Thursday, April 30, 2009

America to Chrysler : "Screw You".

Following on from Chrysler's ill thought-out advertising campaign in December (see Chrysler to America : "Scew You"), they finally entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy today and completed the deal with Fiat. CNN had a good list of reasons Chrysler have ended up like this, including the 6 vehicles that finally finished them off (2004 Chrysler 300C, 2006 Dodge Caliber, 2006 Jeep commander, 2007 Dodge Nitro, 2007 Chrysler Sebring, 2009 Dodge Ram).
So what happens now? Hopefully Fiat can inject some sense into the smouldering pile that once was Chrysler. Stop building awful, fuel-thirsty cars that are unreliable, ugly, and out-of-touch, and start producing cars like Fiat's own mega hit Fiat 500. Better yet - don't build anything - just import cars from Europe and sell them in America.
Whatever happens it will be interesting to follow this saga closely. Not least of which because as an American taxpayer, I own(ed) part of Chrysler thanks to the equally ill thought-out bailout package.