Main | Monday, May 14, 2007

Chrysler: In The Bargain Bin

Nine years ago DaimlerBenz bought Chrysler for $37 billion. Today they sold the bulk of the company to a private equity firm for the bargain basement price of $7.4 billion. Ouch! Lee Iaccoca, who famously engineered a government bailout of Chrysler in 1979, is "broken hearted." The new owners of Chrysler are faced with billions of dollars in employee costs thanks to retiree pensions and health plans. For the sake of the employees, I hope Chrysler survives, but I'm not holding my breath. The PT Cruiser was cute and I love to rent Sebring convertibles when I travel, but with the minivan segment nosediving thanks to gas prices, I would be surprised to see Chrysler still around in a few years.

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