Out with the old Chrysler and in with the new
Well, Chrysler has officially partnered with the Italian company, Fiat. So, there you have it, out with bankruptcy and starting a new life, so to speak. I feel very sorry for the 789 Chrysler dealerships around the country that are out of business now. That’s about 25% of the Chrysler dealerships and approximately 40,000 people. The new Chrysler will be owned by a trust fund (about 55%) created to ensure health care obligations are met for retired union Chrysler members. Then Fiat will own 20%, the U.S. government owning 8%, the Canadian government owning about 2%. Fiat will have the option to own more, but not until the U.S. government loans are repaid, which is about $10 billion so far. The key, according to officials, is that Chrysler needs to redesign its vehicles and start making small cars, which have about 15% of the U.S. sales right now. We’ll see if this happens. I hope it does for the company and the other 75% Chrysler dealerships. Good luck to all of them.