Is Chrysler filing for bankruptcy?

I would not be surprised if Chrysler goes Tango Uniform, and is split up and sold off. Most of their cars are unremarkable, the Dodge Charger is seeing modest success as a police car

The average person doesn't need, and apparently isn't willing to pay for, a 5.7 litre hemi motor just to have daily transportation.

The new Dodge Challenger is an interesting vehicle that helps those aged 50-70 recall a bygone era of performance cars, except the Challenger has modern emissions controls, ABS, and airbags

I took a Challenger R/T for a spin. It has very comfy bucket seats with many, many adjustments. A scary-quick 5.7 hemi, a Mercedes auto transmission, and a Mercedes rear end. Surprisingly docile ride. I can only imagine how scary-quick the SRT8 is, with the factory 6.1 litre V8

Jeep may be picked up by another company or carried as its own brand, eg if Tata of India picked them up. Not sure how well Jeep is doing now, I think folks have shifted away from suv's

The minivans used to have strong sales, probably not now. They may or may not be picked up by somebody else. The minivan market is pretty crowded right now, Hyundai and Kia are providing strong competition

Their pick em up trucks have some interesting new features, such as the coil spring rear suspension in the half tons that offer much better ride quality and handling. The Laramie I took for a drive (The local dealership had quite a few demonstrators and practically begged me to drive them) had very nice ride quality, quiet, seemed well put together

The high fuel prices last year, and the global economic meltdown this year, have pretty much sealed the fate for pick em up trucks used as daily personal transportation. RIP

Some folks actually think the Sprinter is made by Chrysler, not sure where they get the misinformation from. The Sprinter is made by Mercedes, and has Mercedes powertrain. It's actually a good work/utility van, much better fuel economy than a typical full size Ford or Government Motors van.

The Sprinter will probably continue to be sold at Freightliner dealerships, maybe even at Mercedes dealerships.

 

I've seen Sprinters with Freightliner, Mercedes, and Dodge badges. So it isn't surprising that some would think it's a Chrysler.

Jeep will always have the iconic Wrangler to fall back too. It needs a four cylinder to be re-introduced, and they'll return to a niche market, but it will make them an appealing asset to some.

 

Personally I think Chrysler will file bankruptcy and be split up. They have very few valuable assets.

1. The Jeep brand: SUV's may not be as popular as they were a few years go but real Jeeps have a loyal following. I'm talking about the Wrangler and Grand Cherokee. Jeep is the best know brand that Chrysler has internationally. (Renault sold Jeep to Chrysler in the 80's and has expressed interest in buying it back)

2. Dodge Caravan / Chyrsler Town & Country / VW Routan: The minivan market may have new competitors but the Chrysler products are still the number one selling minivan. It was just redesigned so the tooling is fresh.

3. Dodge Ram: It may not be as popular as the Ford F150 but it still was still the 9th best selling vehicle in 2008. Again it has just been redesigned and the tooling is fresh. (Nissan was going to contract with Chrysler for the Titan's replacement until very recently so they may be interested.)

4. Dodge Viper: It is a low-volume niche vehicle but it has a very loyal following. I can easily see one of the better know tuner companies like Saleen purchasing the tooling.


BTW, Fiat is anything but stupid in trying to partner with Chrysler. The deal on the table gives them 35% of the company, access to US manufacturing capacity, and access to a large dealership network for $0. That's right, no cash.

 

Will they axe most Chrysler models and begin building fuel-efficient Fiat-designed cars that are competitive in today's auto market ? Maybe.
"Chrysler plans to close five more factories and shed thousands more workers as it slims down and resets to build Fiat-designed fuel-efficient cars in North America."

UAW wins big Chrysler stake but can't run company - Yahoo! Finance

Fiat's stake in Chrysler: "Fiat ... Under its deal with Chrysler, the Italian automaker takes an initial 20 percent stake in exchange for small-car technology. That can rise to 35 percent as goals are met, and Fiat has options to bring its stake up to 51 percent."

In a few years, Chrysler emblems may read "Chrysler .. by Fiat"

 

When Chrysler Australia got in trouble it was Mitsubishi who took over and did very well too. They made a medium size 4 cylinder front engine rear drive Sigma in sedan and wagon for years and were pretty successful but they switched to the front wheel drive, 2.6 litre 4 cylinder Magna which in the early years was plagued with transmission problems but Mitsubishi got through that and later the Magna was produced in 4 and 6 cylinder versions and found a market for the 3.5 litre V6 in the USA as the Diamanti.

After several face-lifts for the Magna, Mitsubishi designed and built the Mitsubishi 380, an all new 3.8 litre V6 front engine front wheel drive large car. Australians are generally in love with large rear drive front engine cars because they are better for towing, even though less than 50% of these have towbars fitted. Mitsubishi Australia were not able to make a profit from the 380, in fact they stayed in their holding yard at an alarming rate. To hide their shame Mitsubishi put shade cloth on their fences to hide the huge inventory of unsold 380s. In early 2008 Mitsubishi closed their Adelaide factory and joined Nissan to become an importer only.

I think it was such a shame the factory closed. If only Mitsubishi had developed an electric car here in Adelaide then South Australia could have been the manufacturing centre for Mitsubishi's electric cars. The factory in Adelaide can pump out 300 cars a day, a great size factory for the introduction of a global manufacturing centre for Mitsubishi Electric cars. Mitsubishi have (or had) a full testing facility near Tailem Bend, about 80km from Adelaide so it would have been a great place to develop an electric or even a hybrid car. Mitsubishi have a huge interest in electrical equipment.

I hope who ever takes over from Chrysler if they do go under are successful, more so than Mitsubishi were here in the long term.