October 16th, 2008 • by David Zatz
Numerous posts, letters to car magazines, and columns have been describing how GM, after acquiring Chrysler, would shut down pretty much everything but the minivans and Jeeps.
Rubbish, I say. Even if Rick Wagoner is as foolish as he looks.
These people don’t know Chrysler. They are still thinking the Daimler line about Chrysler: that it’s nothing but a bunch of aging dinosaurs selling obsolete vehicles nobody wants.
Rick Wagoner has worked in the industry for a long time, and has Bob Lutz sitting in the office down the hall. They know that Chrysler has a lot to offer besides the tired pair of “minivans and Jeep.” Here are a few examples:
- State of the art Phoenix V6 engines (which are not yet in production but are still in development)
- Dual-clutch technology. Despite what the media like to say, it’s not all Getrag or Volkswagen patents. Even if the plant isn’t being built (because GM has extra parts capacity) the transmission itself has potential.
- Electric cars apparently at a high level of development.
- Some of the best engineers in the business, though many have quit or retired due to Daimler and Cerberus foolishness.
- Advanced testing and engineering facilities. If you think GM would shut down the CTC…! More likely they’d abandon GM’s current HQ.
- Flexible manufacturing. Again, if GM acquired Chrysler, Sterling Height and Belvedere would probably remain intact. Newark’s closing anyway and St. Louis is probably down for the count regardless.
- Best pickups by a good margin, both light duty and commercial grade chassis cabs.
- Hemi. Still the best in its class by a good margin.
- Tom LaSorda, though he’d probably be demoted or fired; he’s still a great production guy.
What I don’t think GM would continue is the World Engine (far inferior to Ecotec), the Sebring/Avenger, the Journey, the PT Cruiser, and the Compass. The Patriot would probably be kept and paired with a similar vehicle on some other brand. I doubt the LX would last too long; the G8 and its kinfolk seem to have an advantage beyond being on the home field. Probably the Challenger and Charger would simply move to that body and the 300 would go away. Challenger is too good to drop; Charger has a fairly hefty market. On the other hand, the Chrysler brand would probably go away fairly quickly (I personally would find it hard to defend). Pontiac or Buick would also probably disappear along with GMC (why on Earth is GMC still around?)
At GM, there would also be some carnage. Again, current facilities would probably be abandoned in favor of the CTC and Chrysler’s flexible factories. The Silverado might fade away, too. The Dakota replacement might be favored over the Chevy small pickups. The Phoenix would probably triumph over GM’s various V6 families. The Volt would benefit from sharing with Chrysler.
I’m sure there’s more that the snarky, fashionable, Chrysler-hating columnists have missed.
Personally, I think Chrysler’s future is probably going to rest with a partnership or sale to an international concern. There are many interested in Chrysler, who know more than the various hack writers who are paid to have opinions and readers, but not to provide real information. Nissan/Renault is probably faced with a choice of GM and Chrysler at this point; Chrysler has fewer assets but also fewer liabilities, and much less duplication, especially in Europe where Opel is big, and would be truly complementary in a way Ford and GM are not. Likewise, Tata, if it had the cash, which it probably doesn’t, would find Chrysler a good entry into numerous markets. Any number of Chinese companies would be able to quickly become world players; Americans proved during the early part Daimler occupation that they don’t care who owns the company they buy cars from. (Though every time the “German engineering” commercials came on, sales dropped, so I could be wrong about that.)
The thing is, nobody needs to merge with another company to reap the benefits of a partnership. Executives tend to go to mergers first, probably because they’re easy than leadership or good management; it’s certainly not because they love the success rate (around 20%) of mergers and acquisitions. It helps that their friends in investment banking are always optimistic. Privately, from what I’ve seen, some of the better investment bankers have second thoughts, but most stay in the business and keep bankrupting those companies. They get their $10-$20 million regardless.
This is a lousy time for knee-jerk reactions. If the decision was left to me, I’d eliminate Campi first, because this is the wrong time for trigger-happy lawsuits and vicious streaks in general. Then, I’d do what Chrysler has apparently been doing already: look for partnerships. Need a mid-sized platform and a small car? Fiat and Renault make them, and with some modifications and manufacturing in the unused
Belvedere and Sterling Heights capacity, they’d probably be good performers, especially with those new V6
engines … and the four-cylinders with direct injection you can be sure are being tinkered with somewhere in the
CTC. You don’t need to exchange shares of the company to make arrangements like that. Likewise, patent sharing with GM would help both companies to make electric cars. Chrysler doesn’t need to be owned by (or to own) GM to use Ecotec
engines; GM would probably license their manufacture in Dundee, or supply them for a reaosnable price. The list goes on.
These are frightening times. It’s easy to make a case that Cerberus is indeed desperate to dump Chrysler any way it can – and that’s why they tried to buy out Daimler’s 19.9%. Owning GMAC may indeed be more lucrative, especially with Cerberus’ political connections. Now that the story is out, Chrysler is as much in play as it was back when DaimlerChrysler let it leak that they were talking; the leak made the sale almost certain. Nobody could turn back. Likewise, in this case, it could be that Cerberus’ own investors, though they have insanely deep pockets, will demand that Steve Feinberg sell or swap Chrysler.
Then again, it might just be that Chrysler is seeking to buy GM rather than the other way around, or that they are exploring options without any particular intent, or just trying to get competitive intelligence by pretending to be interested in a deal, or any number of other things. We won’t know until it’s over.
Those (1-9) are all great reasons why Cerberus should hold onto Chrysler and make the investment needed to turn this into an American success story. BMW was not in the strongest position as an automaker in the 50’s, Germany was rebuilding its economy, it required spending money to design popular models, but who would argue with the success BMW has become? Cerberus has the same opportunity. Likewise, Fiat was in bad shape a few years ago, but now they’re enjoying sales increases. Chrysler can be turned around. It’s not Rover. It still has a chance. And the American people should not stand for the CEO’s cutting it up and turning it into Rover.
Cerberus, just give Chrysler five years. Let people with a passion for cars run the place. If Chrysler can’t make a profit in five years then slice it up. But if it can, it ought to be allowed to survive. We’ve had enough of pillaging everything to make an extra dime. Think about the heritage of the company, the employees there, and the health of the American, Canadian, and Mexican middle class. Think about the future of the country you live in before squeezing out that extra buck.
I have to disagree about what you said about Chrysler four cylinder motors. The Dundee, Michigan engine plant is one of the best in the world. This is according to sources not favorable to Chrysler. The facility is half used. The Koreans have to be in charge or they go home, which they did. Mitsubishi is hurting and isn’t taking many motors either. The motors built there aren’t stellar. But GM’s motor started out as the Quad Four, remember? Chrysler proved with the Neon’s 2.0 liter it doesn’t need 15 years to develop a decent four cylinder motor like GM does. Dundee, Michigan should be number ten on the list.
I think Chrysler has a lot more to offer than any of the journalists are talking about. The Charger is a great police car and the challenger is going to sell like crazy. The 300 is a nice car as well. And the Ram is the best truck out there. If anything were to happen with GM I’d prefer chrysler being the buyer of course, and in any event I’d hope that they keep at least the Dodge/Jeep lines open.
Still, I’d prefer to have Chrysler remain independent and just IPO. I would buy up some shares of their stock. And it would be a pretty good way for Chrysler to get at more funds and cerberus to make some money all the while owning it.
It’s not a Chrysler motor at Dundee. It’s a Hyundai block with Chrysler heads and dressing.
I guess it might also explain why Fiat, VW, Tata and Renault-Nissan are interested to Chrysler as well, according to this article from Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com/2008/10/14/in-addition-to-nissan-renault-chrysler-has-been-talking-with-ta/ and in the case of Fiat, we could add to the list Chrysler’s dealers network where some dealers could be converted into Fiat/Alfa-Romeo dealers.
And …*cough cough* Autoextremist mentionned recently a rumor of a three-way deal between GM, Chrysler and…Renault-Nissan O_o if that scenario became a reality. I wonder what’ll be the results?
If there is this mythical “Chrysler-GM” I’m jumping ship and running to Volkswagen. If I wanted a Chevy, I would have bought one! I don’t care if the cars were engineered by Chrysler, they are built by low quality, “GM”. I would much rather see a Nissan-Renault-Chrysler! The NRC sounds 100000% better! At least all the brands would be intact, and all the products would be intact!
Fight for a Nissan-Renault-Chrysler everybody! That one is the REAL winner! Nobody loses their jobs on that deal!
You seem to miss entirely the reason GM wants Chrysler: it’s reported stash of $11B in cash.
Of course GM would shut down every part of Chrysler it could because it needs that cash for it’s own survival.
It really is that simple.
For the auto companies, this will look like the 1930s all over again.
I dont see 2 struggling automakers merging to make 1 giant stuggling automaker! It wont happen. Maybe Nissan/Renault/Chrysler merger but not GM.
It DID work for Hudson and Nash, actually. AMC was profitable for many years. Struggling but profitable. In the end, had the leaders made some better decisions, it could have kept on going and possibly managed to buy Chrysler rather than the other way around… as it is, they managed to keep the flame going a lot longer than Studebaker and Packard.
The “best” reason for GM wanting Chrysler is to eliminate a competitor. Think about it–those 300,000 Rams per year cut into Silverado. Eliminating the LX competition (150,000 plus sales per year) would feed into GM, since Ford has no rear drivers.
If Nash, Hudson, Studebaker and Packard had all merged, as George Romney (as I recall) intended, AMC might have lasted a bit longer, and yes, may have been the ones buying Chrysler. They would have had economies of scale to rival GM–that is, you have car bodies, you have alternators and AC compressors that can be shared among four brands bringing costs down. And they wouldn’t have had to make Rambler / AMC try to cover the entire market from compact to fullsize, which arguably overextended AMC in the late 60’s and early 70’s. There wouldn’t have been too much overlap with Rambler, Stude and Packard in one entity–far less than Chrysler-GM now. Or would it be GM-Chrysler, with the Chrysler part silent? If you think Daimler was bad, wait for what’s coming.
Chrysler paired with Nissan-Renault might work precisely becasue of the economies of scale issues. Sharing midsize or compact platforms, things like AC systems or other parts would save alot of money. Merging with GM means all but Jeep disappears. GM is not going to elimiante Pontiac or Buick in order to keep Dodge or Chrysler around. And they desire the Chrysler technology not the platforms or models or assembly lines.
Paired up with Nissan, Chrysler, if allowed to be the near-lux brand it should be, would not clash with the Nissan franchise; and it would be a bit different clientele than Infiniti becasue the base Chrysler would be front drive a la ES350 or TSX, while Infiniti entry models are rear drive. 300 is bigger than Infiniti M45. Nissan could get out of fullsize trucks and leave that to the Ram. Dodge could share Nissan’s compact /midsize truck. There would be less of the jealousy that kept Daimler from allowing Chrysler to exist as a premium brand.
Latest rumors are GM will get the minivan production lines and Mexican truck plants; yes GM is after that $11 billion; Renault will get Jeep; Mopar will be sold off.
Now is the time for patriotic investors to step forward to save this company.
I don’t want to see GM disappear; I understand their strategy in this deal. But if Chyrsler is gone, a company that for decades symbolized the best aspects of our creativity and dynamic economic sytem, what does that symbolize about the future of the United States? Perhaps the same thing that the demise of an independent British auto industry symbolized to the UK?
If AIG is too big to fail, why is Chrysler insignificant enough to fail? Should Jeep, a vehicle with some relvance to our national defense, be taken over by a foreign maker? Should Renault andd GM be able to put a competitor out of business? Would Congress tolerate the same thing if Microsoft tried to buy Apple and Firefox? Congress acted to protect steel. Why has there been no effort to ensure a vital industry like out automkaers survives? Other companies subsidize their automakers–whether directly or indirectly through health care. All we can do is prmise $25 billion in loans that may not be available for two years. How about immediate reduction of taxes to 15% for automakers employing more than 100,000 workers in the US? And how about these northern States ponying up with tax incentives to keep factories in the rust belt? Where is the UAW on this? Too busy politiking to really care about the workers.
Is Chrysler really in such bad shape, or is it just the fact that CEO’s can line their pockets if they can get away with carving it up like Bear Stearns? Why was short selling reinstated last week, allowing GM shares to be driven down to $4–and Paulson refused to list the names of who did it. We are in danger of losing our vitality; we seem to accept everything like sheep because someone in a suit says something is so. I am a capitalist and a conservative. My first inclination is that government is usually the problem, and not the solution. But if government has any legitimate function it is to protect the people. I do not see the government fullfilling that obligation in this instance when the American taxpayers and workers are being robbed and American companies are being run out of business to the benefit of foregin corporations.
I meant to say other “countries” subsidize their auto industries. Typing too fast.
Chryco fan. I would like the other way around. GM getting Jeep while Renault gets Dodge and Chrysler. As you mentionned Chrysler could be the premium executive car they searched. I know Renault-Nissan have Infiniti but it don’t have enough pedigree (or is it prestige?) to go against BMW, Alfa-Romeo, Mercedes and Audi in the European continent.
Dodge could be the entry-price and truck duty division (however, since Renault distribute the Dacia line-up in France who act as the economic entry, they have to market it carefully).
On a side note, it was Georges Mason who envisionned to merge Nash, Hudson, Packard and Hudson but his sudden death in late 1954. Georges Romney who succeded to Mason wasn’t able to reach an agreement with James Nance of Packard and the project was aborted. Some auto historians like Patrick Foster or Richard Langworth said then if Packard had merged with Nash instead of Studebaker, things could had probably been different.
I mentionned early the “three-way deal” between Renault, GM and Chrysler then Autoextremist mentionned at their “on the table” section but the main rant (rant #467) mentionned a rumor then after GM buyed Chrysler then GM has already moved on to renewed, serious discussions with Carlos Ghosn about the possibility of merging GM’s global operations with Renault-Nissan. O_o (I don’t think then Pete DeLorenzo had smoked or drinked something illegal or did he?)
If that scenario might materialize, I guess Wagonner won’t have any choices except left his current position at GM and the irony of that is “Captain Kirk” Kerkorian isn’t at GM anymore to see his scheme becoming reality but that’s another story.
I most agree with DaveAdmin’s first post with the exception of GM keeping the Holden based RWD platform. Why I say that is Chrysler LLC already has the LX and friends platform on hand——–here in North America. That latter tidbit; especially with the tanking economy, may sway GM-Jeep to use our ‘local talent’.
GM is only interested in the short term which is the 11 billion that Chrysler has. Once they go thru that the first year then they will sell off everything they can find. There will no longer be a Chrysler brand so they don’t have to pay for the lifetime powertrain warranties. If Chrysler mergers with GM then it is only to pad Nardelli’s pocket. As I recall, Nardelli is the one who was running Home Depot into the ground. It is truly amazing what people will do for greed. Nardelli will retire a multimillionaire and all the Chrysler employees will go unemployed with no retirement. These CEO’s should be put in jail or put to death.
Bearhawke, there also the LY platform, the upcoming successor of the LX who’ll soon ready. Maybe I can imagine a future Roadmaster/LeSabre/Invicta/Electra/Lucerne or Wildcat for Buick or a new Impala/Caprice for Chevy.
I taught of something for Pontiac, since they used names like Sunfire, Firebird. I wonder if they could dust-off some former DeSoto nameplates like Fireflite and Firedome? ;-)
For the V6 engines, the old 3800/231 V6 Buick engine was just retired recently. Which it left the High Value engine family OHV (3.5L-3.9L), the old 4.3L V6 for the Chevy Silverado, the High Feature family aka the Alloytec in Australia currently in use by Cadillac and it beginned to spread over other models. I suggest to GM to drop the 3.5L-3.9L like the 3800 or to offer them only to Chevrolet while Dodge, Pontiac, Buick and Chrysler get the Phoenix though then the Phoenix could be offered at some selected Chevy models (and could replace the old 4.3L in the pick-ups), the High Feature could be exclusive to Cadillac.
For the Hemi, I wonder if we could see one day some folks who might have fun in the aftermarket and customization to swap the Hemi under the hood of the Corvette and Camaro or having the small-block Chevy under the Challenger? Just kidding here but they could test the waters to show these ideas at SEMA for example.
Maybe I’m too optimist here, now all we have to do is waiting to see how this will end.
Dave:
This is a great site that I’ve really enjoyed over the years.
That said, I think that many of the posts here are slanted to what people would “like” to see happen as opposed to what will actually happen.
This deal isn’t about Chrysler – It’s about GM’s need for cash and the bankers’ desire to force a merger to prevent a GM bankruptcy. If a deal comes together, and I thik it will, it will be a bloodbath for Chrysler Dealers and Chrysler Employees. It will be EXACTLY like the AMC deal – only the changes will happen faster.
Back in 1987 AMC was “Chryslerized.” The same thing will happen to Chrysler if GM takes control – a few assets will be developed and everything else will be liquidated for cash.
It hasn’t even been a week and the first two items on your list are already history – Getrag is dead and Phoenix is on life support.
Final thought about Tom LaSorda. I know that you think he’s a great manufacturing guy but I would argue that he’s been a disaster for Chrysler – just as bad as our other great GM transfer Bob Eaton. LaSorda has ZERO product sense – he couldn’t pick a winner from a loser if his life depended on it. Just look at the C/J/D Showroom – the styling is horrible.
Granted, not everyone can be a Bob Lutz when it comes to product sense. In my opinion, LaSorda knows he doesn’t have product sense, and instead of promoting someone who excels in this area, he surrounds himself with a bunch of “yes-men” that won’t pose a challenge to him.
Over the years Chrysler has managed to dodge more than its share of bullets – this time, I’m afraid, it may be a fatal shot for the company as we once knew it.
Where is Kerkovian (?) when you want him ? He wanted to buy Chrsyler before, and didn’t manage it. At least it would remain independent ! Today, with Chrysler all but in the clutches of GM, he’s no where to be seen.
All GM will do is asset-strip Chrysler, selling everything to “feed” the money-hungry new owner, using the technology, laying off the workers and killing those lines that are in competition to their own !
If any of the current – or even future – Chrysler bred designs remain in a couple of years, they’ll all be SB Chevy/LS powered – are you gonna buy a Chevy Challenger with an LS engine ?
Good bye Chrysler, it was fun while it lasted …..
Kerkorian is the guy I think you mean, and I suspect he’s no longer able to save Chrysler; his own assets have plummeted along with many others.
IF the Phoenix rumor is true than I have to agree with Mason.
As for LaSorda, it’s hard to tell — I think he’s a great production man and should be kept, if possible, in charge of production. Seems the great leaders like Walter P., who can do just about everything well (or find those who can), are in different industries at the moment.
Looks like Chrysler fell from the frying pan into the fire. Funny, things were looking up in those last Daimler months…
A message to Steve Feinberg. I have “Vanishing Point” on DVD. I watched the ending again and you are doing this all wrong. Only one specific Chrysler built car was driven into oblivion, not the whole damn corporation.
patfromigh,
You might ought to watch the original Vanishing Point again. At the end, that was NOT a Challenger they crashed into the blade, it was a 1967 CAMARO!!
There is little to be expected from GM ownership of Chrysler that would be different from the same possibility of GM ownership back when Daimler dumped Chrysler. Chrysler will be eliminated. Period. This is the still the automobile business. It always has been, is now and will most likely to remain one of most cut-throat businesses in existence.
GM would cherry-pick some items. The Jeep name and probably the Wrangler to supplement/replace GM’s seriously ailing Hummer ugly box line, the minivans unless they get sold to VW and maybe the Charger if the police car business looks promising enough. Plus new electric car and dual-clutch transmission technology.
The new Ram, which may just force GM to take notice if it sells well at introduction may present a conundrum as there is no way GM is going to keep two pick-up lines (Chevrolet and GMC being one) and I don’t see them dropping their current models. They could sell the Dodge truck line but to who? Certainly not Ford, it would have to be to a foreign manufacturer. But then GM would be selling off a major competitor to another competitor. Maybe they would just adapt the Ram-Box and rear coil-spring suspension designs to their Chevrolet trucks and kill the Ram to keep it out of someone else’s hands.
Even if they keep some afore-mentioned vehicles, the drive trains will change, especially engines. Hemi’s are dead. GM does not need them or the 4.7. Nor any V6’s and certainly not the inefficient four cylinders.
The Challenger is dead. Hopefully, Mopar will be sold off but how well it would fare on its own is questionable.
Yes, it will mean a whole-sale slaughter of thousands of American auto workers. But that is the only way the deal can do GM any good. They get a couple of useable vehicles, some technology and ten billion badly needed dollars. Cerberus will get (close to) all of GMAC, a huge debt reduction and be free of Daimler AG. The American citizen will get screwed.
So what else is new?
GM will be shocked to see how loyal Chrysler customers are. If Chrysler is decimated I am sure a large percentage will never buy GM products ever. I can say that my Wife,Son,and Daughter will go to some other brand. Probably the Asian Dodge Hyundai. I will spend the rest of my days with a Hemi something or other even if I have brew my own fuel. For me it’s MOPAR OR NOCAR!
PS. Daughter had a G6 for 6 months and dumped it for a Nitro.
Where’s Roger Penske, he brought back Detroit Diesel from the dead. He could get Chrysler moving again!
I am absolutely disgusted at this news! We need real car people back in the business, not white collar CEO’s that liquidate a great product and American icon for scrap metal. GM buying Chrysler is nothing more than running another competitor out of business because GM can’t beat it by producing better cars.
If this goes through, I’ll never return to an American car company again. I love my 2008 Charger R/T. But if I have to drive it to the local Chevy dealer to have it serviced, I’ll just sell the thing. The German automakers will garner my business. What in the hell has Cerberus done? UNBELIEVABLE! Nothing but deceit. I suppose this must have been their strategy all along. A very sad epitaph to a great car company that I loved and supported over the years.
If I had the skill and experience, I’d try my damnedest to save Chrysler!
This will cost Chrysler and this nation hundreds of thousands of jobs period! Factorys, dealers and there employers etc! GM wants Chryslers cash like Daimler did only Gm will destroy Chrysler. GM wants the money and the money only. They dont give a damn about the cars or the people. What would happen to the headquarters on Auburn Hills, factorys etc, They would be a foot note in history. Make no mistake people this is not a good deal. The ony way this may work is if Nissan comes into this and buys Chryco lock stock and barrel. I knew we could not trust a dog that guargds the gates of hell!
I have owned Chrysler cars for 45 years. I have gone over 2 million miles with them (13 cars). Most of them have never seen a garage except at home. I have never spent a dime on a transmission for repair. It is a fact that the Garage Man’s Companion has been building junk or second rate vehicles for a long time (many times on purpose). I have witnessed many examples of their junk over the years. They are a trojan horse for american manufacturing. It is no accident that foreign cars have steadily gained market share. It has been planned for many years. GM is a company that has considerable market share yet but is managing to burn through approximately 3 billion dollars a month. The reasons are obvious. What you are witnessing is the destruction of american manufacturing and your country. Chrysler is an american icon despite what your deceitful press states. You should oppose any merger or takeover with a crooked bankrupt company. Your country is on the line.
Gotta say that my own Chryslers have done pretty well. The last GM I owned was a 1976 Camaro so it wouldn’t be fair to generalize from my experiences with them. I have however been pretty impressed with the PT, 300M, and Valiant. Our Neon had a lot of repairs over the years but it also had a punishing commute; and in the end we’ve looked for it to buy back!
Anyone have any thoughts on what a merger would mean to current Chrysler retirees?
I highly doubt it would be good news, if that’s what you mean. At least not with GM. If a foreign automaker picked up Chrysler’s operations and kept the organization alive, it would probably continue without change. It’s highly ironic that Chrysler’s biggest chance of survival in some form appears to rest in a foreign takeover – especially since the reason it’s a basket case now is because of a foreign takeover.
God help America.
What has become of this country? Come on Americans, Band together and fight for your
country. Chrysler is your legacy, don’t let it die. Don’t let the government destroy
what many of your ancestors have worked for.
I have been a Chrysler fanatic all my life. I can’t see past this company. It aways
had exciting vehicles and excellent engineering. I was excited about the new products comming in 2010 and the new RAM. (You gotta watch that RAM Challenge – Awesome!)Now I am in bewilderment and shock! I was planning on getting a Challenger R/T Classic. What the hell happened? The death of this company would be a crushing blow to Americans and people who love cars.
A merger with GM is fatal. Their products make me sick. I always called them “Murphy’s Law” cars.
Whatever can go wrong will go wrong.
If this merger happens,I am never buying GM. The boring Fords are out as well. Looks like the government will get what they want, because I am going to have to buy an import. God help us all.
Chrysler is not going bankrupt anytime soon. They are not losing any significant amount of money and they have billions in the bank. They are a “lean and mean” operation. This is about a crooked and bankrupt company called GM which is a world company. They make vehicles in North America which have engines from China (which are also made in N. Y.) and transmissions from Japan. Here is a little history for you. GM and Ford were the two largest auto companies in Germany during the second world war. Their plants were never bombed significantly while they made armament for Hitler who was financed out of N.Y. city. German civilian population was bombed mercilessly. Cerebus, an investment company which has a majority stake in Chrysler and GMAC is at the heart of this matter. We all know what the investment bankers have done to the U.S. economy as they get bailed out in the trillions of dollars. This is about the destruction of american manufacturing. By the way, I have 4 Neons, 6 or 7 years old which have never seen a garage while in my possession.
I don’t know why, but this issue gets me very emotional. I had a hard time with the “merger” with Daimler Benz back in ‘97-’98, and I find myself getting wound up again.
As a long time Mopar fan and a former technician, I can fully appreciate and endorse all of the glowing, positive things being said about Chrysler and their (our?) products… My question is, why doesn’t anyone else? Beyond the faithful gathered here, I get the impression that John and Jane Q. Public have written Chrysler off. I know it is extremely difficult to overcome a tarnished image, but if Audi can come back from the “unintended acceleration” debacle, Ma Mopar can get back too.
I can remember a time (about 11-12 years ago) when Chrysler made money on every vehicle it sold, even Neons. (I wish I had picked up a couple Neon ACRs then!) Given the time and freedom to design cars and trucks that people want, I don’t think it would be too hard to get back to that point. But the focus will have to shift from profit to product.
In high-school, I was in an economics class that had an interesting simulation program. We could set up and manage our fictitious companies and experiment with different strategies. I found that my simulated manufacturing company increased profits when I consistently put a portion of sales back into R&D. My little (simulated) company focused on making better and better product and let profitability take care of itself.
I just hope this is a sham to try and get more investors involved with Chrysler. It may also be a way to negotiate with the unions. At any rate, Chrysler makes the coolest products out there and to shut them down would be unjust and pure insanity. Further, unemploying half of Michigan is immoral and any CEO’s invloved with this venture should have some compasion for their fellow man. My God, how many millions of dollars do you need to be happy? Shame on you.
This note is just to give you well-appreciated MoPAR bloggers a bit of hope… The Phoenix engine engineering and manufacturing teams remain highly active, putting in long days and managing 24 hr development & validation testing, progressing towards the goal of volume production launch in the not-too-distant future. The team is well aware of all the recent scuttle rumoring the idling or demise of Phoenix, but to date the brakes have not been applied.
Just hoping Chrysler will emerge again from the ashes. The “Phoenix” engine name can’t be that ironic, can it?
Good to hear You_did_NOT_hear_it_from_Me! I was getting really concerned.
I just hope that my remaining 3+ years of warranty and maintenance don’t disappear. IMO a “merger” with Nissan would be the lesser of the two evils. I’d rather see Chrysler go under as an independent than have GM kill it off…
Chrysler is a target of opportunity, at an optimum time. In good times, GM would never be allowed to absorb and extinguish a competitor by the government anti-Monopoly bureaucrats. But during these times a window is open. as they say, Strike when the iron is hot.
I laugh and smile at all the “supposed experts” who say that a deal is not in the interests of either company. Wait and buy in Chapter seven receivership. Now the prices are even cheaper. I doubt that GM or Chrysler, if the other way around, would need to spend anything but some manufactured paper securities,and zero cash today. That is a lot less than in receivership sale, where “cash money” would be needed.
Historically, there are few mergers that are “successful”. The reasons for that are several:
The primary is that there is market overlap and little market benefit. Here Chrysler has almost no presence overseas; while GM is successful there. And so there is virtually no overlap in the whole World’s markets,except for NA. Chrysler competes essentially in North America only. So this is only a much smaller issue and centralized here.
Market overlap exists but it is much more limited, on close analysis.
GM has abandoned the Minivan market, having never produced a successful Minivan. So essentially the half a million annual sales of Caravans and T&Cs, will not simply cannabilize and remove sales from GM existing divisions. That is a pure net addition to sales.
Superficially Jeep and Hummer compete. But in fact they do not. Jeep produces small and mid-size off road vehicles. Hummer has nothing but large off-road vehicles, a sub market segment that Chrysler does not address. So in fact there is little overlap there. Hummer larger desingscoud augment and fil the big off road end, but I suspect that Hummer will be sold off as GM has planned.
The overlap really occurs in cars. GM has better answers in the mid-size segment where the Avenger, Sebring are overwhelmed by GM’s Malibu and brethren. Chrysler simply has not had the dollars to fully sort out these offerings, and they show that crudeness. But they do have some components of interest,in these cars. I think these vehicles are abandoned and GM equivalents survive.
In the compact “C” class segment, GM’s offerings have not been as dominant. The Cobalt and it brethren are not market leaders, and neither is the Caliber. It is not a leader. But in that segment, the market is growing now, and segment capacity is a concern. There is room to absorb both and benefit from the union, until GM delta platforms overwhelm all. Thsi wil not happen for several years. teh Caliber platform may survive as a Jeep Patriot-Cherokee for a long time.
In large cars, GM has been forced to scrap its return to RWD, by CAFE. It would now probably like a few Large RWD models, but not a full line, much like Lexus does. The Holden RWD platform is a poor imitation of the Mercedes “E class” chassis, that Chrysler inherited for the 300, Challenger, and Charger. These well sorted out RWD chassis, would provide the specialty models for GM better, than Holden’s antique RWD offerings. A GTO built off a Mercedes underpinnings makes more sense as a “specialty car” than off an antique Holden RWD chassis that GM turned to in search for a cheap interim solution. Eliminating GM efforts in a new RWD platform would save money, lots of development money. Its a lot cheaper to re-skin a 300.
Then we come to trucks. The new small RAM should be a real contender versus the light Sierra platform. Large Rams do not compare well to the award winning Sierra HDs, except for engine choices. The big Rams could well go the way of the dodo. But the Ram 1500, is a new platform, and is lighter and superior to the Sierra design, and perhasp to the Sierr redesign in the works. And would also save GM money in that market. GM has plenty of V-8s, so the Hemi is probably dead, unless it si very cheap to manufacture. Aas is the always unfinished and unlamented 4.7 v-8.
But on the Diesel front, GM has not had as good a story to tell, as Chrysler/Cummins do.
Cummins truck duty diesel 4.2 v-6 T2B5 would augment the 4.4 cost engineneered Duramax v-8. The large Cummins diesel is T2B5 already, and very highly favored, over GM’s heavy duty diesels.
In small diesels the Duramax 4.4 V-8 will lose out when compared to the new
Cummins 4.2 V-6 diesel for toughness, reliability, durability and probably fuel economy. And a host of other reasons too. Except for very light duty, such as in diesel powered autos, where the reduced weight of the Duramax might prove beneficial, and the durability is not that much of an issue. Cummins and GM powered Sierra HDs, along with Cummins and GM powered light duty GM diesel offerings complement not oppose each other. Use the large and small Cummins along with big GM dieselsl in truck applications, and reserve the the Duramax for light diesel auto applications.
GM brings much better transmission offerings to the truck wars than Chrysler. Conversion to GM transmissions would instantly improve what remains of the Chrysler trucks. The seven speed Chrysler heavy-duty RWD DSG transmission capacity, if built, might serve GM in good stead. Provide of course if the pitiance of additional expenditure would provide that many new transmissions in the joint venture with Getrag. It would also power the C3, C4 and C5 market that GM had abandoned. Yet another amrket segment that there is no virtually no overlap, at present, so that Chrysler sales are a pure addition to GM,canabilizing nothing.
Then there are components that are of interest to GM. GEMA has a lot of i4 engine capacity and constantly wins awards for cost effectiveness in manufacture. There isreally nothing wrong with the World enginess other than being over-tuned because the power levels were insufficient with the poor transmissiosn available. De-tune the engines as Huyndai and Mitisu do, and put 6-speed DSG transmissions behind them and GM would have lots of modern I- 4 drivetrain capacity. The DSG 6 speed is here except that Getrag has wnated Chrysler to guarantee some financing, and the lawyers are arguing. Part of that is cheap, GM could underwite the $300 million that
Getrag wants out of petty cash, and get lots of new 6 speed transmissions on the cheap. They need these to meet CAFE. The Malibu I-4 and 6-speed has been well recieved but GM is transmission capacity limited. Or it could take the brand new Chrysler transmission factory, and install its own tooling and build its own 6 speed design,completely removingGetrag from the story. I suspect that a lot of the Getrag/Chrysler acrimony is oriented around this very issue.
Then there is the supplier components attractiveness that the “supposed financial experts” never delve into. We have discussed the 6-speed DSG Getrag/Chrysler transmissions already, but in addition, Chrysler’s relationship with Jatco as a suplier of the second generation CVT, would allow GM to reserve and expandf use of them in the “C” class” vehicles, where they fit much better than in the Sebring/Avenger “D”class cars.
Phoenix v-6 is of a lot of interest to GM too. Much of GM’s v-6 capacity is obsolescent The Buick 3800 chopped v-6 from the OHV v-8 dates to a the late 1940s, and was created on the cheap for the Skylark of the early Sixties. Another v-6 family was designed as a cheap Citation “x-car” v-6 from the early Seventies. GM designed a modern v6, the “High Feature”, but it never intalled much manufacturing capacity for it, and never cost engineered it fully. GM did this, as the High Z Feature v6 was meant as a specialty engine for exotic use in Caddy or Buick specialty cars. The Phoenix, together with the HF V-6 would modernize GM v-6 capacity on the cheap. Both Phoenix andHigh Feature were prepared with all the latest features; all-alloy, DOHC, VVT, GDI and prepared for HCCI adaptation. Chrysler meant these Phoenix engines to power much of its cars, so they were both cost designed as well as high feature designs,and modualr to ;allow easy upsizing and downsizing, along with the factory tooling to allow changes on the fly. Since Mercedes intended to use Phoenix v-6s to modernize its v-6 families, they are superb engines with little typical Chrsyler cost cuttingas enforced by Daimler. But the fuel economy concerns have sent much of anticipated V-6 demand to I-4s and the “massive” Phoenix capacity for Chrsyler would probably be sufficient for all alrger GM’s reduced needs, when taken with along with the HF 3.6 V6 capacity.
There has been no discussion of the axle capacity that Chrysler has now added. This would help GM in ways not visible, but add to the invisible bottom line.
Similarly New Process gear has transmission capacity that could be used to build newer GM transmission designs too. For example GM will add capacity for the second generation, smaller Dual Mode hybrid transmission. Chrysler could provide factories to build them. They coud /willcertainly use intn the Minibvans andf RWD platform they provide to GM.
One of the classical reasons that mergers fail is that it also takes management attention off the ball. It makes them concerened with internal rationalization, when management should always be looking externally. Studying its competition and its would be customers is where the atrtention should always be focusesd. A Chrysler GM merger while large in the classical sense, is really small potatoes in the automotive world,confined to NA and a few market segments.
There is also usually a lot of hidden warts, that the acquiring company inherits, that it really did not anticipate o reven know about. These come as an awful surprise to the acquiring comapany.
Here that situation does not really exist. Bob Lutz, a top guy at GM, WAS a top guy at Chrysler, not too long ago. So he KNOWS where the “surprises” are buried. Further more, since Chrysler has been acquired and stripped clean of surprises, by both Daimler and Cerebus, the hidden “surprises” are pretty much addressed, and minimized. The “car bank” practice is long gone, for example. Much of Chrysler capacity is very modern, too. All the old factories have been closed. What remains is probably a lot more modern that the average GM plant. An original drawbackin the era of vertical integration is the duplication in the parts supplier network. But Chrysler relies on outside non-Chrysler suppliers, much more than GM or Ford. So reduction in supplier demand does not mean GM parts factories are underutilized, and loss producers. It would hurt outside Chhrysler suppiers heavily, but that would not impact GM/Chrysler’s bottomline, as much. Beside GM is spinning off it own internal parts suppliers as well, based on the Chrysler model.
In short, it would create a much stronger enterprise in the long run, then GM and a wounded Chrsyler in North America. GM is obviously an awakened sleeping Giant, under Lutz and Waggoner, and its new offwerings from the Sierra onward, are outstanding leading products. The days of GM having to “play nice “with its competitors to pacigy the anti-monoploy clowns, are now fully gone. Lutz has said GM will no longer be an easy source of markett share for anyone, producing just “good enough” vehicles, and the recent offerings seem to confirm that thesis. At last, GM is playing for keeps. So it’s probably a good thing that Chrysler, or waht remains of it, joins the GM war as an ally.
My family has been Mopar since 1955. The only exception is a 2003 GMC Yukon which for the most part has been junk. Had to replace a fuel pump at 40,000. The service writer said “at least since you came to a GM dealer and replaced it with a GM part it will have a lifetime warranty”. What kid of locigic does that make. But I am off the point, if Gmc takes over Chrysler, I will never buy another “American” car or truck.
My grandfather became associated with Chrysler Corporation in 1928, shortly after bringing out Plymouth and DeSoto. He became a sort of “dealer” in mid 1929, when my father went off to Detroit, at Chrysler expense, to be certified to not only make warranty repairs, but to train others to make warranty repairs. In 1930, Chrysler came to him, with an offer. He took it. I wish I knew the exact date. Lost to history. But grandpa agreed to have Chrysler send every product they built to his lot. And that is exactly what it was then. A lot. 25 acres of open land, and no show room. Three cobbled up bays that served as the “garage” when cars were worked on. Those……. were the days.
Maybe, if you believe in fate, my Dad knew something before he sold the entire dealership in 1964. I thought at the time, that I would die. A strong willed 17 year old young man, already experienced at the store since the age of 9. I KNEW what I wanted to do, and my Dad sold “my” legacy.
As I see it now, I have to believe he really did me a favor. What a mess it all was since ‘65. What a crummy fate Iacocca, Eaton, and that group let happen. They drove the stake through the heart of one of the best engineered car companies in the world.
And you know. I am just angry. Not even melancholy. Not even sad. Just plain angry.
Not to be confusing. I meant to say that Grandpa took in models of every car LINE that Chrysler built, including some FARGO trucks! And it was ALL on Chrysler’s dime. Nothing spent on inventory. Thanks to a great young attorney that agreed to work for a 1930 DeSoto for a couple years, that agreement remained in force up until the dealership was sold.
Not every product they built, which implied everything off the production line. I wish…. maybe. But it wasn’t that way.
This news makes my belly churn. Where is the federal goverment? Over 100,000 jobs on the line and not a peep. What ever happened to an employee buyout? I know it was talked about before the
german buyout, why not now? I am a live long Mopar fan and driver, I refuse to drive anything else.
(except my work truck,love the torsen bar front end, company truck I had no say) I am currently driving a 93 Intrepid and love the car. If Mopar goes away I will never buy an American car again.
Fustrated in Ohio.
So this is what we get for being loyal customers? This whole deal makes me want to puke! The gov’t can bail out all the banks and protect all the crooked politicians whose policies led to this mess! I’m glad I just purchased a 2008 Avenger, it is so much better than the gm garbage out there, that my mother is ready to trade her year old cobalt. I’m so angry that I could spit nails. If Chrysler has to go down, let her go down with dignity, not decimated to the point of being unrecognizable.
I encourage everyone who is not already a member of Chrysler’s “CAB”, to sign up and wait to be chosen.. feel free to apply at http://www.ChryslerListens.com
(AllPar staff, any way you could possibly make a link to the url so we can ensure a good voice of true MoPar fans who are knowledgable signing up?)
anyways, today it was revealed the entirety of this “GM/Chrysler” merger was a completely midea fabricated story (per Jim Press).
We’re going to be having (on CAB) and Q/A session with Mr. Press on the 12th of November and it is the number one question CAB members have (before even asking for a sneak peak of the new 300/Charger).
I grew up a GM/Pontiac guy, but in my adulthood I have surprisingly owned three Chrysler products. I just sold my second one (1996 Dodge Grand Caravan with 152,000 miles) after I recently purchased a 2005 Town and Country Limited. They have all been comfortable, reliable and easy to maintain–much more so than the GM products I have owned which often were a backyard mechanic’ nightmare. It would be a sad day for America for Chrysler to meet its demise. The baby boomers and younger generations need to be more patriotic (American) in their car choices or else all of these companies will go by the wayside. By the same token, the American nameplates need to do their best to build in value into the vehicles and remain competitive with Asian automakers. The competition is tough, but with an honest effort and patriotic American customers, all three automakers can survive independently. However, the influence of the automotive press and the preference of American consumers for foreign nameplates will likely make it impossible especially in the current economic climate. It is sad. I always like the little guy and Chrysler has always been the scrappy company–particularly in the Eighties. I would hate to see them go.
“anyways, today it was revealed the entirety of this “GM/Chrysler” merger was a completely midea fabricated story”
What Jim Press said was not that the media had fabricated the whole story–just the “all but Jeep will disappear” part. You’ll notice Allpar never suggested that as a rational possibility.
I agree why does chrysler have to have new engines why cant they just stay with the 3.8 and 4.0 V6, they should design another engine like the 2.2 in the 1980’s i currently have over 289,000 on my sundance
Ummm…. because the new engines would be:
1. Smaller for the same power / more powerful for the size
2. Lighter
3. Cheaper to make
4. More fuel efficient
5. Lower in regulated emissions
And, one of the most important:
6. Buzzword compliant with direct injection, MDS, variable valve timing…
Just a note: GM’s ECOTEC 4 has nothing to do with the Quad 4 as someone incorrectly noted above.Not even close. That was developed by Olds. The Ecotec primarily by Opel and GM’s international operations.
That said, the whole scenario is as sickening as it gets: For Chrysler, GM and the domestic auto industry. Suddenly it’s 1929.
This whole thing is being engineered by the banks and corporate heads who want a bigger share of the automakers “bailout” [GM/Chrysler combined share of the 25 billion bailout and Chrysler's cash hoard] and the banking industry bail out money [Cerberus with GMAC 100% owned by Cerberus combined with Chrysler Financial and lining up for that big fat $700 billion for the banks]. That’s ALL it’s about. It’s not about brands or heritage or building higher quality cars that people will break down the doors for.
It’s about gettin’ dat money.Long term plans be damned. As usual with GM. As usual with so many of our corporations, financial institutions and even the government. The quick fix. We’ll worry about the long term later.
I am afraid there’s not going to be a “later” for Chrysler OR GM at this point. That’s been squandered with short sighted planning and an absolute refusal to depend on anything else besides trucks and SUVs to provide customers and corporate cash.
What Daimler did was tragic. Cerberus looks as if it’s going to do some sort of strip and flip and that’s disgusting.
I find it absurd that the media is only talking about how many jobs will be lost at factories and the white collar parts of the company. What about all of the dealers who will have to close? I work at a CJD dealer, and it makes me sick to think that any day now, I could read online that GM has purchased Chrysler, and is going to start cutting away the parts they dont want. What about the tens of thousands of mechanics, salesmen, and other employees in these dealerships? I suppose they are just collateral damage.
Yup, this signals the definite END of the so-called American dream. The U.S. government should NEVER have allowed this continuous stream of Asian junk into the country.
If Chrysler has to “merge” with someone not US Based, I would like to see it done with Fiat. Fiat seems to be quite adept in the small and mid size car market in Europe and is itching to get back into the states. With the Fiat 500 and Alfa Romeo MiTo, Fiat seems to have a couple of home runs on their hands in Europe. Those vehicles, along with some Dodge badged counterparts, sure would look good coming out of Newark Assembly. They would be in a great position to export some back to Europe with access to East Coast Ports and export to South America too. Fiat has diesel engine technology we could use as well as their own heavy duty trucks in Iveco (get rid of those daimler owned freightliners at Chrysler Transport). I bet a lot of people don’t know that Fiat also owns Case, International Harvester, and New Holland Tractors too. Chrysler could let Fiat provide the platforms and engineering for the small and mid size cars, and what’s left of Auburn Hills could keep the full sized (I believe new LX/LY comes out January of 2010) cars, Trucks, SUVs (new WK in Jan of 2010 too?) and of course minivans. I second whomever it was that said to get rid of Campi, the only thing he seems to be good at (besides lawsuits) is committing economic treason by outsourcing to LCC’s. Purchasing has done several studies in the past about sourcing work to LCC’s, and the business model did not work. There were many air shipments of wheels for the RS Minivan out of Venezuela as well as wiring harnesses out of SAfrica being flown into Belv. Those people in low cost countries DON’T BUY Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep Vehicles either! If we have to outsource, at least keep the business in the USA! Schaller, American Axle, Wico Metal, Lear, Magna…the people that work at those companies buy Chrysler Products!
Reading the last post gave me an idea. How about a Chrysler/Navistar merger. Navistar hasn’t sold light trucks or SUV for years and the closest thing to a car was the Travelall. Chrysler would stay intact and in North America!
I am the owner of a grand am and I have purchased gms since i can drive
I am not buying another G.M again, I will be making my next purchase of a Used Mopar or a new ford
To hell with GM
The whole thing went wrong when Iacocca wouldn’t let Lutz succeed him. That moron Eaton screwed the company and its employees. Daimler bled Chrysler (a very profitable company) dry. Then they sold to these vultures (Cerberus). I like all other Mopar guys am devastated. The final insult would be to be sold to GM. The company that worked with the Nazis in WWII. Played the major roll in killing mass transit in the U.S.and made planned obsolesence a household word.
I feel the worst for the Chrysler employees who will sacrifice for that creep Nardelli. Just like Home Depot he’s driving Chrysler into the ground.
I think the only hope we have is a foreign take over or some type of miracle.
so some of you wont buy gm products because of this? im sorry but im sure if chrysler was able to buy gm they’d do the same thing and everybody here would be cheering. brand loyalty is a funny thing. it just happens that gm is more successful, o well. do i wanna see chrysler go? absolutley not, but what would you expect a COMPETITOR to do if they have an oppurtunity to crush a COMPETITOR? by the way im not expert, just my opinion
Wow Lou, GM and the Nazi’s? I don’t ever recall hearing that in any of my history classes. That’s a pretty harsh statement about American’s #1 Manufacturer and an employer of 10’s of thousands of our fellow Americans. While I agree with you that I really don’t want to see GM buy Chrysler (My plant in Twinsburg is surrounded by three GM Stamping Plants…), I would rather see that happen than being bought by Toyota, Honda, or one of the Korean/Chinese Companies. I would be nice to see Chrysler remain somewhat independent. I agree with you on Iacocca’s biggest mistake being overlooking Lutz. With the management team we had in place in the late 90’s, I think we would have really had the industry by the tail. Hopefully those writers from the Detroit News or Free Press, the ones who wrote “Taken for a Ride, How Daimler drove off with Chrysler”, are working on a sequel….
Well, I guess this is it for Chrysler. Your gonna witness the end of a great legacy here
folks. Years of people buying foriegn products have finally totally destroyed America.
Once the market is cleared of American companies (which will eventually happen), then you’ll have
to deal with the cheapest junk money can buy. Quality is great now, wait until you have no choice,
then you’ll see how cars can be made leaner and cheaper with the profits going back to foriegn
countries. A person once said, “What the Japanese couldn’t do to us in the war, they’ll do to us in the economy.” (can’t remeber who said that? Anyone remeber?)I’ve always bought North American products and tried as much as possible to convince others to do it, but it was a hard fight. People just want their “Bling” these days, and they don’t care who they put out of work to do it.
I just want to say to all those Chrysler employees, from present to past, THANK YOU! from a very big Chrysler enthusiast and supporter. Thank you for giving me and countless others a lifetime of excitement and pride from your many products. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for all the blood, sweat, and tears gone into research, development, and manufacturing. Thank you to everyone on the production lines who were trying to make a living for their families. God Bless You All!
I find it very hard to watch things go this way. I have a 2 year old, and a 1 month old son.
I was hoping that as they grew older, we would have a father to son relationship that would include
many chats and enthusiasim for this brand, and I was working on getting a new challenger or an older Mopar to keep for them so we could have fun with it and admire how hard work from everday people could create such a wonderfull piece of glory.
Lets take a look back at some of the great “talk” from good old Chrysler:
HEMI, Max Wedge, RamCharger, FireDome, Red Ram, Super Stock II, TNT, Super Commando, Magnum,
RoadRunner Engine, Super Slant Six, 340 wedge, six pak, +6, sure grip, track pac, air grabber, shaker,pistol grip, slap stick, rallye dash, T/A, AAR, GTX, Duster, Demon, ‘Cuda, Dart, Challenger, Super bee, Coronet, Valiant, Roadrunner, Charger, 300H, Fury, Savoy, Scamp, Twister, Swinger, Superbird, Daytona, magnum 500, rallye wheels, Tuff steering wheel, sublime, TorRed, Hemi Orange, Plum Crazy, Lemon Twist, Panther Pink, B5 Blue, etc………………………………………
You show me another company who could even come close to matching this excitement. When I was a kid, the “WORDS” such as listed above used to drive me out of my mind thinking about them.
It was a B-L-A-S-T!
Take Care Chrysler, and I Thank You.
Two reasons why US auto makers are in trouble.(1)Idiots that still believe foreign vehicles are better.(2)By letting a foreign company buy Chrysler. Its a funny old world when the USA and the vehicle builders that won WW2 are being outsold and companies being bought by those that lost the war. Hell, was it the USA that rebuilt those countries?
Joining with Nissan/Renault is Chrysler’s and the auto enthusiast’s best option. It will be bad for Chrysler and GM to merge as direct competitors. Not to mention all the jobs lost. They have nothing historically in common. And yes, I know about AM General and AMC.
Removing competition will not promote the improvement of uniquely “American” vehicles. It will dilute each company’s brands. For instance, the Challenger and Camaro will likely evolve into clones. Chevy LS V8’s (if any) will be used across the board from Chargers to Pontiacs. Mopar will cease to exist.
Chrysler would be far better aligned with Nissan and Renault. Chrysler has developed promising joint projects with Nissan and has a history with Renault via AMC/Eagle. With Nissan/Renault specializing in volume and smaller vehicles; Chrysler can reclaim its inspired designs and improve on the traditional American vehicle, fuel efficient Hemis and all. This could also help with marketing and sales internationally such as Asia and Europe.