Why in God's name would ANYONE buy Chrysler?

[underpants]

all the chestbeating disdainful AMURKAN attitude about a ~French~ company buying an AM'RKAN car company
has anyone figured out why in the world anyone (French or otherwise) would buy Chrysler?

It's CHRYSLER for crying out loud.

[billyoc]

1. Mopar or no car.

[JVS]

9. The Challenger and the Charger/300 are nice cars, but it seems like Chrysler gave up on small cars..

after they replaced the Neon with the Caliber and never really looked back. The Avenger/Sebring is also an uninspiring platform.

[sandnsea]

12. Sebring Convertible is my current dream car

I love that car! I hate the weird rounded style of cars that have been popular for about 15 years. Sebring was at least different.

[InkAddict]

28. Mine too, but I settled on Dorothy

my PT Cruiser cause it was just more practical for MidWest winter weather and the heated seats are way awesome when it's cold. Pay no attention to those naysayers behind the curtain. With her 50 coats of wax, her ruby slipper and woodie styling, she's a bit eccentric but looks just fine to me. I'm not in any particular hurry and Dorothy is very versatile. Passengers, large moving boxes and furniture, groceries, flower flats, you name it; I've hauled it. Gas mileage is acceptable; I've had as high as 31 mpg.

[gmoney]

2. well, up until a few months ago, they were CHERMAN!

How Daimler (Mercedes) ever thought it was a good idea to buy them, I don't know.

"Fix It Again, Tony" however, seems like a good match for Chrysler. Maybe they'll bring back the Dart and the Swinger!

[fujiyama]

16. At the time, I think Chrysler was the most profitable of the Big 3

and they ranked highly for manufacturing efficiency and had a lower cost structure. Plus it was billed as a "merger", which of course wasn't the case.

Some say part of Chrysler's downfall is due to Daimler gutting their corporate culture. I've worked with Daimler before and I wasn't particularly impressed so that wouldn't surprise me. Also, people thought maybe Chrysler's vehicle quality would improve. No deal. No Mercedes for Dodge prices!

That said, Chrysler's (and Fiat's for that matter) reliability scores in Consumer Report are abysmal and the sad thing is aside from a few cars that have some cool styling, they have nothing worth buying down the pipeline. They haven't even seemed to make an effort with regards to fuel efficient vehicles, even compared with GM and Ford.

Chrysler was done years ago but I hope it doesn't fall into liquidation. That would be a disaster for this state. Hopefully the sale to Fiat will still go through, but seriously both companies have a lot of work ahead of them to compete with Toyota, Ford, Honda, or even a bankrupt GM for that matter.

[flvegan]

3. Fiat is an Italian company.

[underpants]

10. Okay aside from that

damn

that wasn't cool

[flvegan]

13. I don't have an answer

for your question. I wouldn't buy Chrysler. Fiat has, however, had a LOT of success turning automotive companies from total jokes in reliability to being somewhat respectable. Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati are all much better since being brought under the Fiat parenthood.

[Jack from Charlotte]

20. Fiat = Fix it again Tony.........

"It" being Chrysler Corp.

They want the Mexican plant that's currently making PT Cruisers to make their Fiat 500.

Otherwise, I don't get it either. Fiat was nearly busted about 3 years ago and only sells little sh*tboxes that no one in this country would want.

[Statistical]

4. Foot in the door.

Same reason to buy Saturn, Hummer, or Pontiac.

Building a sales & distribution network from scratch is difficult.

Much easier to start with something.

Likely the Chrysler division would need to be subsidized for a few years but IF (and only IF) those first few years start putting out quality vehicles that make headlines a company like Fiat could get their foot in the door and grow marketshare far faster than they could from ground up.

Personally I don't think fiat will be able to execute but they seem to think they can.

Fiat left US market what about 20 years ago? Horrible mistake. To concede the market as too tough to compete against the big three? Only to handle other companies come in and snap up marketshare. Likely worst mistake ever.

They are trying to undue the past but I just don't think they will be able to pull it off.

[bbinacan]

5. FIAT is Italian. n/t

[Captain Hilts]

7. Fix It Again, Tony! In Moscow, it's Fix It Again Tovarich! nt

[bbinacan]

11. LOL. n/t

[wundermaus]

6. Best damn car I ever owned was a '68 Dodge Cornet

Built like a tank and ran like a cheetah! Was reared at a stop light by a Mercedes Benz going about 50 mph. Totaled the Dodge but walked away from the accident with only neck injuries. It's not enough to get good gas mileage; being able to walk away from a major accident is golden.

[NNN0LHI]

17. I bet that thing had a slant-six in it

One of the best motors ever made.

Don

[JuniperLea]

19. I had the '63 Coronet wagon... HUGE 440... VROOM!

My father in law was the original owner, then it came to me (three little ones rode very safely in it for years), then I gave it to my sister. Darned Old Dodge Goes Everywhere she used to say. Between the three of us, we put nearly 400k miles on the beast.

I owned an American car all my life... from the 61 Buick Electra to the 97 Chevy Blazer... my hands were tied when I bought the Mazda Protege in 2002... it was the only four door I could afford that had a good customer and service rating.

[JVS]

8. The Germans were willing to buy them before. But then they dropped them and nothing...

seems to work with Chrysler anymore.

[Hannah Bell]

15. you realize, don't you, that chrysler kept daimler profitable a number of years?

The Outlook for Daimler Chrysler
Thursday, February 16, 2006

PAUL KANGAS: A strong earnings showing today from German automaker Daimler Chrysler, with profits accelerating in the final quarter of last year. Its U.S. division, Chrysler, was the engine driving those profits on strong sales of new products. But as Diane Eastabrook reports, both Chrysler and its parent company face big challenges this year.

http://www.pbs.org/nbr/site/onair/transcripts/060216b/.


Mercedes Smarts From Record Losses as Chrysler Scores 7th-Consecutive Quarterly Profit

Mercedes' troubles were worsened by a drop in profits at Chrysler, Daimler's U.S. division, though strong heavy-truck sales and a $355 million compensation payment from Mitsubishi Motors would boost overall operating profits. Chrysler reported profits of $327 million in the first quarter of 2005, down from $366 million in the same period in 2004. It marks the seventh quarter in a row that Daimler's American unit turned a profit...

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E05E0DE103EF934A25751C0A9609C8B63

Daimler Profit jumps 12%, thanks to chrysler...

[JVS]

23. Hmmm. Strange. The impression I had gotten from the automotive press was that the partnership...

wasn't working out. I wonder why they got rid of them now.

[Hannah Bell]

24. i do too. there was some jiggerty-pokerty in the cerebus deal, but i can't figure out

how the scam worked. chrysler also didn't pay us taxes on its overseas profits under the daimler regime...

it's very orwellian, though: recent reports make it sound like the profit period never happened, like chrysler has been dead weight since they bought it. down the memory hole.

[JVS]

25. Could Daimler Benz have looted the company, moved bad assets to it, and spun it off?

[Hannah Bell]

31. sounds possible.

[KoKo]

29. Diamler ruined Chrysler...they did. eom.

[ejpoeta]

14. ??? i bought a chrysler... a year ago this past april. unless you mean the company.

[Evoman]

18. I have an 91 chrysler dynasty.

It's been a good car to me, and its got over 200 000 k on it.

[DainBramaged]

21. Why do you hate America and it's products?

[Tesha]

26. 'Probably owned a Chrsyler product.

We own one (a '96 Dodge Grand Caravan) and it's been a maintenance
nightmare, costing thousands each year throughout its life.

Oddly enough, at 18x,000 miles, it's finally starting to look life the
"infant mortality" has been run out of this piece of junk.

Needless to say, it's the last Chrysler/Fiat we'll ever own.

Tesha

[Fire1]

22. Why not buy Chrysler? Every Jeep I had I loved. n/t

[KoKo]

27. I had two very good Chrysler Vehicles...they served me well through

many trips up to 90,000 miles with the first Mini-Van and 75,000 with the last "Chrysler Town and Country" I bought before Chrysler sold out to Mercedes.. That car was the best riding and most comfortable driving car we've ever had...for long road trips. We got spooked with the Chrysler Bankruptcy and traded it in January this year for a Toyota Sienna. Our Sienna is a CAR FROM HELL!

To get the most basic amenities, for hard road travelers.like the leather seats ..(we don't fly much we road trip from NC up to NJ and down to Miami Area of Florida with other trips to SC and VA inbetween..so we need a ROAD CAR that takes two CATS and Luggage and us in comfort) and stops and such along the way.

Anyway this Toyota Sienna comes with "heated seats" in NC FGS! (forced to take the "heated seats" to get the leather with the Sound System we wanted) and the heaters ride up our butts and the seats are so uncomfortable that to sit for more than 10 minutes in them causes one to "hobble out the car" in pain. To get the same stuff we had in our Chrysler for sound ...we ended up with a GPS that's hard to work...and other dials that are bizarre in "user non-friendliness" and cheap plastic fittings that slice your hand with "paper cuts" when one opens and closes the doors, goes into the two glove compartments and tries to retrieve maps from the door pockets. Toyota forced us into this package for leather seats, FGS..and the sound system.

The thing is a cheap junk. My Town and Country and my Dodge Mini-Van before it lasted me about 15 years between them. This Toyta Sienna is junk with a loud running engine to fit into the rest of the uncomfort. (Only get 5 miles per gallon more with Sienna than Chrysler, btw and it's not a good trade off for four hours total front to back with air travel and the invasion of privacy as a trade off)

I am very sad to see Chrysler go under. They had great designs that people liked. I didn't have mechanical or other problems with the two I had. I'm sure my new Sienna will last me until the "Assisted Living" but I hate the FUcKING THING!

[lithiumbomb]

30. manufacturing facilities, the minivans, and Jeep

Chrysler's current product line is a bit crappy for the most part, but the minivans remain popular, and there the core Jeep products have some value. Everyone on earth knows what a Jeep is. Fiat has been trying to get back into the US for years, but the only way to do that is to build cars locally, as there's no way to make money importing them from Europe. So they buy Chrysler, instant manufacturing base and dealer network for Fiats and Alfas. Will it work? Unknown at this time.

[Blue For You]

32. How about a Maserati Chrysler?

Came out about 20 years ago.

[JVS]

37. Actually, the more I think about it the better an idea Fiat-Chrysler appears.

Chrysler has no standing in the small car segment of the market anymore and Fiat is a dominant force in that market. If they start rebadging some Fiat Grande Puntos as Dodge Omnis, they might have something.

[stop the bleeding]

33. Just a shot in the dark here, but maybe people like some of their cars? nt

[deaniac21]

34. Fiat is Italian.

[mamaleah]

35. Never had a problem with a Chrysler. And that Challenger is damn sexy.

*drool*

[alfredo]

36. Access to plants, dealerships, designers, and desperate workers.

Aesthetically there wasn't anything wrong with Chrysler. They just didn't follow through with a quality machine.
I'd like to see the Punto and 500 on US streets.

Punto




500

[Bluenorthwest]

38. Fiat is Italian

And it goes from there.

[armyowalgreens]

39. Cummins Turbo Diesel

And most jeep products.