Chrysler And Fiat? Scusate?
Chrysler Cinquecento anyone? According to Reuters [via Automotive News Europe], Fiat is in talks with Chrysler LLC to form a strategic partnership. Automotive News says the deal could give Chrysler access to platforms, engines and transmission. The august publication also suggests the dalliance could lead to Fiat taking an equity stake in Chrysler. FIAT has been on the prowl lately to find a partner. PSA apparently gave the Italians the cold shoulder. Fiat’s CEO Sergio Marchionne had made noises that his company cannot survive alone and is in urgent need of a strong partner. Eh, Sergio! You said “strong” partner! Cosa fai?
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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I have to wonder if Chrysler LLC will simply move their HQ and what few engineering and designing staff they'll be needing, to the Plymouth Road facility (yep, the old Kelvinator building, obtained when Nash merged with Kelvinator, then kept when Hudson merged with Nash to form American Motors, then retained when Chrysler purchased American Motors from stockholders and Renault along with / to get Jeep). Makes more sense than having a massive building mostly empty in Auburn Hills. And heating it for these "global warming" winters 5 months long. It was - 2 degrees F. this morning on the way to work (I'm in northwestern Michigan). Of course, Cerberus could "demand" that they rent the Auburn Hills facility but since when does a landlord have that right? Not when the company they "own" suddenly is only 45.5% "owned".
Kurt: Like I said, there are many ifs, probably too many. But one can only hope someday some of these car execs get it right. But I'm not holding my breath. It'd be a shame if this killed Fiat. And of course the Big 3 can build great small cars. At least 2 of them do so. In Europe and elsewhere (though in to me GM only makes decent, not great small cars).
This should be called Daimler-Chrysler the Sequel. Remember, sequels are never as good as the original. This could be an absolute nightmare.
"Martin B : January 19th, 2009 at 5:02 pm @ k.amm: Any more idea? 4) TRABANT in communist East Germany. Made of compressed paper, I believe, with a 2-stroke engine. (Mind you, in Cape Town I saw two Trabants which had driven down from Germany through Africa, so they can’t be all bad.)" Quite the contrary, it was a *very* reliable car! :) FYI our first car was a Trabant - and I STILL think it was an AWESOME car, especially for its artificially absurd-low price: it was so simple and effective under the hood that even if it stopped you just opened the manual and be on your way again in 2 hours (unless your cardan has broken), even if you didn't know anything about cars. Ours was few years old when we bought from a film director in the 70s (= excellent overall condition) and served us (family of 4) well for several years including vacation trips etc. If we needed anything for it, everything was always available for cheap. Compared to its engine (2-stroke little Otto) mileage wasn't that great at all but compared to current numbers it was crazy good, around 40+MPG, better than current hybrids. :) Of course it wasn't as safe as others but also it wasn't as fast as others - 600 ccm3 hah! :) - and so weren't others etc - it didn't matter at the time. :) The point is that thanks to its simplicity it was a very reliable car, indeed. :D