Over on Hooniverse, Corvair racer UDMan has untangled the threads that make up the Sprinter's history, and it's well worth reading. I might just have to get a Sprinter for my next cross-country road trip!
[Hooniverse]

Production on the Hornet was affirmed back in July of this year, but since then the entire world has kind of gone up in a financial funeral pyre. None of this is official yet, but we'll be placing calls to find out what's going on. If this turns out to be true, it's rough news for Chrysler's product portfolio, considering it was slated as the efficient city-car when apparently that's the only thing we're allowed to want anymore. [ChinaCarTimes]

The bankruptcy rumors seem to have sprung from reports this week that Chrysler drew down on a line of credit from Daimler. However, under Cerberus' purchase terms, Chrysler had to exercise the credit line before Aug. 3, so there's a "use it or lose it" component to the whole financial story too. Chrysler spokespeople state that the borrowing of $1.5 billion from Daimler and $500 million from Cerberus is not an indication that the company is having cash flow problems, and that Chrysler has $9 billion in cash. Sure sounds good, but all the "categorical denials" and "without merits" pouring out of Auburn Hills don't do much to soothe the nerves.
[BusinessWeek]

There were a lot of good pranks listed in our Best Car Prank QOTD, but one answer from PatFromGundo tops them all:

A few years back, I purchased a flagging Detroit automaker and told the world it was a "marriage of equals."

DaimlerChrysler partners plan to stay close in Australia despite global split [GoAuto]
Mercedes-Benz, BMW consider cooperating on small cars [MarketWatch]

Related:
Mercedes To Kill The A-Class? [internal]

The woes keep on coming. CerebusChrysler DaimlerChrysler is recalling 2007 Jeep Wranglers and Dodge Nitros because an electrical glitch could cause the vehicle to stall. True, both of these vehicles share the family 3.7-liter V6, but the Liberty remains unaffected because it uses an older, glitch-free ECM. While a recall of 80,000 vehicles is just large enough to merit coverage, we're mostly posting this because of the following:

The automaker said the power interruption could lead to a short engine stall, but said the engine would immediately restart if the vehicle was in motion.

Chrysler recalls Wranglers, Nitros over engine [msnbc.com]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2007 Dodge Nitro R/T 2WD, Part 1; VW to Recall 790,000 Cars. Oof.; SEMA 2007: Jeep Wrangler JT Concept [Internal]

We've heard conflicting reports over the past year about the future of the Mercedes "Baby Benz" — some quoting a "weak Euro" while others providing "the falling dollar" as reasoning for abandonment of the A-class. This latest report claims the A-class will get the ax after what we're told is a planned change in both the A and B-class lineups in 2011 because of a Teutonic flight to "luxury." While we're unsure about all of this tea leaf reading, we're sure of one thing — the board of DaimlerChrysler is most assuredly against anything right now that looks even remotely like "non-luxury." – Ray Wert

DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes considering exiting from A-class model - report [AFX via Forbes]

Related:
Mercedes A-Class in America? Think A -Gain; Oh, No, Vaneo!: Mercedes Recalls 50,000 A-Class Cars [internal]