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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Chrysler faces July cash crunch even with more aid

Business Mar. 15, 2009 - 03:25AM JST ( 10 )

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10 Comments

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SargeMar. 15, 2009 - 11:43AM JST

I sure hope the government doesn't pour any more money into this black hole.
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bebertMar. 15, 2009 - 11:57AM JST

I sure hope the government requires the (sucker) hedge fund that bought Chrysler is required to put up its assets as collateral for any further loans.
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USARoninMar. 15, 2009 - 12:02PM JST

I thought the Germans bought Chrysler and we bought Volvo or that other Scandanavian one.

As American financier Yogi Berra said: "That global marketplace sure is all over the place."
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bebertMar. 15, 2009 - 01:19PM JST

Daimler did buy Chrysler, but just before the crash, they sold the majority of their stake (90% I believe) to an American hedge fund that didn't know what the hell they were getting into. Chrysler would have collapsed long ago if the Germans hadn't bought that poison toad. They sold low price cars with equally low quality and had burned much of their customer base.

Chrysler should be dissolved into Ford or GM and their hedge fund owner should take the economic beating like your average 401k investor has.
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YelnatsMar. 16, 2009 - 03:55PM JST

Kolka also said Chrysler’s tentative deal on labor cost concessions with the United Auto Workers union will comply with the terms of the government loans. The loan term sheets set targets for GM and Chrysler to make their total hourly labor costs equal to those of Japanese automakers with U.S. factories.

It is about time. Labor is too expensive for crappy products.
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usaexpatMar. 16, 2009 - 11:20PM JST

Well the only way Chrysler can survive is if Fiat takes the tsake or possibly even full ownership.
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dontpanicMar. 17, 2009 - 02:17AM JST

"if Fiat takes the tsake or possibly even full ownership"

Whats in it for Fiat, some ancient 4x4 technology and a few old Mercedes-Benz platforms? Not much of an incentive for a manufacturer only recently out of the yoghurt itself.

Time to lay Chrysler to rest and focus on the two remaining viable businesses.

"I thought the Germans bought Chrysler and we bought Volvo or that other Scandanavian one" DaimlerBenz bought Chrysler, GM bought SAAB and Ford took on Volvo. Benz sensibly divested itself of Chrysler and GM are dropping SAAB. Ford still own Volvo and so far, continue to support it. Wise move too, Volvo make a quality product and now have all that lovely Land Rover 4x4 technology to pass on.
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usaexpatMar. 18, 2009 - 12:12AM JST

dontpanic: The only incentive for Fiat is sales channels since they are interested in returning to the American market. I agree completely that Chrysler has no value for Fiat in its products or technology.
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the_sicilianMar. 19, 2009 - 08:32PM JST

If you have sat in a Chrysler recently, you would know why they are doomed:

1: They are now to the point of giving away cars if you buy one at MSRP (in FLA, there was an advertisement for a free PT Cruiser if you bought a new Ram pick-up). they are doing this just to unload the vehicles.

2: The interiors are sinful. I was recently in a Sebring in Hawaii. The dash was a single piece of plastic that spanned the whole front. No gaps, but just a huge chunk of plastic. The door was the same thing. And the HVAC controlls are the same for all of their cars.

3: The styling of their cars is abysmal. Look at the exterior of everything they have, except for the 300C (and that is starting to look a bit dated). The new minivans look like bricks. Granted, they are competent, but Toyota, Nissan, and Honda make much better products.

Ciao
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dontpanicMar. 20, 2009 - 02:10AM JST

usaexpat - "The only incentive for Fiat is sales channels since they are interested in returning to the American market"

Its a fair point. But if they wait for Chrysler to fall over they could get suburban sales channels for next to nothing as GM and Ford no doubt have dealerships in similar locations. I doubt Fiat would have any need to fight over flagship sites, at least in the early days of any return to the US.