Chrysler to invest $114 million, reopen Trenton North engine plant

Chrysler News-Chrysler Group LLC announced today it plans to invest $114 million to reopen part of the shuttered Trenton North engine plant — a move that will allow the company to keep 268 jobs there.
The Downriver engine plant, which produced V-6 engines, will now create core components for Chrysler's new Pentastar engine. The plant had 464 employees before it closed...From The Detroit News:

Polaris agrees to buy Chrysler subsidiary

Chrysler News-Off-road vehicle maker Polaris Industries Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a Chrysler Group LLC subsidiary that makes electric-powered vehicles....More

Chrysler Fiat: Global sales up 24% last month

Chrysler News-Chrysler's global auto sales in March rose 24 percent from a year earlier while growth outside of North America slowed from February. Global deliveries climbed to 164,092 vehicles last month, Chrysler said.Chrysler: Global sales up 24% last month

Dodge's Fast Five Commercial Debuts During NCAA Final Four

Chrysler News-Dodge kicks off a major advertising offensive linked to the movie Fast Five starting on Saturday with a new Dodge Charger commercial during the NCAA Final Four basketball tournament.

Chrysler News|Chrysler to boost new 300's mileage with eight- speed automatic transmission

DETROIT - Chrysler plans to put an eight-speed automatic transmission in its all-new 300 luxury sedan in a move to boost fuel economy.

Chrysler brand CEO Olivier Francois says the transmission will give the luxury car class-leading fuel economy equivalent to 7.8 litres per 100 kilometres..More

Chrysler News: Fiat Preps for U.S. Comeback With 500

After 15 years of absence, Fiat prepares its comeback to U.S. showrooms this December with the 2011 Fiat 500...More

Chrysler News:Return Your 2010 Chrysler Minivan, No Questions Asked

Chrysler kicked off a new marketing program for its 2010 Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans on Thursday. It lets customers return the vehicles, no questions asked, within 60 days if they aren't happy...More

Chrysler News:Chrysler and Fiat sign merger agreement

Italian carmaker Fiat and US car concern Chrysler have signed an agreement to merge their companies, Chrysler disclosed.

Chrysler, at its Auburn Hills, Michigan headquarters, said that the agreement is still preliminary and not yet binding.

Further details were not immediately disclosed. Earlier on Tuesday, Fiat deputy chairman John Elkann said that the Turin-based carmaker is in talks with Chrysler amid reports of a possible purchase by the Italian company of a majority stake in the ailing US producer.

"It is no secret that we are talking. It has been a while that we are in talks," Elkann, a heir of the Agnelli family which controls Fiat, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

Elkann indicated more details on a possible deal would be available following a Fiat statement later on Tuesday and a meeting of the company's board scheduled for Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Milan's Bourse announced trading in Fiat stocks had been suspended pending the statement's release.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Fiat was considering acquiring a 35 per cent ownership in Chrysler by mid-year as the first step towards the acquisition of a possible majority stake in the US company.

The deal would give Fiat long-sought access to the US market for its small and mid-sized cars, with the Fiat 500 and Alfa Romeo reported to be at the top of the list.

Under the deal, Fiat could build its own small cars in the US and use the Chrysler distribution network. In exchange, Chrysler would tap Fiat's expertise building small and medium-sized cars to advance its own plans for new, front-wheel-drive models with lower emissions.

As petrol prices soared and the economy stalled, sales of Chrysler's mostly large, fuel-inefficient cars and trucks fell 30 per cent in 2008.

With auto sales at a 27-year low, Chrysler has laid off tens of thousands of workers and had to beg for government rescue financing of $US5.5 billion ($A8.21 billion) just to stay afloat for the next few months.

The loan terms require Chrysler to deliver a credible survival strategy by March, and an alliance with Fiat would be a tangible new strategy.

Fiat, which exclusively makes small cars with narrow profit margins, is struggling to keep its own head above water in Europe's expensive labour market.

Chrysler News:Chrysler Says It Won't Sell Pieces of Company

DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC on Wednesday shot down fresh speculation the auto maker is considering selling off pieces of its operations amid increasing concern about its ability to survive.

In a hastily organized conference call, Chrysler President Tom LaSorda said reports the company was in talks about selling its Jeep brand and other key assets are "absolutely false."

Chrysler is "going to be around for a long time," he said. "We are not going under."

Mr. LaSorda said he couldn't say if Chrysler's majority owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP, was considering selling the company as a whole.

It's time to buy back into American Vehicles!

Chrysler News:Jeep To Renault-Nissan and Magna is Cerbrus Selling off Chrysler?

Another Chrysler sell off article!

Jeep To Renault-Nissan, Belvidere To Magna Steyr, PT Cruiser To China. Maybe

Chrysler has been - some say desperately - seeking to “sell key assets” for a while. The Nikkei (sub) now says that Chryler might be getting close. The usual “unnamed people with knowledge of the discussions” whispered that Chrysler is talking to Nissan-Renault and the Canadian auto supplier Magna. The topics of the discussion are the Jeep brand and Chrysler’s Belvidere plant. The Jeep brand would go to Renault-Nissan, Magna would take the plant.

The parties aren’t strangers.

Chrysler had announced an alliance with Nissan last April.

As for Magna, the interest probably stems from Magna’s subsidiary Magna Steyr, which is creating more and more auto contract manufacture business. Magna Steyr has produced the Chrysler Voyager from 2002 to 2007, and currently produces the Chrysler 300C, the Jeep Commander and Jeep Grand Cherokee. Magna was one of the bidders for Chrysler when it was sold by Daimler in 2007.

According to Reuters, Chrysler has been in talks with Chinese automakers Chery and Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group Co, to sell them the PT Cruiser “brand” and tooling.

Of course, nobody will officially confirm that anything is true. Reuters says that representatives of Chrysler, Cerberus, Magna, and Nissan declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Renault denied talks were under way.

Reuters say there is reason for secrecy and plausible deniability: Renault-Nissan is looking to see whether a deal to acquire Le Jeep would hurt access to U.S. government funding. Good thinking.

[For the uninitiated: an asset sale is when you sell what's owned by the company without selling the company-- and the liabilities that go with it.]

Chrysler News:Corker hopes Chrysler will merge

Senator says GM's debt load is too high

Rick Kranz
Automotive News

DETROIT -- Tennessee U.S. Senator Robert Corker came to the Detroit auto show today and said Chrysler LLC needs to find a merger partner and General Motors is carrying too much debt.

Corker, a freshman Republican, emerged as a point man in the automotive debate after he and a group of Southern lawmakers blocked auto-bailout legislation last month.

Leading a throng of reporters on the floor of the show, Corker said he came to Detroit in response to a plea by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox. Cox asked lawmakers to visit the show in a column published in Tuesday's Washington Post.

Corker's visit underscored the attention the industry has drawn as the U.S. economy reels from the longest recession since the early 1980s. At the end of 2008, U.S. auto sales had plunged to levels not seen since 1982.

In response to a reporter's question about Chrysler, Coker said the automaker's best chance of survival is with a partner.

"Chrysler probably needs to merge with somebody, not necessarily go away from the standpoint of existence,'' he said. "It appears to me based on what I have looked at that they have not invested in technology and those kind of things necessary to be a standalone.

"My hope is they will in fact merge and be a viable part of Michigan and our country."......More

Chrysler News:Chrysler 200c EV concept offers social networking capabilities

The Chrysler 200c EV concept vehicle, revealed today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, would offer social networking capabilities that could wirelessly connect drivers to friends in other vehicles.

The vehicle's personalized profile system would interact with Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter, said Frank Klegon, Chrysler's executive vice president of product development. Passengers could surf the Internet, scroll through a library of songs or other media, and find traveling information.

Chrysler's vehicle would be able to travel 40 miles without using gasoline - the same fuel economy General Motors is promising with the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle.


But the heavy emphasis on interior electronics and design illustrates an increasing focus in the industry on combining great design with alternative powertrain technology under the hood.

Klegon said the 200c EV would present a "seamless, harmonious link between the vehicle and the home or your office."...More

Chrysler News:Automakers' U.S. Sales Tumbled In Dec.Chrysler Hit Hardest, With 53% Plunge

Chrysler's U.S. sales plunged 53% from a year earlier in December and other top automakers' sales shrank more than 30%, as the industry finished off its worst year since 1992 on a low point.

Chrysler said Monday that it will offer additional discounts after sales sank to 89,813 vehicles last month. Ford's (NYSE:F - News) sales dropped 32% to 138,458 and GM's 31% to 220,030.

Toyota's sales plunged 37% from December 2007 to 141,949 vehicles, Honda's (NYSE:HMC - News) 35% to 86,085 and Nissan's 31% to 62,102.

Worries about rising unemployment, a deepening recession and the credit crunch have led consumers to put the brakes on auto purchases, driving Chrysler and GM to the brink of bankruptcy and likely sending Toyota to its first operating loss in 71 years.

"The main reason why we are where we are is because of consumer confidence," said Jesse Toprak, executive director of industry analysis for auto site Edmunds.com.

Consumer confidence fell to a record low in December, and jobless claims hit a 26-year high amid a recession that began in December 2007.

Also on Monday, Porsche said sales fell 25.5% in December to 2,154 vehicles, while Daimler's sales fell 23.5% to 20,848 vehicles.

Stocks opened lower on Monday and stayed there, reacting little to the expected plunge in auto sales. The Dow fell 0.9%, the S&P 500 lost 0.5% and the Nasdaq declined 0.3%....More

Chrysler News:Chrysler finally gets $4 bn aid from US govt

January 03, 2009

US auto major Chrysler on Friday said it has received four billion dollars as emergency loan from the government, a move to avert a collapse of the ailing automaker.

"Chrysler received an initial four billion dollar loan to help bridge the current financial crisis," the company said in a statement.

The amount is a part of the $13.4 billion lifeline approved by the US government for General Motors and Chrysler last month.

"This initial loan will allow the company to continue an orderly restructuring while pursuing our vision to build the fuel-efficient, high-quality cars and trucks," Chrysler chairman and chief executive Bob Nardelli said in the statement.

The loans to the auto makers would be provided under certain conditions, including a limitation on executive pay.

Moreover, US President George Bush had said that the companies have to come up with viable plans for restructuring by March 31, 2009.

The auto makers would be given "three months to get in place plans to get restructure which we believe they are capable of doing...," Bush had said.

The US President had pointed out that the entities have to pay back the loans if they fail to come up with restructuring plans.

Earlier, the US Treasury had thrown a $6 billion lifeline for GMAC, the finance arm of beleaguered carmaker General Motors.

GMAC is the major lender for General Motors's 6,500 dealers across the country.

Chrysler News-Chrysler to idle all plants!

Carmaker moves to conserve cash, tightens lending to dealers

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

Chrysler LLC is shutting its North American production operations Friday for a month, the latest in a string of drastic cost-cutting measures it is making as it awaits word on emergency federal loans to prevent it from possibly having to file for bankruptcy.

The Auburn Hills automaker said the action is a response to a severe sales slump, tight credit and an urgent need to preserve cash. All 30 of the company's assembly, engine and transmission plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico will close at the end of their shifts Friday for at least 30 days, the company said.

Chrysler said people aren't buying vehicles because they can't get loans, but company dealers also have been hit by the tight credit market. Chrysler Financial has warned dealers that it may have to stop providing loans they need to stock their showrooms because dealers have been withdrawing too much money from an account used to fund the loans.

The production cuts come as Chrysler and General Motors Corp. seek up to $15 billion in emergency aid from the government to help them fund their operations for the rest of this year and into early 2009. Chrysler has asked for $7 billion in emergency loans and has warned that without the money, it could be forced to file for bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler's U.S. sales have slumped 27.7 percent this year and fell 47.1 percent in November, according to Autodata Corp.

"It's clear that the automakers are in a very fragile financial condition and they're taking steps to deal with it," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Wednesday. "We're aware of their financial situation and are considering possible policy options to provide assistance in an appropriate way. As we've said, a disorderly collapse of the auto industry should be avoided."

Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan said the issues aren't unique to Chrysler, which continues to restructure and invest in future products...More...

Chrysler News-Chrysler Squashes Chery Deal

The Detroit automaker needs a cheap compact car from China, but it just doesn't have the cash.

Chrysler will not be getting a small, cheap car from China, even though it could use one right now for its turnaround efforts. The Detroit automaker which is in the middle of lobbying for a bailout from Congress, and Chinese car giant Chery Automobile have scrapped plans for a joint venture, as both ailing companies decide that their own survival is more pressing than developing new car models.

The two automakers have broken off negotiations, first disclosed in July 2007, for Chery to produce a low-cost compact car to be sold under the Chrysler's Dodge brand in the United States and Europe. Though Chrysler needs to diversify from heavy pick-ups, midsize vans and jeeps, to small passenger cars, a Chinese-made car would have required financing for marketing, quality control and dealer distribution that Chrysler simply does not have. Chrysler would also have had to ensure the Chinese car met Western emissions and safety standards....More

Chrysler News-Chrysler Squashes Chery Deal

The Detroit automaker needs a cheap compact car from China, but it just doesn't have the cash.

Chrysler will not be getting a small, cheap car from China, even though it could use one right now for its turnaround efforts. The Detroit automaker which is in the middle of lobbying for a bailout from Congress, and Chinese car giant Chery Automobile have scrapped plans for a joint venture, as both ailing companies decide that their own survival is more pressing than developing new car models.

The two automakers have broken off negotiations, first disclosed in July 2007, for Chery to produce a low-cost compact car to be sold under the Chrysler's Dodge brand in the United States and Europe. Though Chrysler needs to diversify from heavy pick-ups, midsize vans and jeeps, to small passenger cars, a Chinese-made car would have required financing for marketing, quality control and dealer distribution that Chrysler simply does not have. Chrysler would also have had to ensure the Chinese car met Western emissions and safety standards....More

Chrysler News-Chrysler Proposes Joint Venture to Improve Energy Technology

By MONICA LANGLEY/WSJ

WASHINGTON -- Chrysler LLC's plan for a government rescue includes a proposal that the auto makers and federal government establish "an independent joint venture" to develop improved energy technology, such as batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. At the same time, Cerberus, its private-equity owner, is offering concessions to secure a $7 billion bridge loan.


In his testimony before Congress later this week, Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli will suggest that part of the $25 billion energy-security fund be put into this new entity, rather than having each of the Big Three try to develop the same critical component. "Then each company would take the technology and add its own branding and styling" and other features for its own models, a Chrysler executive said.....More

Chrysler News-Daimler struggles to shed Chrysler

Chrysler News
Tom Krisher / Associated Press
DETROIT -- Daimler AG says talks to sell its remaining stake in struggling automaker Chrysler Holding LLC have stalled because of exaggerated demands from Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management LP.

Daimler says Cerberus is making demands that exceed the value of the private equity firm's investment in Chrysler. It also says Cerberus is claiming Daimler provided incomplete information about Chrysler.

Daimler sold 80.1 percent of Chrysler to Cerberus last year in a $7.4 billion deal. Cerberus is trying to buy the remaining 19.9 percent stake and is in talks to sell Chrysler.

A message left for a Cerberus spokesman wasn't immediately returned.

Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler said in a statement Wednesday that Cerberus has alleged "conduct outside the ordinary course of business by Daimler during the time between signing and closing of the transaction, as well as an allegation of incomplete information about the business."

Cerberus and Daimler signed the deal May 14, 2007, and the sale closed Aug. 6, 2007.

Daimler spokesman Han Tjan declined to give details of the allegations but said they are untrue.

"We reject these allegations as being completely without substance," Tjan said in a telephone interview.

Cerberus, a New York private equity firm, is making financial claims that go "beyond the framework of the contractually agreed possible obligations under representations and warranties," Daimler's statement said.

Since Cerberus acquired Chrysler, U.S. auto sales have dropped substantially. Chrysler sales fell 35 percent in October from a year earlier and are down 26 percent for the first 10 months of this year.

Cerberus has recorded substantial losses since it purchased the majority stake in Chrysler: $1.6 billion last year and $1.28 billion in the first half of this year.

Since Chrysler is privately owned, the company does not have to report its earnings, but they can be calculated from Daimler's balance sheet.

Auburn Hills-based Chrysler, along with other U.S. automakers, is seeking federal loans to stave off running out of cash. Cash-starved General Motors Corp. reportedly had been in talks last month to buy Chrysler.

Chrysler News-Nardelli Said Chrylser must have Merger or Alliances To Survive!

Checkout the latest Reuters report!

Nardelli wants the bailout loan and still a merger with a domestic company or overseas Alliances!


Chrysler urges bailout, Washington split
REUTERS By Soyoung Kim

DETROIT (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs suspended its rating on General Motors Corp on Thursday and said the automaker needs at least $22 billion in federal aid, while Chrysler said it would be "very difficult to survive" without government support.

But U.S. lawmakers remained deeply split over whether to bail out the U.S. auto industry, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said any federal aid for the U.S. automakers must ensure their long-term viability.

Chrysler LLC Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said Chrysler was losing money due to a decline in U.S. auto sales to 25-year lows, and said Chrysler would seek federal money for its liquidity and restructuring needs.

In one of his few appearances since merger talks between GM and Chrysler broke off, Nardelli said Chrysler must have broader ties with U.S. automakers or alliances with overseas competitors to ride out the industry downturn.

The auto industry has stepped up lobbying efforts to get government support and the heads of the three U.S.-based automakers are expected to testify next week before a congressional committee considering aid for the industry.

The Bush administration said the government could quickly disburse $25 billion in loans already approved by Congress. However, the administration has responded coolly to an aid plan being shaped by Democrats, which includes using part of the $700 billion financial rescue package to provide additional liquidity for the auto industry.

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is considering appointing someone to lead efforts to help the auto industry return to health, an Obama aide said on Thursday.

The sales slide that began in the United States has spread to the rest of the world because of the credit crisis. On Thursday, data showed that auto sales in Europe fell 15 percent in October from a year ago.

Goldman Sachs forecast that GM would end 2008 with $12.5 billion in cash, within the $11 billion to $14 billion minimum range GM has said it needs to operate, requiring the No. 1 U.S. automaker to seek government assistance.

GM's shares, which hit a 65-year low this week, closed down 13 cents, or 4.22 percent, at $2.95, as investors awaited news on any government rescue. Goldman Sachs said a new program to support the auto industry was most likely, though the timing was uncertain.

Also on Thursday, JPMorgan cut its GM rating to "neutral" from "overweight" and said the automaker needs "something immediately" to make it through the end of the year.

JPMorgan, which also slashed its target price for GM stock to $1.84 from $3.08, said a government bailout could easily reach $30 billion unless GM reforms its vast liability structure.

The warnings come in the wake of GM's deeper-than-expected third-quarter loss and cash burn, announced on Friday.

BAILOUT MEASURES DEBATED

Analysts have warned that any government assistance, which they say is imperative for GM to survive through early 2009, would come at a significant cost to existing shareholders.

Democratic leaders have called for emergency aid for the auto industry in addition to $25 billion of low-interest loans previously approved to support capital investment to meet new fuel economy mandates.

Lawmakers will hold a hearing next week to consider a bill to give another $25 billion in federal loans to U.S. auto manufacturers, possibly using part of the $700 billion financial market rescue law enacted last month.

But the White House said on Thursday it was not the intent of Congress to use the financial rescue package to help ailing U.S. automakers, while U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told Reuters that opening the financial bailout fund to one industry was "not a good idea.

House Republican leader John Boehner said spending billions on a bailout with no promises of reforming the companies was "neither fair to taxpayers nor sound fiscal policy."

GM, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler have been burning cash as the global credit crisis accelerated the decline in U.S. auto sales and placed severe limits on corporate and consumer borrowing.

GM ended September with $16.2 billion in cash, down from $21 billion at the end of the second quarter.

The downturn also has affected the plans of non-U.S.-based automakers in the United States.

The Nikkei newspaper reported that Toyota Motor Corp was considering delaying the start of production at its new Mississippi plant until 2011 or later, from 2010.

Standard & Poor's lowered credit ratings on two North American auto parts suppliers and placed the ratings on 14 other suppliers on negative watch, citing their exposure to the three U.S. automakers.

"The credit watch listings reflect the increasingly beleaguered state of the Michigan-based automakers and the multiple scenarios -- almost all of them negative -- that could play out over the next few weeks or months," S&P said in a report released on Thursday.

The agency lowered credit ratings on Dana Holding Corp to B+ from BB- and Magna International Inc to A- from A.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Krolicki in Palm Desert, California, Doug Palmer in Washington, Caren Bohan in Chicago, Christiaan Hetzner in Frankfurt; Editing by Gary Hill)


Stupid Daily News---Political Roast