Chrysler town and country

While originally Chrysler was in talks with Tata and Fiat , among others, the company’s primary merger partner quickly narrowed to GM, which wants to sell Cerberus its remaining stake in financier GMAC in exchange for Detroit’s number three automaker. If such a scenario transpired, the General could possibly keep Chrysler’s minivans and the Jeep brand, while shutting down the remainder of Mopar’s operations .

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s sad that this is the start of demise for the once storied Chrysler automotive group. For being the smallest of the domestic 3, Chrysler had to endure being on the brink of bankruptcy in the 80s, a merger of ‘њnon-equals’ќ in the 90s and now private ownership in the new millennium.

Read the rest of this entry »

Chrysler LLC Thursday announced plans to eliminate 1,825 jobs at two facilities as the company struggles with a slowing economy. The company said it will cut about 825 workers at its Toledo, OH Jeep factory through the elimination of one shift. The planned closure of Chrysler’s Newark, DE plant, which makes sport utility vehicles, will be expedited, resulting in the cutting of about 1,000 jobs. Both moves are expected to be implemented by the end of 2008.

Read the rest of this entry »

There are no indications Chrysler will get back into the body-on-frame large SUV segment that has been hard hit by higher gasoline prices and a consumer shift to cars or car-based SUVs, also known as crossovers. Sales of the Durango have fallen 54 percent for the first nine months of the year, and Aspen is down 21 percent, according to Ward’s Automotive Reports.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today’s announcement coincided with a report from Daimler AG, which owns a 19.9-percent share of privately held Chrysler, that the U.S. automaker suffered a $772.5-million second-quarter loss due to slowing U.S. sales and a market shift to small cars.

Read the rest of this entry »

Through the end of September, sales of the Liberty are off 21 percent from last year, while sales of the Nitro are off 46 percent. Wrangler sales have dropped 30 percent. The automaker will offer buyout packages to employees to voluntarily sever their ties with the firm in exchange for between $70,000 and $100,000 in cash. Similar offers were made this week to Chrysler workers at several plants, including the Toledo Machining facility in Perrysburg Township.

Read the rest of this entry »

Special Report: Chrysler shutting down The announcement comes as the auto industry struggles to cope with a slowing global economy, a credit crunch and a shift toward smaller vehicles. Workers at the Newark plant have had the misfortune of assembling the worst-selling type of automobile — large sport utility vehicles — for a company needing to cut costs.

Read the rest of this entry »

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Chrysler LLC plans to reduce its white-collar workforce by 25% by the end of the year, the company said in an announcement Friday. The cuts, about 5,000 workers in total, will come from Chrysler’s salaried and supplemental workforce. Chrysler has about 18,500 white-collar workers. Salaried workers, which will will make up a majority of the job cuts, will be offered buyouts and early retirement packages, said Chrysler spokesman David Elshoff.

Read the rest of this entry »

Though announced at the 2007 Los Angeles auto show, the hybrid twins were to launch in the fall of 2008 and achieve better fuel economy than GM’s full-size hybrid SUVs. Chrysler says that there were many pre-orders for the two models, but it can’t justify operating the plant for the hybrids alone. A Chrysler spokesperson refused comment when ask what would happen to the approximately 3000 pre-orders that were already placed.

Read the rest of this entry »

On top of yesterday’s news Chrysler plans to shut down the Delaware SUV plant that makes the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen a year early is news this morning the automaker plans to cut 25% of their 18,500 white collar staff starting next month.

Read the rest of this entry »