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Chrysler co-president: You can either help us or burn us all down

 
5 2,005 views Feb 6, 2009

This marks the second time in two weeks that Chrysler has asked its dealers to order more stock

This marks the second time in two weeks that Chrysler has asked its dealers to order more stock

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Chrysler has come out with its second sales plea in as little two weeks, urging dealers to order more than 15,000 cars by Monday to keep the company viable. Not one to mince his words, Chrysler co-president Jim Press told dealers over a conference call that they basically have two choices: "You can either help us or burn us all down."

The Chrysler exec also warned dealers: "If you decide not to do that, we've got a good memory of who helped this company make it."

Roughly 70% of Chrysler’s dealers took action following the company’s first plea late last month to order 78,000 vehicles they had been allocated for February. Chrysler is now desperate to keep the cash flow coming until the middle of this month when the firm is expected to meet again with the U.S. Treasury and prove its case for viability, reports Automotive News.

"By successfully keeping the doors open in January and February, we'll get the loan," Press told the dealers. Importantly, if Chrysler cannot convince Treasury officials that it can remain viable then the loans will be called back. The Treasury is scheduled to make its decision by March 31.

Unfortunately, Chrysler’s U.S. sales have fallen by more than 50% a month for the past two months and many of its dealers are struggling. As some solace, Press told dealers that if the company can make it though this “rough patch” then it would eventually be able to offer a range of new fuel-efficient models borrowed from Fiat, referring to the proposed alliance being forged with the Italian firm.



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Comments (5)

  1. ma_mburleigh8 avatar mburleigh8 Posted: 2/6/2009 11:49am PST

    Burn baby burn,
    there is no point to ordering cars people can't afford.
    Hey Jim press, no body has any $ to buy cars.
     
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  2. ma_adamk avatar adamk Posted: 2/6/2009 12:36pm PST

    Ah, the glamor of being a car dealer saddled to dying brands. Upper management threatens, "Increase your orders for our sub-standard products spurned by consumers, or we'll run you out of town if and when we survive (presuming you do as well, no thanks to us)." Nice.
     
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  3. ma_ph1zh avatar ph1zh Posted: 2/6/2009 4:36pm PST

    This is the Chrysler company signing off .... Good bye
     
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  4. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 2/7/2009 7:10pm PST

    I love the idea that people here think Chrysler will die, it won't, get over it. It may get smaller sales, and may end up being owned by a foreign company again, but it won't die.
     
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  5. ma_adamk avatar adamk Posted: 2/7/2009 8:13pm PST

    NND: Though the patient's vital signs are about as dire as one can image, I too am not convinced Chrysler will completely die.

    Cerberus, like most private equity companies, wants to fix their ailing assets so they can be profitable and ultimately sold for well in excess of their purchase price. Though I don't think they truly understood what they were getting into at the time of acquisition, I think stark reality has made itself readily apparent. Moreover, Fiat didn't enter the picture just to preside over a funeral, though mixing these two companies portfolios will be even tougher than Nissan-Renault.

    My prognosis: critical, not terminal.
     
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