Nardelli and WPC

In a recent speech, Bob Nardelli said: “I often wonder if Walter P. Chrysler came back today, would he feel at home? … I believe he would recognize the company by its focus on customers, its commitment to quality, its edgy design, devotion to engineering and its ability to take smart risks. He would know us by the dedication that Chrysler people bring to work every day. He would understand that we are building on our uniquely American strengths: ingenuity, boldness, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit as owner/operators.”

It’s important to realize that Walter P. Chrysler was a real person, and one who generally worked at corporations - even Chrysler Corporation, which he probably could have made into a private company when he converted it from Maxwell-Chalmers. He was also a very successful businessman who commanded massive (for the time) salaries largely based on his performance and his reluctance, after some time in the business, to take on other companies’ problems knowing he would not be able to realize his own ambition of running his own car company. Ironically, he did not run Chrysler Corporation for all that long - Walter P. apparently tended to get bored if he stayed in the same place to long, so he moved on. Wherever he went, he left his mark - and, to borrow from GM’s old slogan, it was a mark of excellence.

The real Walter Chrysler ignored styling for the most part, and paid serious attention to engineering. Edgy design never entered into Walter P. Chrysler’s statements or actions, despite the Airflow - which was meant to have real aerodynamic advantages (though those were not nearly as strong as one might think). Engineers ruled, and investment was the order of the day. In the depths of the Depression, quite unlike Chrysler’s current executives, he gave up considerable personal income in order to keep the company afloat and all hands on deck, and continued to invest heavily in engineering and design. Indeed, the engineering department barely was touched by the Depression, in terms of manpower, at least. That propelled Chrysler to the #2 position in sales, taking it from Ford, the original bottom-chasing mass producer.

Perhaps if Bob Nardelli were to publicly renounce massive, unnecessary salaries and bonuses until Chrysler had regained its place - we’ll be less ambitious and say its place in 1997, rather than its place in the 1924-1950 era - get that AMT factory back up to speed, and spread the AMTs throughout the product line rather than cutting back, he might be able to more credibly invoke the name of Walter P. Chrysler, a man who revitalized numerous companies in his time - including Buick, Nash, and Maxwell-Chalmers. … all publicly traded. As it is, it takes more than words, and certainly more than words that ring falsely in the ears of anyone who knows Chrysler’s history beyond the name of its founder, to earn credibility.