Chrysler is now a private company. Unlike General Motors and Ford, whose stocks are publicly traded, Chrysler doesn’t have to show you the books unless it wants to. So while the other two big American carmakers had to disclose record losses in their quarterly reports this week, Chrysler got to keep its mouth shut. One problem: Daimler, who still owns almost 20 percent of Chrysler, is publicly traded, and Daimler must report the value of its stake in Chrysler. In its disclosure, Daimler said that it had lost €373 million ($584 million) from Chrysler in the first quarter of this year. Chrysler, who does not want to give the appearance of knocking on death’s door, was quick to point out that outside items, including the difference between the U.S. and international accounting standards, make the actual loss more like €65 million ($102 million).
The press release with full breakdown after the jump.
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Volt is not even built yet and it is already in danger. As the gas price is getting bigger by the day people are looking for alternative powers. And it seems that the electrical one is the best at the moment.
Chrysler is considering an electric car that might be unveiled in the next three to five years. The company launched a special division within the company last fall called ENVI — pronounced like "envy" — to bring electric-drive vehicles and related advanced-propulsion technologies to market.
"ENVI is currently developing electric vehicles for the three Chrysler brands and is planning on product within three to five years," Nick Cappa, a Chrysler spokesman, told the Free Press.
Around September, Chrysler will begin to offer two hybrids: the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango — both SUVs and both priced below GM’s similar models.
Chrysler wants you to spend more time in your car. So, beginning in August, you can turn almost any Chrysler vehicle into a Wi-Fi hotspot for under $500.
The new service is called “uconnect”, and it can provide Wi-Fi service to occupants as well as anyone within 100 feet of the vehicle. Chrysler is specifically touting uses for the system that include, downloading songs to your iPod, watching TV through Sirius’ new satellite service, and receiving turn-by-turn directions through Bluetooth phone connectivity. According to Chrysler, “Wherever cellular service is available, uconnect web enables all vehicle passengers to simultaneously connect with WiFi-enabled devices like a laptop, iPhone, Sony Playstation (PSP), PDA and more.”
So from now on long car trips, dad can download his classic rock, mom can IM her boyfriend, and the kids can watch cable TV, so there is definitely no reason to talk anymore.
Your Car Is Now a Hotspot Picture Gallery
Nissan will be out of the business of building full-size trucks after only one generation. In a deal with Chrysler, Nissan will be making a version of the entry-level Versa for Chrysler to sell in South America starting in 2009. The following year Nissan will manufacture another small car for Chrysler for worldwide distribution. In return, Nissan will be given a re-badged version of the Dodge Ram beginning in 2011.
When the Titan first arrived in 2004, Nissan built a new facility in Canton, Mississippi, specifically for their full-size truck/SUV/minivan platform. Now that the Titan is moving out of town, this will be replaced by new commercial vehicles Nissan is developing for the North American market.
About 30 years ago, famed former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca had a plan. He believed that the auto industry should merge a European, Japanese, and American car company into a “Global Motors” conglomerate. With Nissan and Renault already sharing stock and a CEO, could the ailing Chrysler be the final piece of Iacocca’s prophecy?
Remember the Titans Picture Gallery
June is traditionally a robust month for auto sales in the U.S., but this time it marks a 17-year low according to the Chicago Tribune. Figures are particularly down for American carmakers. Reports indicate that General Motors’ sales were down 18%, Ford lost 28%, and Chrysler slid by 36%. This is not isolated to domestic car makers, as Toyota’s sales also lost 21% and Nissan was down 18%.
Although sales numbers aren’t sexy, they show a real gauge of the buying public. Despite offering a buffet of discounts ranging from employee pricing to gas discounts, buyers stayed away in droves. If the buying public doesn’t respond soon, this could be the beginning of brand consolidation. For instance, auto industry analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc., suggested that GM may not only dump Hummer, but also look to eliminate GMC because all of its products are redundant.
The biggest bright spots were Honda and Volkswagen who had approximate June gains of 14% and 5% respectively.
Slow Summer Sales Could Lead To Less Brands Picture Gallery
The rumors are swirling once again – Chrysler Corp LLC may be headed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. Currently there are official denials of any problems with liquidity and Chrysler spokesman Dave Elshoff said “The rumor is without merit”. However, let’s take a moment and reflect back about 30 years ago when Chrysler had similar woes.
It’s 1979 and the Chrysler Corporation had petitioned the US Government for $1.5 billion in guaranteed loans to stave off bankruptcy. Congress reluctantly agrees and then President Jimmy Carter signs the loan into law. What caused all of Chrysler’s problems? It was two-fold: 1) the 1970’s oil crisis which triggered unbelievable price increases in gasoline and long lines at the pump. Americans turned to the more economical Japanese auto makers while US manufacturers were left holding the bag with their big, overbearing, gas guzzling behemoths; and 2) Chrysler Corporation was so far behind on updating their factories that they we unable to even retool in order to catch up with the Japanese. Fortunately, Chrysler had the foresight to hire Lee Iaccoca away from Ford Motor Company and the rest is history. The K-Car saved the company and Chrysler was able to repay their debt in record time.
Today, the picture is a little different; the Chrysler Corp. LLC is run by Cerberus Capital Management, one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The company was formed in 1992, some 67 years after Chrysler was established. The business of CCM is to make money for its investors through choosing solid companies to purchase. Now, while this is nothing new in the world of big business, it does seem odd for CCM to purchase a company that even the world renowned Daimler AG could not keep afloat. Although CCM does seem to have a penchant for buying barely treading water companies like Target and GMAC, but retail and finance are very different animals compared to auto manufacturing.
Consider this; earlier this week, Chrysler Corp. LLC drew on a $2.0 billion line of credit from Daimler AG and Cerberus at an interest rate of 7% over the London interbank rate. Chrysler lost more than $1.6 billion in 2007 and sales are down over 23% so far this year. So what does all this mean? If Cerberus and Daimler AG, who still has a 19% stake in the company, decide to dismantle Chrysler, the economic ramifications will reverberate through the US and the world. Chrysler employs more than 100,000 people and many more thousand worker jobs depend upon the company purchasing the products designed and/or manufactured at their company. The blow to the US economy would certainly be catastrophic considering the seesaw slide we are on right now. A company with good liquidity does not tap their $2 billion line of credit unless something is wrong. Let’s hope it is just a rumor, otherwise we are in for a huge wallop.
C’est http://www.autosdz.com, un nouveau site Web pour les annonces gratuites de vente et location de véhicules automobiles toutes carrosseries neufs ou d’occasion à travers le territoire national algérien. Réalisé par l’agence Web & IT http://www.webitech.net (enregistrement de nom de domaine et hébergement, structure architecturale, design, tests, mise en ligne et gestion générale).
Origine de l’idée : Sans rupture avec son prédécesseur http://www.engindz.com spécial engins, le site est né du (...)
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Mopar® announced today that it will launch uconnect web™, Chrysler LLC’s in-vehicle wireless Internet connectivity for Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge consumers in the U.S. uconnect web, powered by Autonet Mobile, delivers continuous Internet connectivity to all vehicle passengers for entertainment and real-time information access on the go.
uconnect web will be available in August as a dealer-installed Mopar Accessory. Mopar is Chrysler LLC’s original equipment parts manufacturer and distributor.
The industry-first technology provides high-speed data transfer, combining WiFi and 3G connectivity. uconnect web transforms the vehicle into a mobile “hot spot,” delivering unlimited, reliable and uninterrupted Internet connectivity for all passengers in and around the vehicle. The “hot spot” connection radius is approximately 100 feet—making it convenient to access the Internet at a soccer field or family picnic.
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This vehicle is a clear example that if you don’t have the money to buy yourself a new car, then you can update your old one. The car you see in the photos is a
Mercedes E-Class and due to the fact that is old the owner wanted to refresh it a little and updated with a facelift. As you can see from the front the car looks exactly like a
Chrysler 300C...too bad that the rest of the car remained the same...the owner could modify also the rear to look like a Chrysler. What’s your opinion?
Thomas Hausch, Chrysler ’s vice president for international purchasing said that the company will unveil a compact car model based on the concept car Hornet in 2010. "We are working intensely on the Hornet study," Hausch said. "I think we will announce something on this in the future."
The future compact car will be available in Europe, the United States and other markets.
More and more companied go on smaller cars as soaring gasoline prices weigh on demand for gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks in the U.S. Also building compact cars may help reduce their dependence on the U.S. market, where the financial market crisis and high gas prices have led to a slump in car sales in past months.
Dodge Hornet Concept
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