Chrysler filing for a 60-day Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

[Chuck]

President Obama addressing Chrysler in a White House news conference this morning.

Chris Isidore - New York - April 30, 2009

Will they get better or worse? --Ed.

Chrysler LLC is going to file for bankruptcy "almost immediately," a senior Obama administration official said Thursday. But a deal has been reached to combine the company with Fiat that will allow Chrysler to stay in business.

The bankruptcy filing,which will be made in federal court in New York, comes after some of the company's smaller lenders refused a Treasury Department demand to reduce the amount of money the troubled automaker owed them.

A senior administration official said there will be no immediate job cuts or plant closings due to the bankruptcy filing, although he said that Fiat will be examining the cost structure of Chrysler to find additional savings. Fiat has promises to use Chrysler's existing plants to build the small cars it now sells in Europe for the U.S. market.... [Read More]

[Taliesin]

I can't really vote in this one, since I don't know much about any of them except for the Ram.

And I believe the Ram is a good vehicle for the niche market that does need it.

[Chuck]

The poll is base on this article > http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/...ble/index.html

[kendan]

My experiences with newer Chryslers were a Town & Country van and a Dodge Magnum, both rentals. I found the T&C roomy but a little underpowered. The Magnum felt claustrophobic due to the small windows. The view out the rear window was like looking thru a periscope, it was terrible!! This was a V-6 version and it was under powered, and felt cheap! The Pontiac G6 I rented recently was much better, handled well and was powerful enough to handle the mountain's of East TN.

[chilimac02]

I ended up with a PT Cruiser as a rental once. It was about the worst thing I have ever driven. It was basically new, 4,000mi, but it had awful wind noise on the highway. It was small, lacked power, and had such small windows that I felt cramped.

Rams are OK as far as trucks go, but the other makes are probably better. The only vehicle that I liked in recent memory that was Chrysler made was my dad's old Dodge intrepid. 94 I believe. It had decent power, and tons of room. Of course for a 3.3 litre it only got 18mpg highway.

[bnther]

And what about the bailout money they've received?

[MaxxMPG]

- 300C - The wrong car at the wrong time. Sold on style and image alone, not quality, reliability, or capability.
- Caliber - Competent but oversized and overweight replacement for the Neon. Scavenged sales from it's Avenger platform-mate, not from other brands.
- Jeep Commander - A hastily repackaged Grand Cherokee guzzler with a third row crammed in the back. Motor Trend's tag line for it was, "Room for seven... dwarves".
- Ram - Another style/image vehicle - competent but marketed with the tag line "That thing got a Hemi?" instead of stressing durability and capability. While I see lots of contractors rolling in their Silverado/Sierra and F150 work trucks, virtually all Ram trucks I see are the sport models hauling nothing but air in the back and a driver with something to prove inside the cab.
- Nitro - A hastily repackaged Jeep Liberty with Tonka truck styling, offered so that Dodge dealers could offer the same thing Chrysler/Jeep dealers offer. Rolled out just as gas prices doubled. Doomed before the first buyer ever signed on.
- Sebring - An enlarged Mitsubishi Lancer with odd styling cues that make it look like a robotic insect. Big car price and fuel consumption with small car room and ride.
- I didn't care for any of them - That's what I answered.

While I have great respect for Chrysler's engineering achievements over the years, what we have today is *nothing* like the old Chrysler of a generation ago. Today, we have a company that has changed hands a couple of times, with each new owner abusing and neglecting the company and then dumping it on another owner. If you were going to adopt a dog, would you want one that has behavior problems and has been adopted, abused and neglected, and then given to the next owner to do more damage? What Chrysler needs is an automotive "Dog Whisperer" who can teach the new owners (the UAW and Uncle Sam) how to eradicate the bad behavior and salvage what's left and rebuild it in the image of what it once was.

Chrysler "firsts" among the domestics - technologies introduced or embraced/enhanced by Chrysler:
- Hydraulic brakes and separate mechanical emergency (parking) brake
- Electric fuel gage
- Oil and air filters
- Aero styling (1934 Airflow flopped, but it marked the first attempt by a major manufacturer to streamline their cars)
- Power steering
- Air conditioning (AirTemp was the most effective and reliable at the time)
- Infotainment - the first to factory install a radio, and the first to offer a phonograph (that played special 16rpm records)
- Hemi engine (which offers better efficiency, it was used for power at the time but is feasible to tune for economy)
- Cross Ram intake (intake manifold tuning - used today by all automakers)
- Gas turbine engine (Chrysler's version of the EV-1. 50 built, none survived. Interesting idea, horrible FE)
- Electronic ignition (for hotter spark and longer service intervals)
- Antilock Brakes (debut on 1971 Imperial)
- LeanBurn (good idea, poor execution due to computer tech at the time; introduced as a means for greater fuel economy at steady speeds)
- Front wheel drive subcompact car (for domestic manufacturers, the '78 Omnirizon beat GM's '80 X-cars and Ford's '81 Escort/Lynx to market)
- Minivan - a small 4 cylinder 7 passenger van that fits in a garage and is was at the time the just about most efficient way to transport 7 people by car.
- Fully electronic automatic transmission - Replaced mechanical valve body and levers/switches/springs/valves with 5 solenoids, actuated by a computer, to shift the transmission. The only mechanical connection to that first-gen Ultradrive was the shift lever.

Some ideas worked (or evolved) better than others. Many of the later ideas got off to a rough start due to great ideas not having enough time or funding to complete development and testing before initial sales. Others (ABS and LeanBurn) arrived too early for available technology to support their proper operation. But the engineers still deserve credit for the simplicity and brilliance of their ideas, and the hard work needed to develop them on short deadlines and scant budget.

[Right Lane Cruiser]

An automotive "Dog Whisperer" is indeed and apt metaphorical solution.

(Love that show, by the way! )

[ksstathead]

Nice list, Maxx.

[Blackbelt]

I am pretty close to things Chrysler. I own, dailey drive, and hypermile a caliber. i also own a Wrangler. i have spent considerable time in and around the automobiles listed in your poll. I will give my opinions based on my driving time, and also info i receive from my brother, who is a dealer service manager.

300C. If you need a larger sedan, this is a great choice. Personally, i do not like cars of this size, but many people do. I have driven several versions, but the one i liked was the AWD hemi. It was VERY powerful, yet i had no problem getting close to 28 mpg out of it. The AWD traction was phenominal.

Caliber. I liked it enough to buy one. I bought the AWD R/T, I live in the country, and it is very hilly around here and we get a fair amount of snow. AWD is very useful. I owned a few neons, and the caliber is a huge improvement. I am working my way up to 30 with mine, and should exceed it as my HM skills are honed. The steering(at least on my version) is quite sharp. MIne has the 18" wheels, which may make a difference. The interior IS cheap plastic crap. Mine has leather seats, and they are top notch. I have the boston acoustics stereo option with sub, and i have never heard a factory setup that sounded anywhere near as good as this one. I am coming up on 2 years of 100% reliable ownership. Not one issue since new. Plus, i love the styling....it has personality. Honda civics and accords just leave me cold.

Commander. I still cannot figure out the purpose for this vehicle. Bad bad idea, Way to go Dr Z. They drive horribly. Reminded me of my 1992 Explorer.

Nitro. All the bad attributes of the liberty, without any of the good attributes. Another answer to a question no one asked. The white ones remind me of the storm trooper helmet from star wars.

Sebring. This is a real disappointment to me. I owned a 2004 stratus, which was the same car as the previous generation sebring. That 04 was a great sedan. It was roomy, comfortable, rode and handled great, and with the 2.7L V6. it was powerful with great economy. I got high 30's out of mine, and bet i could get into the 40's with some techniques i have learned here. My stratus NEVER went to the shop for anything other than the routine mtse stuff. The new one is awful. I drove one yesterday and today. I couldn't wait to give it back and get my caliber back. They would have been much better off to keep making the previous gen with refinements.

Ram trucks....i am not a truck guy, but have driven rmans and dakotas, as well as ford and chevy. They all suck as far as i am concerned, but i guess the dodge sucked the least?

Someone mentioned a PT cruiser. I have a soft spot for the PT. I bought a new one in 2000 and kept it for 6 years. It was the most trouble free car i have ever owned. Nothing broke, ever. It just ran and ran. Very comfortable and versatile car, i will own another one of these days. That PT was more reliable than the 3 Hondas i owned in the past.

For someone like me, the current offering is lean. Other than the caliber and the wrangler, there isnt much that interests me (other than a hemi challenger, which is way too expensive a toy, i would NEVER own one to DD). I hope that they survive, for a lot of reasons (many selfish). I would love to see a Fiat 500 built here and sold here. I would buy one with no hesitation.