Marchionne: Sh ... I Didn't Mean It

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: February 6th, 2011

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne stepped into a minefield by calling the high-interest bailout loans provided by the U.S. and Canadian governments in 2009 “shyster loans.” Some called him an ingrate, others branded him a racist. Yesterday, Marchionne apologized. Deep in the Chrysler website, Marchionne issued a statement that sounds like it was written by a team of lawyers and damage control experts:“Yesterday, in responding to a question about Chrysler’s government loans, I used a term in reference to the interest rate being charged on our government loans that has raised concern. I regret the remark which I consider inappropriate.“I have repeated on numerous occasions, on behalf of all the people at Chrysler, our gratitude to the U.S. and Canadian governments for the financial assistance that was critical to the recovery of our Group.“As the only parties willing to underwrite the risk associated with Chrysler’s recovery plan, the two governments levied interest rates that, although appropriate at the time, are above current market conditions. This was done with the full support and understanding of the members of Chrysler Group LLC.“Because of these changed market conditions as well as the improvements in our performance and outlook made possible through the support of the U.S. and Canadian governments, Chrysler intends to repay these loans in full at the earliest opportunity.”Reaction so far remains muted. Detroit’s hometown papers, the Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press report the statement matter-of-factly. Commenters on the Freep website mostly heap invectives on the “ARROGANT PR%&K.” Many went beyond that and were forcibly removed. No reaction from Germany, from where the scatological term allegedly originates.

#Apology #BertelSchmitt #Chrysler #Fiat #Italy #Marchionne #Shyster

Bertel Schmitt

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.

More by Bertel Schmitt

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 30 comments

Zas on Feb 06, 2011

I actually laughed at his original comment only because it sounded like he was just talking out his ass and not giving any forethought to what he was going to say. If anything, people should calm down and just realise that his comment is more out of frustration than calling American's a crook (especially our government). Granted, some politicians are and that well may be deserved, but still, it's tongue-in-cheekiness on his part. Now, if he called Obama a financial-terrorist in bed with the oil-hogging Saudi's, maybe that would have been more eye-brow raising...but he didn't... well, at least not yet ;) (going back to watching the BBCAmerica Top Gear Marathon)

Like Reply
Blowfish on Feb 07, 2011

Marchionne issued a statement that sounds like it was written by a team of lawyers Sergio was a grad of osgoode hall Law school, arguably the best LS in Republik of canuckstan

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Rna65689660 For such a flat surface, why not get smoke tint, Rtint or Rvynil. Starts at $8. I used to use a company called Lamin-x, but I think they are gone. Has held up great.
Cprescott A cheaper golf cart will not make me more inclined to screw up my life. I can go 500 plus miles on a tank of gas with my 2016 ICE car that is paid off. I get two weeks out of a tank that takes from start to finish less than 10 minutes to refill. At no point with golf cart technology as we know it can they match what my ICE vehicle can do. Hell no. Absolutely never.
Cprescott People do silly things to their cars.
Jeff This is a step in the right direction with the Murano gaining a 9 speed automatic. Nissan could go a little further and offer a compact pickup and offer hybrids. VoGhost--Nissan has  laid out a new plan to electrify 16 of the 30 vehicles it produces by 2026, with the rest using internal combustion instead. For those of us in North America, the company says it plans to release seven new vehicles in the US and Canada, although it’s not clear how many of those will be some type of EV.Nissan says the US is getting “e-POWER and plug-in hybrid models” — each of those uses a mix of electricity and fuel for power. At the moment, the only all-electric EVs Nissan is producing are the  Ariya SUV and the  perhaps endangered (or  maybe not) Leaf.In 2021, Nissan said it would  make 23 electrified vehicles by 2030, and that 15 of those would be fully electric, rather than some form of hybrid vehicle. It’s hard to say if any of this is a step forward from that plan, because yes, 16 is bigger than 15, but Nissan doesn’t explicitly say how many of those 16 are all-battery, or indeed if any of them are.  https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/25/24111963/nissan-ev-plan-2026-solid-state-batteries
Jkross22 Sure, but it depends on the price. All EVs cost too much and I'm talking about all costs. Depreciation, lack of public/available/reliable charging, concerns about repairability (H/K). Look at the battering the Mercedes and Ford EV's are taking on depreciation. As another site mentioned in the last few days, cars aren't supposed to depreciate by 40-50% in a year or 2.