Is The Chrysler "TC" The Shape Of Things To Come?

Brian Sullivan, I don't know where you got your information, but you should do more research before you publish a story. The TC shared NO body parts with the LeBaron (I own both), and the chassis was tuned by Maserati. No FWD Chrysler product at the time handled or rode as well as the TC. The TC failed because of the high price when compared to the better-looking, lower-priced LeBaron. I have seen TC's sell for as much as $15,000 in the last year and last year I purchased a 20 year old Mercedes for $1100 so how can you draw a resale value on 20 year old vehicles? Finally, 30 years ago I was a technician working on some pretty crappy Toyota's. Things change. Tony Albanese Director of Operations Nelson Automotive Group

People seem to forget that along with their failures Chrysler has had success as well/ The mini-van is theirs, the popular SUV is also largely a Chrysler contribution to the automotive scene, retro styling in the form of the PT Cruiser was a huge hit in the early 2000's/ People forget that just 3 years ago the Chrysler 300 won the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award and now by all reports from the automative press the new 2009 Dodge Ram pick-up is the best in it's class....so where is this culture of failure/ I think what we have is the American automotive industry being forced to compete against the economic policies of entire nations/ But the rush to create the global economy at the expense of the American worker has crippled and destroyed not just our car industry but all manufacturing in the USA/ Why does our government think that what's good for workers in Korea is good for our workers/ When our all our manufacturing industries no longer exist, we will have no choice but to import our manufactured goods, we will be just another very large third world country/ It will be a balance of payments nightmare and when those countries that hold our debt tell us to jump we will respond....how high/

The time of Chrysler has come and gone. Fiat will keep the truck and Van parts along with Jeep and trash the rest. The real losers in all this will be the people whose money was invested in 401k ‘s. Not the union, at least not the head of the United Auto Workers. He keeps his job and salary which in unknown. The next one will be GM and a big share of the blame goes once again to the union bosses. Ask yourself this simple question, “How long does it take a striking worker to recoupe the money he lost while on the picket line? Simple answer He doesn’t!” However the Union head still draws his check while is people are ideal

I think the understanding to which Chrysler/Fiat and the unions must come is that Chrysler can no longer be a very high volume manufacturer. THe numbers need to be reduced until the cars can be built and sold at a profit. It won't help to build 1.4 million cars if it costs $18,000 to make one and you have a net sale price to the dealer of $17,000. Hyundai built cars to get into the market that were very inexpensive with questionable but not atrocious reliability (see Yugo) and then worked their way into the more mainstream market with cars that were heavier but more reliable. Now they are making cars that compete as well as Chrysler cars if not better. Chrysler needs to understand that they need to make cars that yield profit. If they can only make a profit selling 700k cars, they need to make 700k cars, and the union will simply kill the company for real if they insist on absurd compensation for those hurt in the required layoffs to meet the new reduced volume.

It's time to start a new AMERICAN car company. Let TRUE auto industry pioneers start over like in the old car days of the 1920-1930s. Re-capture the dream? I think we can if the GOVERNMENT gets out of the way. What auto alliance has ever REALLY worked? Ford may be on the right track. This SHOT GUN wedding between Chrysler and Fiat is a train wreck waiting to happen. Eventually the Italians will get fed up with the US Govt. and flush their investment just like Daimler did.

The first bail-out under Lee Iacocca was supposed to be the savior of Chrysler and it was for a couple of years. The "TC" was then supposed to push Chrysler ahead and it didn't. The merger of Chrysler and Daimler was supposed to be Chrysler's new paradigm and it was a dismal failure. Cerebrus Capital was supposed to be Chrysler's savior and new paradigm and that is now dead. The only chance the Fiat deal has is for the federal government to allow Fiat to close the Chrysler opertion completely, and reopen it with brand new people at evey level. The culture of failure at Chrysler is too pervasive for there to be any hope under other circumstance. The Chrysler brand must be buried once and for all; the vehicles emerging from those plants have to be Fiat vehicles inside and out.