One Week Later: What's Happening at Chrysler?
Imperial Photos
A little more than a week after the sale of Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Managementoccurred, many have wondered what’s going to happen to the automaker and its three brands (four if you include SRT). Since then, there’s been some news that might not have floated to the top of the barrel:
1. The Important Stuff
Immediately following the announcement of the sale, Chrysler’s CEO and President, Tom LaSorda, stepped up to bat stating that the new owners wouldn’t do either of the two things that many analysts had predicted Cerberus would do; the entities of Chrysler will not be split up (and sold off), and there will be no more job cuts than slated to take place prior to the takeover. In fact, Cerberus’ CEO Stephen Feinberg and LaSorda made a written promise to the CAW about the safety of its workers’ jobs. Switching from the operations side of things, Chrysler will also ditch its current “wing” logo and go back to the pentastar which we last saw in the ’90s.
2. The Chrysler Imperial is Nearing Production
The Chrysler 300 might be referred to as the poor man’s Bentley, but soon Chrysler will also have a poor man’s Rolls Royce in its stable. The newest member of the LX-architecture will be the Imperial sedan, which is slated to arrive in 2009 as a model year 2010 product. After a brief tussle with CAW workers who turned the project down, the issue was settled, resulting in a $700 million investment into the plant where it’s built. Rumor has it that the official announcement will be made on June 11, and that it could be the first Chrysler-badged product to be sold with a diesel in North America.
3. Major Work on New Powerplants and Technologies
Chrysler recently committed to upgrading its axle facility in Michigan to make more fuel efficient drivetrain components. Also, this past Wednesday, Chrysler broke ground on a new engine assemblyplant in Michigan to build a brand new V6. In an interview with component supplier World Wide Automotive, company spokesperson David Elshoff said that the group was working on developing a twin-clutch gearbox. It’s the first we’ve heard of anything like this, and it is welcomed news. The new axles and engines are expected to arrive in 2010, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the dual-clutch transmission will be ready for 2010 too.
4. The Chery Connection
For quite some time, Chinese automaker Chery and DaimlerChrysler were negotiating the development of a small, B-segment vehicle to be sold in North America. All seemed to be going well, until the sale of Chrysler occurred, which, caught Chery off guard. According to the Chinese automaker’s General Manager, the development on this vehicle has been halted until a new agreement can be struck between Cerberus and Chery. It’ll be interesting to see what pans out, but Cerberus will most likely do whatever it takes to get this much needed B-segment car to market.