Hobbled Chrysler plans to stiff taxpayers for $3.7 billion

Hobbled Chrysler plans to stiff taxpayers for $3.7 billion
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/index

Updated: 12:44 p.m. ET

Life seems to only be getting rougher for Chrysler.

The smallest of Detroit's Big 3 is going to cost taxpayers $3.7 billion
because its pre-bankruptcy government loans aren't going to be paid
back. Chrysler is stuck with a tired product line that won't get any
fresher at least until next May when the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, shown
above when it was unveiled last April, starts production. Chrysler's new
Italian leader says it may take Chrysler two years to win back
customers, an eternity in the capital-intensive car business.

Chrysler is on track to post the worst sales performance of the 10
largest automakers this year. Sales tumbled 38% during the first 11
months of the year. In November, sales were still down 25% even as Ford
and General Motors had largely swung back to even compared to the same
month a year ago, Autodata figures show. Not bleak enough? Consider this:

Underscoring its lack of product, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep have no press
conferences scheduled for the all-important Detroit auto show where new
models are typically unveiled amid lots of hoopla. There used to be one
press conference for each brand before its bankruptcy reorganization
earlier this year. It may put a new Italian Lancia on the floor, but
that's it. The company rolled out its product plans to the press in
early November, so the new management figures that will suffice.

Dealers are stuck selling the same tired models that have gone without
updates for years now. A refreshed Dodge Charger is coming, but not a
lot else. Even Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, with a controlling stake in
Chrysler, sounds pessimistic about about a turnaround.

"There is reluctance on the part of the consumer base to come back to
the brands," Marchionne said in a news conference last week, as quoted
by Reuters. "The problem with this is that there is no immediate
solution to rebuilding brand equity. My experience says that it cannot
be done in less than 24 months," he said.

While General Motors has started to repay its loans from the federal
government, the corporate shell that picked up all of Chrysler's
pre-bankruptcy debt, now known as Old Carco L.L.C., said in a filing
that it plans to stiff the government on $3.7-billion in loans -- even
though other creditors will be paid in full, the Associated Press
reported last week. Marchionne has said Chrysler plans to repay for the
government for its post-bankruptcy loans.

Chrysler is hard to recognize nowadays from the heyday it enjoyed
earlier in this decade. Remember Hemis? It was just two years ago that
Chrysler staged its cattle drive through the streets of Detroit to
introduce the Ram pickup. (Never mind that the steers started getting
amorous with each other). Chrysler was famous for its auto-show antics,
whether it was driving an SUV up the steps and into the convention
center through a glass wall, blizzarding the press with an avalance of
confetti to introduce the now-gone Chrysler Aspen or handing out bongo
drums to beat a rhythm to some new introduction.

All that razzmatazz is gone. Now Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep are the
walking wounded of the auto industry.

 

Chrysler under Cerberus ownership should have immediately began plans to
bring back the LH platform and flush the heavy LX platform down the
toilet.

The LX platform served Daimler well as a destination for a lot of
mercedes components, but it only made LX vehicles more heavy and
expensive. All-wheel-drive passenger sedans was a crock of shit who's
only purpose was to extract a not-insignificant amount of $$$ from the
stupid idiots who fell for slick marketing.

 

I have to agree with you.
Unfortunately Daimler got Chrysler into that RWD/AWD 300 monster car and
Cerberus cut the designers required to bring back the LH for todays
market. Upgraded engine and body designs are needed.

I have my doubts about Chrysler surviving so I must see my dealer ASAP
to have that minor 300M recall done.

 

What 300M recall? My '02 300M has been serviced regularly by the dealer,
so I assume that all recall fixes have been done, but ...

Perce

 

What 300M recall? My '02 300M has been serviced regularly by the dealer,
so I assume that all recall fixes have been done, but ...

Perce[/QUOTE]

My 300M is 2004.
According to the Chrysler recall notice:
The recall is July 17, 2009 Emissions Recall J18.
They say it applies to SOME 2003 & 2004 Concorde, Intrepid and 300M
vehicles.
It's a reprogramming of the PCM to prevent catalytic converter damage
from "limp in" mode following a camshaft position sensor fault.

Looks like your 2002 doesn't need it.
Chrysler sends out recall notices to the owner on file.
I just got this car in Aug2007 and they found me.

 

My 300M is 2004.
According to the Chrysler recall notice:
The recall is July 17, 2009 Emissions Recall J18.
They say it applies to SOME 2003 & 2004 Concorde, Intrepid and 300M
vehicles.
It's a reprogramming of the PCM to prevent catalytic converter damage
from "limp in" mode following a camshaft position sensor fault.

Looks like your 2002 doesn't need it.
Chrysler sends out recall notices to the owner on file.
I just got this car in Aug2007 and they found me.[/QUOTE]

That recall was suspended on 10/14 due apparently to gross technical
incompetence at Chrysler these days.

For discussion of it, go to
http://300mclub.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=20621

Probably start reading backwards from the last page (page 6) of that
discussion. People on the various LH-specific car forums were reporting
problems with their own cars early on in that recall campaign. Then the
campaign was suspended on 10/14.

I would like to think that any dealer will inform you of the suspension
of the recall if you were to take it in and ask that it be done.