Hammer Time: The Eagle and the Phoenix

Steven Lang
by Steven Lang

I made my first fortune in Chrysler. Back in 1991 I bought 250 shares of the company at a mere $10 a share. It was all I had at the time and everyone in my family thought I was plain nuts. When it got to 12 I was a bit less nuts but definitely screwy. 15 and I was a lucky guy. It wasn’t until the stock hit $25 a share when they realize that if I had a knack for anything, it was following the auto industry.

By 1996 everyone and their dog was announcing the second coming of Chrysler. I sold my shares in late May 1996 at around $60 and bought the most safe and enduring investment of that time… a house. A lot of car companies have soared to the skies and plummeted to insolvency since then. My question for all of you today is…

Who’s next!

NOTE: Kia, Hyundai, Suzuki, Mitsubishi and Saab are yesterday’s news. I want your take on tomorrow’s Midas and minus.

Steven Lang
Steven Lang

More by Steven Lang

Comments
Join the conversation
8 of 42 comments
  • Boxelder Boxelder on Jul 29, 2011

    Rising stars include BYD, Tata and Mahindra. BYD is selling an absolute megaton of Corolla-clones in developing countries. Tata is proving to be a smart owner by not messing with Jaguar's DNA too much. Mahindra makes a mean tractor, and if they can get their importing strategy together I predict they'll make huge strides here in the U.S. auto market. Failing? Let me get out my crystal ball... All the easy marks have fallen. But, I'll venture a guess that the company that has strayed purposely farthest from its successful roots is Honda. Yep, I said it. They need to get their design priorities in order - pronto. They're being carried by their reputation right now, not their product line. Dangerous territory. Example - no direct injection from the company that was first and foremost known as a leader in engine technology? For shame.

  • JustPassinThru JustPassinThru on Jul 29, 2011

    I don't know much about BYD or Tata (I can't take a car-company seriously when they name it after a woman's attrbutes)... ...but Mahindra has been around a long time; and not very successfully. They made Jeeps under license; and there were folks tempted to buy their CJ-3B clones...but the reliability of those was execrable. They were, literally, junk...more value in their body-panels than assembled as working units. The idea that after fifty-plus years they're now able to assemble a world-class automobile, for a good price, and market it well enough to give the major players a run for their money...surpasses belief.

  • Boxelder Boxelder on Jul 29, 2011

    That's just what folks said about the Japanese cars before they took over the world, and the Koreans after them. Time will tell.

    • See 1 previous
    • JustPassinThru JustPassinThru on Jul 29, 2011

      @JustPassinThru Here's a copy of that logo - showing the original thinking at Mahindra: http://www.film.queensu.ca/cj3b/Photos/Mahindra/MahindraLogo.gif

  • Obbop Obbop on Jul 29, 2011

    Plastics

Next