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| Market speculates over DaimlerChrysler breakup |
| 2006-11-02 |
| Eight years after it bought the US automaker Chrysler, DaimlerChrysler is believed to be mulling a sale of the loss-making division. "We would be completely thoughtless if we were not preparing an exit strategy," an unidentified member of the DaimlerChrysler board was quoted by the weekly German magazine Der Spiegel as saying. Financial director Bodo Uebber told reporters last week: "We are not ruling out anything." DaimlerChrysler shares have gained more than five percent in the past week, and closed on Wednesday at 45.69 euros, a gain of 2.21 percent on the day. Third quarter results published last week were underpinned by the German division Mercedes, while Chrysler, which also includes the Dodge and Jeep brands, posted an operating loss of 1.2 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars). The Chrysler catalogue is comprised in large part of four-wheel drive sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and pick-up trucks but US consumers are beginning to favor cars that consume less gas owing to higher prices at the pump. In October, DaimlerChrysler sales in the United States fell by two percent compared with the same month a year earlier, even though Mercedes-Benz dealers reported their best October ever, the group said Wednesday. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #10 IIUC - the 300C is still on a waiting list - proof that if you produce vehicles people want - they'll flock to you. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-11-02 20:46 |
| #9 Fred: Chrysler actually did go the way of Willys and AMC: got bought out by someone, but continue to produce their products. Kaiser bought out Willys, mainly for the Jeep. AMC bought the auto business from Kaiser, mainly for the Jeep. Chrysler bought out AMC, mainly for the Jeep. Daimler-Benz bought out Chrysler (for the Jeep??). As for Studebaker-Packard, they merged with Worthington (in Canada, I think). They were Studbaker-Worthington for a while, but I think went back to just Worthington. Well, I grew up near Detroit, after all. We get taught this stuff in 4th grade. It's interesting to note that a few years ago, it was the Chrysler/Dodge line that was making the money, while the Mercedes line was losing money and was having problems with warranty work and development overruns. I'm still pretty happy with My 300C (bought 1 month after they came out). The sunroof has become problematical recently, but for the rest, I still don't see anything of comparable size, comfort, and performance at a comparable price. |
| Posted by: Jackal 2006-11-02 19:44 |
| #8 Mini spares are a problem waiting to happen. I got a full size spare with my minivan instead of the smaller one, it fit in the space available just fine. Changing any tire in bad weather is a mess unless you have someone else to do it for you. Everyone's individual experiences vary. The market is the summary of all these experiences. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2006-11-02 19:42 |
| #7 My Chrysler minivan has 46000 miles in 2 years, no reliability problems at all, handles well in ice/snow/rain and with heavy loads of dogs, show equipment (portable metal dog runs etc.) and/or with a full load of passengers. My biggest gripes are a) the mini spare tire and where it is carried -- the one time I needed it was on a snowy/wet day and getting it out from under the middle of the car was a bitch. And b) I wish they offered the run-flat tires that Toyota offers on the Sienna. |
| Posted by: dog fancier 2006-11-02 18:57 |
| #6 Any individual can moan about any one car/truck from just about any manufacturer. I turned to Mopar after bad experiences with Ford and GM. As someone who has owned several Mopar vehicles and has had great success with them, while having had problems with the GM and Ford priducts I've owned, count me as one who would rather see one of the latter two be the one to be streamlined out of existence. |
| Posted by: no mo uro 2006-11-02 18:49 |
| #5 The Chrysler minivans' interior design was absolutely the most comfortable (for my frame) of any vehicle I have ever experienced. Its handling in high cross winds, in snow, and on slippery roads was superb. OTOH, it was delivered to me new without a functioning relay for the radiator fan, as I found out when it suddenly overheated on a spring vacation trip to the Great Smokies. The plastic material of the steering wheel began to disintegrate immediately & when I could pull chunks of it off with my fingers, I had it replaced under warranty. The electronic control for the windshield wipers was replaced under warranty, and still never worked. It spent more time in the shop at the dealer for warranty service than all the other new vehicles I had, put together. Two months after the warranty expired, so did the compressor on the A/C, costing $1200 to repair, the repair having only a 12-month warranty. 13 months after that, the replacement A/C compressor also expired, and then the dealer wanted $2,000 to make the same repair he had made 13 months earlier. After doing my own internet research I had the dealer rip out the compressor and replace it with an idler pulley and non-A/C serpentine belt, an option the dealer's repair people never mentioned to me. At trade-in it still looked like new, but the transmission was starting to fail to engage when put in gear, and it was only worth $2,000 at 100,000 miles, depreciated from $26,000 new, 78 months earlier. Had Chrysler put as much effort into reliability as it had into design, I would still be driving one of their minivans. I suppose the company deserves to die. |
| Posted by: Slaviger Angomong7708 2006-11-02 15:33 |
| #4 I used to consult at Chrysler for awhile in the 80s. The only thing they were good at was dashboards. They could make them cheaper, more reliable and more ergometric than anybody on the planet. Their transaxles that always failed? They didn't have a clue. They had just copied from the rabbit and a couple of others varying the dimensions.. so when it didn't work...well .... well put off until the next meeting.. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2006-11-02 09:32 |
| #3 Chrysler to go the way of American Motors. Which went the way of Studebaker-Packard. Which went the way of Willys. Which went the way of... But really, it's all just a plot to bust the union. They should go on strike. |
| Posted by: Fred 2006-11-02 07:48 |
| #2 Killing one of the big three will do nothing to loosen the death grip of the UAW on the other two. They will continue to choke the auto industry till it looks like the domestic steel industry. That's what unions do. Now let's think, what is the biggest union in the country and why? The implications of the experience in steel, autos, and rail should give you pause when you consider the future of your children and thereby the country. That is why I consider the NEA to be a much bigger threat to the continued existence of the U. S. than al-Qaeda or Islam. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2006-11-02 07:07 |
| #1 It was a stupid acquisition for Daimler from the beginning anyway. What's more, the only way US car manufacturers are going to get their act together is if one of them is allowed to fail, which will tend to put a little fear of God in the remaining two. Might as well be Chrysler. |
| Posted by: Jonathan 2006-11-02 06:55 |