Third World's The Charm (For Chrysler)
It's official: Chrysler's in talks with everybody and nobody. As if finally realizing that the North American market is lost to it, Chrysler has been going after the much-touted growth markets of India and Russia. Not that there's much to talk about yet. "When we look at alliances in different regions, we have had discussions with multiple companies in Russia," says Chrysler's Tom LaSorda. "In India we have had discussions with many companies." Mr Lasorda also confirmed that the sky is indeed blue. When the talk turns to Fiat, LaSorda gets all bashful, like an eligible bachelor accused of lowering his standards. "Have they approached us? Yes," LaSorda tells Reuters . "At this stage there is no formal discussion going on, but there was an inquiry." And he's quick to point out that Fiat will get with anyone, asserting that "we are not the only ones." In India, Chrysler wants to sell Wranglers through Tata Motors, and it's expecting to announce a new Russian hookup by the end of the year. Between Nissan, Fiat and Tata, the Chrysler plan is beginning to look like rebadging foreign cars while building trucks for others to sell around the world. Then leasing cheap American manufacturing as the dollar continues to slide. Or being sold for scrap when they run out of time to sort it all out. We shall see.
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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What is a big part of the problem today with automotive types like Chrysler, is too many people are bitchers & complainers! Yeah go buy a Toyota (I guess buying into that PR machine). Chrysler had less recalls than Toyota did in 2006 or 2007, but that did not make the Headlines. You know how much money the Domestic 3 still dump back into the U.S. economy (or even North America)? It was the Germans that started Chrysler's slide, by initially cutting big time, the interior budget(or so I've read). The wallstreet types approved the sale of then Chrysler Corp. to Daimler Benz, just to make a quick buck off of the stocks.
grinchy has a point. I am not a socialist, but the Daimler Chrysler deal is a prime example of capitalisms failings. That whole deal was a bust for Chrysler, as well as its employees, suppliers and customers. The people at Daimler who orchestrated this disaster escaped largely unscathed (retiring with a fortune qualifies as unscathed in my book), the investment banking parasites made a fortune, and some big shareholders that sold in time made good money too. But now a corporation is dead on its feet and thousands of people are going to get shafted and there is nothing they can do.
The government has managed the markets and the unions have put such pressure on the revenue there is no escaping the failure for Chrysler. I only hope Ford and GM do not end up in the same graveyard. I wonder who will build US army vehicles CHINA?