Thursday 26th October 2006

Will Chrysler be sold?

Top bosses refuse to rule it out

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Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Will DaimlerChrysler -- the result of the unholy US$40 billion matrimony in 1998 between Daimler and, yes, Chrysler, -- sell off Chrysler?

In a conference call yesterday, finance director Bodo Uebber refused  three times to rule out the possibility, saying that the company all options were on the table, including structural changes.

Chrysler lost about £800 million in its third financial quarter, compared a profit of  over £200 million in the previous year's third quarter. The US division's been a financial drag on the company since the marriage -- and it's clear this is a part of one the automotive sector's periodic shake-ups.

Maybe Toyota will buy it...

• PH Road Test: Chrysler 300C SRT-8

[chickensoup]

If that means that they will start to make Mercs to merc build standards again rather than Chrysler standards, I would be all for it

[scotty_917]

chickensoup said:

If that means that they will start to make Mercs to merc build standards again rather than Chrysler standards, I would be all for it

agreed...the yanks still can't build cars to European or Japanese standards. Let Chrysler go the same way as GM & Ford...

[FestivAli]

I thought that DaimlerChrysler had already split? Isn't this old news? Or does it mean that chrysler will split from dodge?

[hendry]

FestivAli said:

I thought that DaimlerChrysler had already split? Isn't this old news? Or does it mean that chrysler will split from dodge?

No idea where you got that information. And Chrysler and Dodge will never split as they are just badged enineered versions of the same thing.

This story sounds like tosh. Anyone can only sell something if there are people to buy it. Given the state that Ford and GM are in, who exactly would want to buy Chrysler (even if they could afford it)?

[jazzyjeff]

By all accounts not even the Germans can build Mercs properly nowadays :-(

[Bodo]

hendry said:

This story sounds like tosh. Anyone can only sell something if there are people to buy it. Given the state that Ford and GM are in, who exactly would want to buy Chrysler (even if they could afford it)?

Chinese?

[fatboy b]

Just goes to show that however great the American car industry was, they're crap at market research, and therefore are not providing the products now that the Americans want to buy. As a result, the market is looking elsewhere and finding some good stuff out there that they can't ever hope to get at home.

[hendry]

Bodo said:

hendry said:

This story sounds like tosh. Anyone can only sell something if there are people to buy it. Given the state that Ford and GM are in, who exactly would want to buy Chrysler (even if they could afford it)?

Chinese?

It's my impression that the Chinese market is filled with many not especially prolific manufacturers though - I am not sure any one of them is large enough to take Chrysler on. Besides, Weserm maunfacturers are falling over themselves to offer them models to build on much more favourable terms. Or they just wait for manufacturers to fail and then by the tooling, as well we know.

Still can't see it.

[Road_Terrorist]

jazzyjeff said:

By all accounts not even the Germans can build Mercs properly nowadays :-(

Quite a few 'German' cars are actually built overseas in the USA, Eastern Europe, South America and China amongst other places these days.

[hendry]

Road_Terrorist said:

jazzyjeff said:

By all accounts not even the Germans can build Mercs properly nowadays :-(

Quite a few 'German' cars are actually built overseas in the USA, Eastern Europe, South America and China amongst other places these days.

ML and GL are built in South Carolina (IIRC), and C-classes in South Africa.

[Lord-Flasheart]

"Maybe Toyota will buy it"


Oh please no, that would mean the V8 engines would be replaced with souless hybrid crap.

An environmentally friendly, blandly styled 300C? that would be missing the point.

[mackie1]

Lord-Flasheart said:

An environmentally friendly, blandly styled 300C? that would be missing the point.

They've already got one called the GS450h haven't they?

[errek72]

Kind of got a Montgomery Burns vibe to it, no?

Burns: [begging] Please sell me my plant back. I'll pay anything.
Horst: Isn't this a happy coincidence! You are desperate to buy, and we are desperate to sell.
Burns: [calculatingly] Desperate, eh?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Ve

[Jimbeaux]

hendry said:

Road_Terrorist said:

jazzyjeff said:

By all accounts not even the Germans can build Mercs properly nowadays :-(

Quite a few 'German' cars are actually built overseas in the USA, Eastern Europe, South America and China amongst other places these days.

ML and GL are built in South Carolina (IIRC), and C-classes in South Africa.

And Alabama.

Chrysler was the profit maker just a few quarters ago while the Mercs was losing. They will probably wait for some consistency before making the call.

Edited by Jimbeaux on Monday 30th October 01:45

[dumbfunk]

As with all these things the real question isn't will they be sold but rather "who would buy them"? The Chinese and Koreans are progressing just fine without a ship's anchor like Chrysler around their necks. Nobody in Europe values the brand highly enough and only Ford or GM are large enough back home in the US and to say that they have problems of their own would be a serious understatment.

Maybe a spin-off but I can't imagine a sale ...



dumbfunk