#NYIAS Does that whole Chrysler/Fiat merger seem unlikely to you? You're not alone, my friend -- and Chrysler knows it.
In order to instill a little confidence that Chrysler is working hard to make it happen, Vice Chairman Jim Press drove a Fiat 500 onto the show floor. Isn't it cute?
He then used the first 10 minutes of his speech to tell everyone how promising the merger looks. "This would be a great marriage with no overlap in our product portfolios," Press said.
He said it with conviction, but not many in attendance seemed to believe it. At least not yet. -- Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor
uncanny_man says:
11:32 AM, 04/ 8/09
I understand what fiat gets out of this (access to US taxpayer money, access to US dealerships, access to premium mercedes and jeep parts) but what does chrysler get out of this? Small car platforms?
I think mitsubishi has shown that the caliber platform can be used competitively, so is chrysler only getting microcars and foreign management? And why is congress only going to fund chrysler if they merge with another foreign company? After all, chrysler had been doing okay in the 90s thanks to jeep and the caravan, and had some signs of life with the intrepid and 300M, then mercedes bought them up, took what they wanted, gave chrysler their own outdated platforms and put restrictions on what chrysler could do with their interiors to keep chrysler from competing with mercedes in the lux market. So why must they go through this again?
cwc1 says:
04:49 PM, 04/ 8/09
I'd sure like to know the truth about the Chrysler and Daimler supposed merger, which was actually a disguised takeover. There have been so many different statements about it over the years.
I know Chrysler was making money and doing pretty well before the acquisition; otherwise Daimler would not have been interested. But is it true that Chrysler was left vulnerable to Daimler by having avoided the hostile takeover attempt by Iacocca and Kerkorian in the mid '90s? And did Daimler really place serious restrictions on Chrysler's innovation and encourage them to rely more on trucks and SUVs than cars? Didn't Chrysler get the LX platform out of the merger/takeover/occupation, with it being a previous generation E-Class Mercedes? Or does the LX only use a few components from the E-Class?
These and many more questions are ones I've been more curious about lately. Has anyone read the book, Taken for a Ride : How Daimler-Benz Drove off with Chrysler, published in 2000? I haven't read it, but am thinking of. It sounds pretty interesting...
fst1 says:
05:32 AM, 04/ 9/09
@cwc1: I've read Taken for a Ride twice. It's an excellent book and a real eye opener for anyone curious about how the whole Chrysler/Daimler merger happened. I think the bad blood left over from that whole situation has many at Chrysler worried about how a hookup with Fiat will work.
cwc1 says:
08:54 AM, 04/10/09
Thanks fst1, I'll order a copy of that book.