Chrysler May Avoid Bankruptcy
It now seems much more likely that Chrysler will avoid bankruptcy. BusinessWeek says that Chrysler and the US Treasury have reached a deal with the banks and private equity firms that hold Chysler's debt.
"The agreement from Chrysler's principal banks is an exceptional accomplishment in line with the President's firm commitment that all stakeholders sacrifice to make this deal succeed," a Treasury official told BW.
The whole operation now hinges on a partnership with Fiat. More details should be available on Thursday, the government's deadline for reaching an agreement.
Bankruptcy for Chrysler Likely Averted as Banks Cave on Deb [BW]
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Anyone still want to dispute my dispute of Bloomberg's "95%" figure?
@ViperBorg - SpaceBat hates Facebook: I got a Caliber as a rental car once. Worst car ever. It's bigger than a coupe, has much less space than a sedan and the windows are ridiculously small. Bad handling too.
Ugh...like a New York cockroach...
Stop it. Enough. Stop making up money, stop moving numbers around. I've had to up to here with this bullshit. They're just playing games with this fake money they've invented, and the only people the lose are the taxpayers and customers.
@snowburnt: I wish I had the excuse of being drunk, or high, or otherwise impaired when buying that car. But no, I was stone sober.
*facepalm*
Worst. Car. Ever.
@ViperBorg - SpaceBat hates Facebook:
Yeh - those are not the best, but atleast they have lots of space for stuff.
@YamiNoSenshi: Were our politicians so logical... Eventually we'll figure out that all the number shifting and propping up just doesn't work. We'll do what we should have been doing all along and let the companies who have the shitty business practices that got them to bankruptcy just plain fail.
I can think of no other car company that better deserves to go out of business than Chrysler. The only people keeping them in business are:
1. Retirees that fondly recall driving their dad's Chrysler when they were a teenager, and think that it is reasonable for your car to be in the shop 3x per year since they are retired and having nothing better to do.
2. People that have never owned a Chrysler and don't know the far below average quality they are getting.
Everything is a sacred cow to somebody.
In the 80s, when the feds stepped in to save Harley-Davidson from certain doom, I was like "screw that - H-D is crap and deserves to die."
Now, Chrysler is the only American automaker I have any personal affection for, while I hate Ford with a passion, and I find myself longing for a Ford bankruptcy while somehow keeping Chrysler afloat.
To be completely honest though...I'd be OK with just letting all failed businesses die. Someone else would buy up the pieces and keep it going/start fresh, and with a dose of sanity, without the unions that cost America so many jobs and so much prosperity.
Stupid, stupid (union) rat creatures.
Don't care about Chrysler but just want to shout: AFTER TWO YEARS of being laid off, my husband just got a job. A good job! I'm too accustomed to being stressed to celebrate yet. :)
@1234tu: And, now that I think of it, that fridge in the glovebox is a lifesaver on road trips. I just got back from NY for my Father's wedding, and that thing held 4 cans of Monster (Not the cables, *shudder*) and kept them ice cold. It was so nice.
Other than that, it's really crap.
Well as long as it isn't nationalized and/or taken over by the UAW (basically the same thing).
Way back when the world was getting excited about a new operating system called Windows 95, the automotive press was in love with what Chrysler was doing. The Ram was new, cab forward design produced cars with increased room and better handling, the Neon was a decent small starter car, and Chrysler could bring a new car to market faster than the competition because of its corporate reorganization. Then Daimler happened. If Chrysler survives and finds its way as a small producer of innovative, exciting cars, it can be a viable entity. But if it insists on continuing as it is, it is doomed. I drive a 99 Chrysler Cirrus, still use a 92 Dakota on the farm, bought an Acclaim when they were new, and even had a used Reliant at one time. But right now, the van in my garage is a Chevy, and I am looking at a Malibu to replace the Chrysler. For my native Michigan I hope they survive and thrive, but only if they can adapt and build quality and excitement. Otherwise, they need to call that other Michigan expert, Dr. Kevorkian
If the feds give a package to AIG then any business should not have to knuckle under to uncle sam to get a
stimulus package.. Government can't run the government
with a profit how in the blazes do they think that they
can run a real business for profit.. I believe that Chrysler should be bailed out just like AIG without the BS that Chrysler is having to put up with. And I'm not real friend to Chrysler or Chevrolet.. Some banks won't even tell the government where their stimulus money went or where it's at......
Did Chrysler ever fix their issue with transmissions going bad after about 40,000 miles that plagued their 1997-?? models?
@maruawe42: Except that bailing out AIG was billed as necessary to avoid economic collapse, partly because they couldn't break it up.
And even then I still say they should have been left to go bust.
I don't see any reason to save Chrysler or any car maker.
@rickinsthelens: Neons were never good cars. The manual rework off the robotic welding line for suspension components was 100% at several points during production (through multiple years). They even brought in an expert to tell them why (twice) and they ignored the expert both times. If you're ever interested in reading about it:
/I apologize for the horrid design of the linked page, it's not my fault, I swear.
At 35 years old I finally broke down and bought my first non-Chrysler vehicle. I bought a Chevy Colorado only because I could not find a used Dodge Dakota with less than 100,000 miles on it for sale. For one, I hope that Chrysler does not go out of business. They DO need to think about what they are producing and where they can make the money. This is also true with all of the car manufacturers. Stop trying to make the fastest street car or the biggest truck and make something that will do what most common people need that is economical.
@Saboth:
There are two other groups keeping Chrysler afloat: Jeep buyers and minivan buyers. Jeeps still have an image that no other vehicle can match, and the Dodge and Chrysler minivans offer a credible alternative to Hyundai/Kia's poor quality and Toyota's and Honda's high prices.
@Frank Murphy: Actually the UAW wants to buy a 55% stake in the company - I'm surprised that's not on here. Check out USAToday's website...
...and aside from owning a controlling stake in the company, they are requiring that a representative of the Union Pension Fund sit on the board of Directors...yay!
@Saboth: My uncle bought a long line of Dodges and Chryslers so I knew what I was getting into. When I bought my wife the Grand Caravan, I got a good extended warranty. It paid for itself in the first year after the Chrysler warranty ran out (two big repairs in that year). Yes the time in the shop did suck, as did the time we almost got stranded in another state, but if you know what you are getting into, a Dodge was always a way to get a whole lot of car for cheap. We sold it in the last week of its extended warranty.
Fiat would have to be stupid to take Chrysler. They can let it fall and buy up the pieces without assuming Chrysler's debt or having to get involved with the unions.
@YamiNoSenshi:
I agree. All this pushing paper around to 'avoid' BK and the like is a giant shell game in this clusterfuck the government has put us in.
Again, taxpayers get screwed in the end and a piece of shit company like Chrysler will somehow continue in business without paying the true price for their crappy management that produces a crappy product.
And this is the front page of The Washington Post:
"Chrysler Creditors Agree to Deal
Agreement with Treasury Department is not expected to save automaker from bankruptcy."
Should we put WashPost and Business Week in the ring and let them fight it out?
Our Jeep is anything but crap. It's got 130K on it and now in a few years, we'll be able to replace it with another Jeep.
I like the Charger too, so we may be a two Chrysler family.
Just a matter of time CR fanboys:
Toyota Acknowledges 1st Gen Tundra Frame Rust Issues
The Flip Side of the Perfect Prius Unintended Acceleration
Toyota faces second loss, 7 Billion Dollars
When are those bastard senators fro Tennessee and Alabama gonna whine for more money for their states?
I just wonder if Ben Popken grows a pair apart from CR and reports. Blogging is not reporting. Live with it.
Every Chrysler owner I have ever known has said their car was a piece of crap.
Every Chrysler owner I have ever known has also said my Audi was an even bigger piece of crap and thanked God they had a Chrysler instead of an Audi.
So how is it that I have a 6 1/2 year old Lexus that's never had a repair (nothing... nada) and these other twirps can't build a car that runs?
The former CEO of GM said on TV that if they could design a car that looked as good as a Chrysler, but actually ran, they would rule the world. They didn't and he's gone. Chrysler apparently can't and deserve to be gone too.
Is it something in Japan's water or are we just too stupid to build a car that works?
@Cary:
Here's one that's not saying it. I've got a 2002 that has given me absolutely no trouble and I drive it like a madman. I had a Grand Cherokee before this that again gave me no problems other than routine maintenance and I had well over 120k miles on it when I sold it.
I you think they're shitty now, wait until you buy a Mopar from a UAW controlled company.
Hey, Chrysler, how about you fix my damn Dodge Caliber and pimp slap the idiots at the dealership that sold me the wrong, and useless warranty for it so nothing can get fixed, then you can be in my good graces again, hmm?