• Carpocalypse Now

    Chrysler Needs $11 Billion To Make It Until The Imaginary 2009 Product Lineup Refresh

    Chrysler was the last of the not-so-Big Three to reveal their plan for long-term viability with an ask of $11 billion to sustain operations into the new year. But for what? More »
    Feature

    8:30 AM on Wed Dec 3 2008
    By Matt Hardigree
    2,819 views, 73 comments

  • Chrysler Kills Jobs Dead

    Chrysler To Cut 25% Of White Collar Staff

    On top of yesterday's news Chrysler plans to shut down the Delaware SUV plant that makes the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen a year early is news this morning the automaker plans to cut 25% of their 18,500 white collar staff starting next month. In his memo to staff announcing the cuts, Chrysler CEO Bob "The Builder" Nardelli outlined the Cerberus-owned company's need to deal with these "unimaginable times" — which we've determined is another way of saying "Financiapocalypse" — as the reason for the cuts. Nardelli also outlined a need to cut discretionary and overhead expenses and reduce capital expenditures not related to major products. Hmm, all of this sounds eerily similar to the rumors we heard last week. Well, the job losses part anyway. Full text of the note from "Bob" after the jump. Seriously, that's how he signed it — "Bob." Seriously, we can't make this stuff up. More »

    12:30 PM on Fri Oct 24 2008
    By Ray Wert
    1,985 views, 55 comments

    Most discussed WilliamG.: Make no mistake about it, Nardelli wasn't brought in to save Chrysler. He's a penny-pinching sonofabitch who was hired on more »

  • over the back fence

    GM-Chrysler Merger Rumor Roundup: Deal To Be Done By Halloween, Mandatory Two Month Furlough For Chrysler Engineers?

    The WSJ reports today (via Automotive News) Cerberus and GM are moving full-steam-ahead in their efforts to get a GM-Chrysler deal done by the end of October. Today also brings news Renault may have their hand in the cookie jar too, negotiating for one or more parts of Chrysler and leading to speculation the Auburn Hills, MI-based automaker could be divvied up among several companies: Basically the worst-case scenario envisioned when Cerberus Capital Management took over in 2007. Finally, we've got an unsubstantiated rumor engineering employees at Chrysler may be getting two months off sans pay beginning...drumroll please...November 1st. Coincidence? Maybe. Also, David Faber of CNBC had a chance to sit down with ChryslerCo CEO, Bob "The Builder" Nardelli; while we haven't had a chance to run through it in its entirety, hit the jump for the a full transcript of the CNBC interview with Nardelli. UPDATE: We now hear from a Chrysler source that rumors of an engineering furlough are not true; that's why we call them "rumors." More »

    9:20 AM on Fri Oct 17 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    5,577 views, 74 comments

    Most discussed graverobber- My Yugo Nova!: At least Plymouth isn't alive to see this happening. It would break the old girl's heart. more »

  • Financiapocalypse

    GMAC Now Officially Requires 700-Plus FICO Score For New Car Loan

    The Financiapocalypse continues. We just received a copy of an e-mail that went out at GMAC, the lending arm jointly owned by GM and Cerberus, from Barbara Stokel, GMAC's EVP of North American Operations. Here's the most salient detail: you'll now need a minimum 700 credit bureau score to get a car loan at dealer invoice or below from GMAC. The full e-mail is below the jump to explain that news as well as the news they'll be restricting approval of contract terms beyond 60 months unless a buyer qualifies for GM-supported 72-month incentives. So what does this means to you? Well, unless you've got above average credit, it's going to become much more difficult to buy a new car. Frankly, that's probably a good thing for consumers. It's probably a bad thing for GM sales numbers. More »

    6:20 PM on Mon Oct 13 2008
    By Ray Wert
    4,741 views, 100 comments

    Most discussed xxF1xx: This is very sad indeed. I'm a sales manager at a Dodge Chrysler Jeep store, and we've joked around about more »

  • chrysler

    Daimler Wants To Wash Hands Of Chrysler, Sell Remaining 19.9% To Cerberus

    Daimler was obviously unimpressed by Chrysler's electrically motivated press reveal yesterday, as word comes today the German automaker is in talks to sell Cerberus its remaining 19.9% stake in Chrysler. If terms are agreed upon, the sale would mark the end of Daimler's involvement in the Auburn Hills automaker a mere ten years after embarking upon its much ballyhooed "merger of equals." The two companies are mum on the price Daimler hopes to get for its stake in Chrysler, but we'll bet it's worth at least $105 million less than it used to be. [Automotive News, (Sub. Req.)]

    2:20 PM on Wed Sep 24 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    547 views, 26 comments

    Most discussed Bumblebee: That, friends, is what we call a slap in the face. more »

  • industry news

    WSJ: Chrysler And Nissan Discussing Mid-Size Car Collaboration

    While we've previously reported on the Chrysler/Nissan small-car/pickup-truck mind meld, the Wall Street Journal now says the two companies are discussing collaboration on a mid-size vehicle platform. The report states that the agreement currently under consideration would have Nissan building mid-size sedans that Chrysler would then market under its own nameplate in the US. There's no specific mention of a platform or nameplate likely to be used, but it's not hard to speculate that the much-maligned Sebring could be replaced by the end result of such a collaboration. More »

    4:00 PM on Thu Aug 7 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    1,641 views, 45 comments

    Latest by my favorite car is a motorcycle: What could Nissan possibly gain except the opportunity to snatch up manufacturing facilities cheap (which Nissan doesn't really need at more »

  • industry news

    Being Bob Nardelli: One Year At The Top Of Chrysler

    The Detroit News reports today on the marriage of Chrysler and Cerberus Capital Management, which took place one year ago this week. Robert Nardelli, former head of Home Depot, beat out Tom LaSorda and Wolfgang Bernhard for the top job at the new Chrysler, joining an already troubled automaker just at the edge of what would become the country's worst auto sales period in 20 years. What the hell was he thinking? More importantly, what's he thinking now? A Chryslerberus freshman report card after the jump. More »
    Feature

    2:00 PM on Tue Aug 5 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    1,911 views, 32 comments

    Latest by jedchev: I would miss Chrysler if they went bankrupt! They make the only somewhat decent new car, The Chryler 300C. As more »

  • industry news

    Report: Fewer Web Shoppers Researching Chrysler Products

    Chrysler July sales dropped below the 100,000 unit mark as consumers began to show signs that they've lost confidence in the company, reports Automotive News. While Chrysler's announcement that it would suspend leasing August 1 caused a last-minute flurry of shoppers, more ominous was a report by Complete.com that Chrysler's June "shopper count," its number of online product inquiries on major automotive Web sites, fell to the company's second-lowest on record. Hmm; loss of customer interest and no leases. Where could this be going? More »

    1:00 PM on Mon Aug 4 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    1,172 views, 25 comments

    Latest by mariospants: having last year - for the first time ever - bought a Chrysler product I have to say that although more »

  • 2009 jeep patriot

    Jeep Compass, Patriot To Get Upgraded Interior For 2009

    The Jeep Compass (the Jeep MK platform for the ladies) and Patriot (the Jeep MK platform for the boys) will be getting revised interiors with softer lines for 2009, according to a first look at some Mopar dealer catalogs scanned by the Chrysler forum fan-boys at Allpar. Gone are most of the hard-edged "plastic box" features that made up the first-gen mini-Jeeps, replaced by a more fluid-looking motif still using the same basic layout. Compass pictured above; Patriot interior after the jump. More »

    9:20 AM on Mon Aug 4 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    4,450 views, 36 comments

    Latest by StewL67: @Hello_Newman: A Town Car? Great interior? Really? Aviator, the Ritz? HAHAHAHA, sorry but neither oif those are actually high zoot high more »

  • industry news

    Chrysler In Talks To Sell Jeeps In India, Fiats In North America

    According to Automotive News, Cerberus is engaged in behind-the-scenes talks with both Tata Motors and Fiat regarding sales and manufacturing linkups. Chrysler wants to use Tata to gain a foothold for its Jeep Wrangler in Indian and Asian markets. More intriguingly, the company is reportedly talking to Fiat about the Italian automaker leasing excess Chrysler production capacity in the U.S. and "cooperating in retail distribution in the U.S. market." Will this mark the return of Fiat to our shores, via Chrysler? More »

    10:40 AM on Thu Jul 31 2008
    By Andrew Stoy
    1,313 views, 37 comments

    Latest by bozoerrebbe: It's ironic that Tata would end up selling Jeeps. Tata's primary indigenous Indian competitor is Mahindra, which got it's start more »