Man, how some of you easily forget what really happened.
"In the mid-1990s, Chrysler Corporation was the most profitable automotive producer in the
world. Buoyed by record light truck, van, and large sedan sales, revenues were at an all-time
high. Chrysler had taken a risk in producing vehicles that captured the bold and pioneering
American spirit when imports dominated the market – the Dodge Ram, the Jeep Grand
Cherokee and the LH Sedan Series. In these vehicles Chrysler found an instant mass appeal,
and its U.S. market share climbed to 23% in 1997. As revenues and market share rose,
product development costs shrank to 2.8% of revenues - compared with 6% at Ford and 8%
at General Motors1. Chrysler's integrated design teams and noncompetitive relationships
with suppliers kept costs down, while its marketing department scored success after success
in gauging consumer tastes."
Then the unthinkable happened......we were sold out by one of the biggest A-holes to ever walk the face of the earth....Bob Eaton.
"With $7.5 billion in cash on hand and a full range of best-selling products, Chrysler finally seemed ready in 1997
to weather the volatile American automotive business cycle on its own – without government bailouts or large-scale R&D cutbacks."
Look out, here comes Bob Eaton and the Germans.....A so called "Merger of Equals" later was re-defined as a takeover.
"On May 7th, 1998, Eaton announced that Chrysler would merge with Daimler-Benz. Thanks
to a $37 billion stock-swap deal, the largest trans-Atlantic merger ever, Chrysler would not
"do it alone" any longer10. Daimler-Benz CEO Jürgen Schrempp hailed the union as "a
merger of equals, a merger of growth, and a merger of unprecedented strength"11. The new
company, with 442,000 employees and a market capitalization approaching $100 billion,
would take advantage of synergy savings in retail sales, purchasing, distribution, product
design, and research and development. When he rang the bell at the New York Stock
Exchange to inaugurate trading of the new stock, DCX, Eaton predicted, "Within five years,
we'll be among the Big Three automotive companies in the world"12.
Three years later DaimlerChrysler's market capitalization stands at $44 billion, roughly equal
to the value of Daimler-Benz before the merger13. Its stock has been banished from the S&P
500, and Chrysler Group's share value has declined by one-third relative to pre-merger
values."
Remember this, prior to the takeover, Chrysler had vehicles such as the 300m, Concorde, Intrepid, all of which were capable of 28 to 32 mpg. It was the Germans who came in and said:
Front wheel drive technology is outdated, rear wheel drive cars is where you need to be. We (The Germans) have been driving RWD cars for years and have perfected the technology. Therefore, we are going to abandon the FWD Technology that is outdated for rear wheel drive vehicles.
How do I know? I was there when the prick (CEO of Daimler) said it. Think about it, we eliminated the very products that had made us so successful through the mid 90's. It was the Germans who put us on the course of gas guzzling vehicles that we are now stuck with. By the way,,,,,some of you who want to criticize us for gas guzzling vehicles better remember that you would not have those WONDERFUL GAS GUZZLELING CHALLENGERS today if we had not made the switch to RWD cars. It was the Germans who took the roughly 9 to 11 billion dollars that Chrysler had in cash reserves and left us broke. This is one of the main reasons Chrysler is in need of financial assistance today.
I also want to defend the attack made on here that "we need to make quality vehicles like Honda and Toyota does." Guys and Gals, I can tell you with confidence and DATA that Chrysler does make vehicles as good as if not better than Toyota and Honda. Cooda, If you haven't checked out the new mini-van I urge you to do so. It is a winner and can compete with the Toyota and Honda any day of the week. Hell, I will even get you a discount if you are willing to buy one
As a bonus and just to clear the air - Toyota is experiencing trouble as well. Here are a few clips from articles over the past 3 or 4 months.
"Toyota, which vies with GM for the crown of the world's largest automaker, said it faced an "unprecedented crisis" and expected an operating loss of 150 billion yen (1.69 billion dollars) -- its first since March 1941. It follows the financial troubles plaguing the United States where General Motors and Chrysler, two of the US Big Three automakers, are on the verge of collapse"
"Toyota said it was cutting back on production and investment as a slump in sales and a soaring yen wreaked havoc on its balance sheet, including freezing the launch of a new factory in Mississippi and slashing production in India. But demand has fallen sharply in the United States as the credit crisis at banks drags down the whole economy, and analysts said Toyota's revision showed all automakers are affected, not just Detroit's Big Three which also includes Ford"
Some of your bashing of Chrysler may be deserved.....however, the majority of the current line up of vehicles and economic conditions are a direct result of the merger and piss poor decisions made by the Germans.
