OK, I'm paraphrasing. Freshly-minted (though perhaps not minty fresh) Chrysler CEO Boot'em Bob Nardelli rang-up The Rockford Register Star's star columnist Chuck Sweeny to schmooze. The fellow Auburn High School Knights yakked about federal corporate average fuel economy figures. Well, anyway, that's the news peg. And most of Sweeny's recollection sounds a lot like a PR release. But there is some meat to this matter. "Nardelli said he’ll need about 100 days before he can make a realistic assessment of what needs to be done to make Chrysler successful as an independent company, but he said his experience at GE is exactly what he needs to guide Chrysler: 'I’ve been there, done that before.'" First, BEB's 100-day assessment flies in the face of Cerberus' modus operandi, as reported by Portfolio ("When Cerberus pulls the trigger on a new purchase, it executes a detailed 100-day plan"). Secondly, it seems our fears of Boot'em Bob Six Sigma-ing Chrysler to death are not without foundation. Meanwhile, BEB's optimism knows no bounds, and he really, really wants to be seen as a car guy. "This is a really good business, and I’ve always had this romance about cars."
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Shouldn’t be too hard to do better then Congress.
What a tool… pun intended.
From Portfolio.com:
“When Cerberus pulls the trigger on a new purchase, it executes a detailed 100-day plan. “In every deal, there’s always a honeymoon period…You can do a lot in those first months.” Of course, it’s not necessarily a honeymoon if you’re on the other side.
Cerberus reassesses all employees of the company it’s buying and, according to Gregory, their compensation.
Once Cerberus is in, it doesn’t hesitate to start slicing.”
With rough roads like that ahead, my heart goes out to everyone at the Pentastar…esp the people who survive the honeymoon period.
About the time (or just before) GE Bob unveils his “plan” to Cerberus, Cerberus is going to explain to Bob what he is going to do.
And he’ll probably do it. They don’t think that much differently. That’s why they hired him.
“A company utterly besieged by bean counters has just hired Mr. Bean.”
– Dan Neil
Here’s my prediction for Chryslerberus’s findings after the 100 days…
-Focus on better interiors
-Jeep Compass killed (to make room for Patriot)
-Jeep Commander killed (Next Grand Cherokee to have 3 rows)
-Sebring sedan killed (convertible and Dodge Avenger kept)
-PT Cruiser replacement based on Calibre announced
-Refresh of Magnum, 300, Charger killed.
-Challenger cancelled
-Viper killed
-Aspen killed
-Wrangler JT pickup okayed for production (please God!) http://www.offroaders.com/tech/jeep/images/Jeep-JT-Concept-3.jpg
-General focus of Chrysler = Luxury, Dodge = Everyman, Jeep = Ruggedness
Of course, this would make the most sense to me any.
Dear Chryslerburus
Please just hold out long enough to make a few Challengers.
Thanks,
Mike
Blunozer:
I agree with your predictions except for these few:
-Refresh of Magnum, 300, Charger killed. (These have been the lone salvation the last few years)
-Challenger cancelled (do you have any idea the hype this car has generated?)
-Viper killed (in 6 years this thing generated $600 million for the company.)
They need to keep these few ‘good’ products that you predict will be killed (so long as they do in fact generate $$$), scrap the crap that you mentioned, and then focus on defining the brands and really getting some competitive stuff on the market.
Something tells me Chrysler employees are more than ready to bring it on, as they are angry at Daimler and would really love to show them how good they can be (as they were before the takeover).
I don’t see the Magnum, 300 or Charger being killed..hell those are on the short list of Chrysler products that actually have energetic fanbases at the moment.
I agree on common sense leading to the death of the Commander and Compass..both were brand defiling offerings that no one was looking for.
The Challenger is a Hail Mary pass waiting to be thrown..there’s no way I can see anyone with half a brain cell killing off something that could create a small frenzy like the neo-retro Mustang when it was released…
With rough roads like that ahead, my heart goes out to everyone at the Pentastar…esp the people who survive the honeymoon period.
Looks like the honeymoon is gearing to be some serious S&M raping for the Chrysler employees…
“This is a really good business, and I’ve always had this romance about cars.”
I see a romance explosion on the way! VERY NICE!
@Picard234:
I didn’t mean the Magnum or 300 will be killed just refreshed. I think the Charger might be killed because it overlaps to much with the 300.
As far as the Challenger… Am I the only one who sees it as a losing proposition? It’s basically a 2 door Charger. It’ll be too heavy, too expensive, and too much of a gas guzzler. Sure the Mustang might be doing well, but its got a hell of a lot more pedigree and a much bigger fanclub.
The Viper is currently getting sand kicked in its face by the cheaper Z06 ‘Vette. I doubt the beancounters at Cerebrus will spend the money to update such a low volume car.
Chrylser desperatley need to improve their eco-image as well. Dropping the Charger, Viper, and Challenger will definately help in that department.
The Viper was just updated for 2008. With 600HP now on tap, the Z06 is no longer a threat. Plus, fuel economy has improved significantly, and the resulting reducation in gas guzzler tax makes the 2008 model cheaper than the 2006 that preceded it.
The Charger sells over 100K units per year, and I don’t think there’s a 300-overlap problem in the general marketplace. They’re not going to cancel it.