Chrysler News
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Nearly three weeks into Chrysler's bankruptcy and the global strategic alliance between Fiat and Chrysler comes news today that C. Robert Kidder - not Sergio Marchionne - will play the role of CEO for Chrysler after the bankruptcy. The news, which comes directly from Chrysler, contradicts a statement previously made by spokesman for Fiat indicating that Marchionne would take the top job. "Marchionne will be the new chief executive of Chrysler after the procedure," a Fiat spokesman told to the Associated Press about a week ago, referring to bankruptcy protection for Chrysler and clearance by a...
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Chrysler dealers fire back at proposed franchise rejections
Just a couple weeks into the nascent Fiat-Chrysler partnership, trouble is already brewing. The American carmaker's 3,188 dealers, upon hearing that 789 of their number will be let go by June 6, banded together to prepare for a legal fight. The dealers are contesting Chrysler's incredibly short...
Nelson Ireson -
Report: Chrysler to offer $1,000 certificates to all existing customers
As bankruptcy thrashes Chrysler vehicles' resale value the company is pulling out all the stops to keep sales up until it can emerge and join forces with Fiat. To help get feet on the floors of its remaining dealerships, the company is now reportedly getting ready to send out $1,000 certificates...
Ralph Hanson -
GM reveals more details on 1,124 dealer cutback
Cutting back production and right-sizing brands and lineups is just one aspect of the restructuring underway at the hands of the U.S. federal government. Earlier this week hard cuts in both labor and dealership numbers were discussed, foreshadowing the next steps to come, and just yesterday a...
Ralph Hanson -
Chrysler reveals more details on plans to cut 789 dealers by June 9
Cutting back production and right-sizing brands and lineups is just one aspect of the restructuring underway at the hands of the U.S. federal government. Earlier this week hard cuts in both labor and dealership numbers were discussed, foreshadowing the next steps to come, and today a Chrysler memo...
Ralph Hanson -
AEV making Jeep J8 MILSPEC available for U.S. civilians
Imagine it: the sheer irony of a Jeep - the quintessential American military vehicle - being available only to foreign militaries and governments. Until American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) stepped in to supply the Jeep J8 to regular people, that's exactly how things stood. But now American civilians...
Nelson Ireson -
With almost all of its plants shuttered through the bankruptcy period and faith in the company at an all-time low, Chrysler is soon to be passed in both North American production and sales by Honda. The Japanese #2 carmaker has already cut the gap to Chrysler's production figures to 17,011 vehicles according to Bloomberg. That's down from a 236,645 vehicle deficit a year earlier. With sales not swinging upward nearly that much at Honda, it's Chrysler's faltering, not Honda's rise, that's to blame. Effectively there's no difference, however, as Honda is preparing to take up fourth place in...
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Chrysler may still build Nissan’s redesigned Titan pickup
Before Chrysler was ever involved in alliance dealings with Fiat, the Auburn Hills-based carmaker was already tied with Nissan over several platform swapping and production sharing deals. In February of this year, however, plans for Nissan to build a Chrysler compact car based on its Versa in...
James Martinez -
Chrysler resale values down 6% in a week as uncertainty rules the day
It's simple math: carmaker plus bankruptcy equals uncertainty and lower resale values. But Chrysler owners are feeling the bite of that equation as the value of their vehicles dropped 6% on average in a single week. In the week after Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, owners of...
Ralph Hanson -
New Chrysler vehicles won't just be rebadged Fiats
Chrysler and Fiat have already tied the knot but now questions are emerging as to how the two companies will conceive new Chrysler vehicles based on Fiat's current stock. A Chrysler-Fiat vehicle won't just feature a Chrysler badge slapped on the bonnet, but instead it will have to be re-engineered...
James Martinez -
American launch of Fiat 500 may pave way for Ford Ka
As Wall Street tumbles and Americans deal with the tough times, Ford is eying its global minicar, the Ka, for U.S. sale. The car had previously been rejected as incompatible with the American taste for large, powerful vehicles, but with the signing of the Fiat-Chrysler alliance earlier this month a...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler begins new ad campaign to show off future models
Chrysler's recent announcement revealing its new global alliance with Italian auto giant Fiat now means that the company has to hurry to re-establish itself in the market. In order to do this, Chrysler will be unveiling a new advertising campaign to show off future models and get people interested...
James Martinez -
The alliance between Fiat and Chrysler still has just been finalized and with the government’s deadline for restructuring falling at the end of this month dealers understandably are nervous. Add a looming bankruptcy to the mix and stress levels for most dealers will likely be going through the roof. To settle tensions a little and offer some hope, Chrysler recently showed off several of its planned models at a special dealer presentation. Among the new models was the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan, as well as a compact sports sedan based on Fiat’s C-Evo...
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Report: GM wants 30% stake in possible joint Opel-Fiat company
The landscape of the automotive industry is changing, and before things are done, the changes may be massive. Already Fiat and Chrysler are forging an alliance, and Fiat is also going after part of Opel. Now a source says General Motors wants a piece of any merged Fiat-Opel operation that might...
Ralph Hanson -
Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring safe from the axe through 2010
As Chrysler pushes forward during its bankruptcy period and prepares for its new face and alliance with Fiat, many are wondering what will come along for the ride and what will be left behind. News today from within Chrysler reveals that the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, as oft-maligned as...
Kenneth Hall -
Chrysler-bound Fiat and Alfa vehicles revealed in court papers
With the news that Chrysler and Fiat have finally managed to forge an alliance settling in and Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings underway, the documents attendant to that process are beginning to reveal key details of the two company's plans. Today the models destined for U.S. sale via the...
Ralph Hanson -
Fiat ranks last in UK JD Power survey, bodes poorly for Chrysler
Chrysler's vehicles, like all of America's cars, have improved greatly in recent years. But not-too-distant memory reminds us of the Le Baron and even of another ill-fated Italian tie-up and its Maserati-branded spawn. So Fiat's poor scores in the most recent JD Power survey in the United Kingdom...
Ralph Hanson -
Ford's image improves by staying above the fray, says study
It wasn't so long ago that people were deriding Ford for mortgaging the Blue Oval itself, key investors were dumping shares into the open market and the company was forced to sell off its stake in Mazda. But now a study is saying things have turned around, with Ford's image improving in relation to...
Nelson Ireson -
Fiat has confirmed that it wants to acquire General Motors' European operations and to do so the Italian auto giant may form a new company to combine its Fiat car brands (Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo) along with Chrysler and any acquired GM entities. The information was revealed in a statement issued by Fiat’s board on Sunday, which also stated that the new company would earn more than $106 billion in annual revenues and become the world's second-largest auto group after Toyota. Fiat's board "expressed its full support” for the initiative which will begin in the next few weeks with an...
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Chrysler to close 8 U.S. plants by 2010
This past week’s bankruptcy announcement for Chrysler means the decisions will be coming hard and fast. The carmaker has already confirmed that overlapping models and some slow-sellers will be dropped but there will also be a lot more cutbacks as revealed by new bankruptcy documents filed...
James Martinez -
Foreign car dealer's association angry with Obama's 'buy American' message
Toyota, Nissan and Honda all build cars in the U.S. General Motors, Chrysler and Ford all build cars in Mexico and Canada in addition to within the U.S. It's hard to know which car is built where as a consumer, and the American International Automobile Dealer's Association (AIADA) is upset over...
Nelson Ireson -
Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli sheds light on resignation
News of Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli's departure has been making the rounds recently, but now the resigning chief has shed some light on the matter. Unlike his former counterpart at General Motors, Nardelli insists that he was not asked by the Obama administration to step down from the helm at...
James Martinez -
Chrysler and Fiat finally form global strategic alliance
Bankruptcy is the word of the day for Chrysler, but 'merger' will soon be replacing it. The whole bankruptcy process is being pushed forward quickly to eliminate the remaining obstacles between Chrysler's viability and the Fiat merger. President Obama's speech today reflected this path, confirming...
Nelson Ireson -
White House confirms bankruptcy plans for Chrysler, Nardelli to step down
The White House has announced Chrysler's entry into bankruptcy protection today, with talks between the Treasury Department and the carmaker failing to reach an agreement on the last day before the auto industry task force’s restructuring deadline. No further talks are planned but President...
Ralph Hanson