Chrysler Bankruptcy: Friday Recap
Yesterday’s news about Chrysler filing for bankruptcy was monumental in many ways. Since the announcement by President Barack Obama, more news has come to light about the deal. Much of it is of concern to car shoppers. Here’s our rundown.
- The U.S. government will continue to back the warranties of new Chrysler vehicles sold through June 30,2009. Bankruptcy proceedings could take longer and we'd expect the government to extend coverage if that happens. Chrysler’s current offering is a three-year/36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty, with a lifetime powertrain warranty that covers the engine and transmission only and is not transfferable.
- The current Employee Pricing Plus Plus incentives on Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles will continue through May 4. Some say not to expect huge discounts to follow after that, even with the company in bankruptcy.
- Chrysler will shut down all its U.S. factories for at least the next 30 days, and some for 60 days, starting May 4. Some suppliers of Chrysler parts stopped shipping new parts once the company declared bankruptcy, fearing they would not be paid. Plants affected by those supplier shortages have already shut down.
- As of April 1, Chrysler had an average of 87 days of new vehicle inventory on lots. That’s close to Ford’s 80 but far better than GM’s 122 days of inventory.
- Don’t expect a sexy little Fiat 500 to come to a Chrysler dealer near you anytime soon. Estimates have the 500 arriving as early as the first quarter of 2010.
- Chrysler Chairman Robert Nardelli announced he will leave the company once the bankruptcy is complete. Chrysler Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda — who was demoted when Chrysler was sold to Cerberus LLC last year — plans to announce he will leave the company before bankruptcy is complete. Jim Press, another vice chairman and formerly of Toyota, looks to stay on.
- Chrysler tried to form partnerships with almost every other automaker — including Chinese companies — before settling on the Fiat partnership.
- A number of analysts say larger discounts on Chrysler products will not be coming so buy one now if you're interested.
- Chrysler sales were down 48% in April compared to the same month in 2008. That was the worst decline of any full-line manufacturer over the same period.
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You spelled "Barack" wrong.
fixed. Sorry about that. These are all edited.
I think Chrysler was doing so smart deals before the economy tanked. Routan van for VW and Nissan Truck. Selling more vehicles under different names.
Although I'm not optimistic about Fiat... let's be honest, there was no other way for them to survive. Lesson learned would be to see how they chart the course from this point forward. They need another start power vehicle similiar to how they took the lead on minivans.
There isn't 1 Chrysler, Jeep, or Dodge vehicle that appeals to me at all. That whole company should be let go. Jeep might be the only part that has some appeal for some anyways.
Would somebody PLEASE buy Jeep and give it the respect it deserves??? There should be THREE vehicles-- the posh grand cherokee, a stripped down and rugged wrangler, and a basic old fashioned cherokee-like vehicle. Make them authentic, reliable, and less plasticky and people will buy them in droves. Don't try to compete with cute 'utes and all that stupidity. Biggest mistake jeep made was dumping the cherokee in 2001 and replacing it with a Nissan Xterra copy.
Mark,
I totally agree Mark. Jeep is probably the only part that is worth saving and building on. Stupid vehicles like compass, liberty, commander, and patriot should be cut immediatly and gone. Build up Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and if they can come up with a new 3rd product would be good.
So what happens to those of us with lemon law cases and warranty cases against them? My lawyer said he don't know what is going to happen. They make and sell bull s vehicles and they are getting away with not being responsible for my lemon. Oh know Chrysler I don't think so you will buy back this vehicle I won't let you get away that easy. Your troubles are from your own mishandling. I will not if it is the last thing I do let you get away with this.
With Chrysler now in bankruptcy, our attention will turn to whether Obama’s promise of a short and surgical bankruptcy, coupled with an alliance agreement with Fiat, will ultimately be realized. http://pfx.me/lK