Just checked truecar myself, and an ATS with the V6 and performance package can be had for $37,792 ...

 

The average 200 isn't going to be priced anywhere near $40k though, but yeah that's pricey. I'm sure Chrysler has been looking squarely at Ford, who has been moving it's Platinum models with sticker prices right in the same range. As you noted, the Fusion is even more expensive.

There's people out there who will buy a non-luxury car at a high price if it has the right options, as evidenced by the gentleman in another thread who just took home a $50k Explorer.

 

this won't get msrp, chrysler will have to slash prices to make it move.

 

we will soon see how it goes... car looks but prices even at lower levels are higher than usual for Chrysler ... also, all these pics from models that look good are from these $38k cars... low end loses a lot of equipment.

 

There's also lots of people who want a really nice car without the image that a luxury badge carries. For example, an Avalon and a Lexus ES are very similar in class but many people will choose the Avalon because they don't want the Lexus badge. Honestly, I would too. Aside from the fact that the Avalon is a better car. Just as a lot of people buy an Accord EX-L instead of the Acura they could afford.

It's why most brands have close overlap at the top end of the non-luxury division with the start of the luxury division.

 

I agree, but I'll put another spin on it. When deciding the outer limit of what to spend on a car, there are people that would rather have a loaded version of a mainstream brand than a base model of a luxury brand. There are definitely people out there that say "I don't need a Lexus"; but there are also people that say "For $XX, I can either have the Avalon with nav and all the bells and whistles, or an ES350, well equipped, but without nav, etc."

In the past, being in the market for a mid-sized crossover, the difference between a Pilot EX-L/Highlander Limited (with nav), and an MDX/RX with nav is $8,000-$10,000 (especially when the lux brands bundle features like auto high beams and other features which are nice, but completely unnecessary). I can't justify that, and I'd rather get more for my money than get the base MDX/RX (or whatever).

 

in general sure, but even with Toyota, ES outsells Avalon easily... and Avalon is to a lot of people nicer car for less money.

Now for 200 to be able to sell at those prices, we will see easily. It really depends on the car itself, not just the brand (which is weak). If it ends up being crappy car like Dart, then it will be failure, just like Dart.

Everyone thought Dart would be Corolla/Civic competitor before it went on sale.