important on long trips ours has two speeds plus pulse Point big cars usually offer this feature but now you can get it in this car too it's for use in light rain or snow conditions where only an occasional wipe is needed the whole system is controlled from this switch without ever having to take your hands off the wheel depressing this control knob halfway engages the pulse way depressing it fully delivers washer fluid you can also order a washer wiper for the rear window I also want you to notice the positioning of the fresh air Outlets by positioning two of them high in the dash and by using a high speed Ram air blower you get a very effective fresh air system that cools well throughout the car so even if you decide not to order air conditioning you find the car quite comfortable more and more people these days are working on their own cars doing minor maintenance and repairs to try and save some money or just because they think it's fun if you're into that kind of thing here's another good reason this is a good car for you the weekend mechanic service guy covers everything from driveway checkout requiring no tools to repairs you can make using common household tools to things you're better off leaving to a trained mechanic as Motor Trend Magazine said when they named it car of the year no car in its class offers more but I've talked long enough the best way for me to prove to you how good this car is is to have you drive it if you've got the time I'd like to take you for a drive let you see for yourself how it all comes together out on the highway come on the car's outside okay the first thing I'd like you to do is head out onto the highway so you can get an idea how this car holds its own with the big boys for instance as you pull out into the traffic notice how easily we merge right in even had big semis no problem our engine is plenty powerful enough to get us up to speed and keep us at comfortable distance ahead and notice how well this car cruises at highway speed at 55 she's steady and secure it's like being in a bigger car no excessive wind noise only the normal Road noises and a car holds a nice steady line here's a pretty good grade another test for a car's power and acceleration and another reason for having one of the biggest engines in its class see that VW up ahead watch how easily we accelerate right past them smoothly easily no strain car is running well within itself notice as we cross over this bridge that even though the wind whips across here pretty good the car stands right up to it and in winter when Bridges Ice over front-wheel drive really comes in handy with the added weight up front you get excellent traction and gripping power okay now we're coming up to an exit the ramp speed here is 15 miles an hour you can see why the car holds tight as we make the turn very little Roamer roll that's front-wheel drive doing its thing I make a right and I'll show you some really rough road the kind that'll really test a car's suspension you feel those potholes you won't find many like that but it shows what ISO strut suspension can do it's a difference you can feel especially in the back seat drive over close to the shoulder even over here the car doesn't sway doesn't jump offline that's the kind of confidence you might not have expected in a car this size and because they built extra sound insulation into this car especially between the engine and the passenger compartment you don't hear a lot of the usual noises either there's a bump right over this hill that'll show you what I mean by maximizing the Jones control The increased wheel travel absorbs that kind of bump so you don't feel it even in back okay let's go back out on the highway again notice how the car accelerates on command picks up speed and gets you into traffic with all the confidence in the world and remember the mileage this car gets on the highway almost 40 miles to the gallon and 25 in the city your mileage May differ but with a 13 gallon gas tank you can go almost 400 miles on a tank of gas so even though it performs like a bigger car it saves like a small car okay let's head back to the showroom so I can answer that question you ask about what your monthly payments will be that's one hell of a car and it's going to draw some traffic anytime you have something to sell that's this different this good with this much publicity the people will be there that's basic but what really becomes important is how we handle them and that means three things making them feel welcome qualifying them for the right car and if this car isn't what they really need moving them into the right one first off a lot of the people you'll be seeing will be new to your dealership many will be regular GM or Ford customers who have never been in a Chrysler Corporation dealership before so we've got to make sure we make them feel welcome take some time with them to answer their questions one thing about buyers in this class they ask questions and we've got to have the answers and that's what we're doing here today and that brings up the second thing we've got to ask some questions too now I don't care what your own feeling is about how or when you qualify a customer the main thing is we all do it one way or another Common Sense tells me I can't sell a car to a customer unless I'm trying to sell them the right car and the only way to know if it's the right car is to ask some questions and you don't have to be obvious about it either you can make what appears to be a friendly conversation pay off if you slip in the right questions occasionally and then listen for the answers and while you're showing them the car you think he came in to see you can find out enough about his needs to really know whether you're on the right track or not for instance find out what kind of car he's driving now where does a car he's looking at fit into his family's overall Transportation plans how many in the family who will be driving this car and what will it be mainly used for those are five key questions another good one is what do you look for most in a car economy Comfort luxury utility and there are some others but the main thing is to get him talking and you listening so making these people feel comfortable is one thing qualifying is another but there's a third and that's moving a customer into something else if this one turns out not to be the right car for him for instance it may be that this particular person really needs a six passenger car instead of a four or maybe it's a larger trunk or a bigger engine those things suggest an aspen or balari to me but it really doesn't matter which direction he needs to be moved the point is we've got a car that's right for his needs and if we properly demonstrate we can sell him that car and that's not just me talking a lot of salesmen will tell you the same thing especially the good ones remember the All-Pro panel films well you'll be seeing more of them in the coming months and not long ago a bunch of these guys were together to talk about the subject of qualifying your traffic and here's how they put it I think we're going to have traffic that we've never seen before that's right when these people come in we're going to have to be enthusiastically enthusiastic with them we're going to have to really get into the presentation and get them involved in our presentation and then we're gonna have to listen to what they have to say about the car because it may not be exactly what they're looking for we've got plenty of other cars to show them it's just when Dodge when they came out with that Aspen and it brought in so many people and if everybody remembered that you know you have to properly demonstrate that car and in fact if it's not the car they want we've got so many other models that we can upgrade them to so it's a good chance to take every prospective buyer and make them a buyer in some other line I think you got to really be careful I think you got to treat these new customers you're going to have a lot of new breed of customers coming into the showrooms and I think you got to treat them with Warren take your time with them when you demonstrate these cars do it with sincerity and enthusiasm show them you're proud of the car I believe we got a talk enthusiastically present the car enthusiastically get your customer your prospect involved in your presentation and then listen to what he has to say if he tells you something about his family his vacation plans his job this information will help you decide if he's really going to buy this car or if you're going to have to switch him to something else that we've got we're going to be talking with a variety of people and they're going to be leading in on this particular car but at very possibly in our conversation we're going to pick up something that they're not going to really you know may not be exactly the car they want they're going to need something a little bit more or they want more than what the car can give them maybe the man just isn't that excited about a four-cylinder economy and this is where you can upgrade him to a six cylinder or a V8 suppose the man owns a Airstream trailer the trailer towing package is available in the Aspen and the Volaris sounds like we all agree nobody walks and certainly don't let anyone get away without at least getting their names for follow-up the way we'll do that is through the win the car of the year for a year sweepstakes every week for six weeks a new car will be given away and each week's entries will be collected and fed into the computer for future follow-up by mail and telephone your Zone office has the details on this sweepstakes now some dealers have already been contacted about setting up the showroom to take full advantage of the new car of course we're going to emphasize the new car in our showroom displays but as we present it and demonstrate it all the time we'll be qualifying the prospects and when we find one who's not really qualified for the new car our display strategy will help us move him up the whole idea is to have it strategically placed with our other offerings so it's an easy matter for us to switch his attention if we need to after we've qualified the man as to what car he would buy the next move is a good demonstration the first All-Pro panel salesman put it this way in the demonstration oh you where do you create the desire they feel themselves behind the wheel they've been driving that 63 and uh it covers an awful lot of ground in a hurry that demonstration ride absolutely I've been on some demo drives where that customer just couldn't wait to get to my closing was signing these papers right I'm sold where do we go that's right where do I sign how long does this take when can I go home yeah in my new car today I want to take mother for a ride it would be really really a good thing I think if all the all the new guys coming into the business could experience that right away uh it's a great feeling this has happened to me where uh from a lot of circumstances that the customer would go right to the closing booth and work in figures and I felt I was losing the customer and I say well wait a minute let's go drive the car first and then we get back to go back to the closing booth and it it's made a lot of deals for me that I thought I had going in and forgot the demonstration then went back to demonstration didn't close the deal it's a good plan the traffic will be there it's up to us to see that nobody walks

Channel: SMUJonesFilm - Film and Video Collections

Views: 7,600

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Id: _Mv9IZPxV9Y

Length: 39min 40sec (2380 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 13 2022