Automotive News [sub] begins the day with a snippet from former Chrysler and current Chrysler Prez Jim Press. The headline grabs a quote from Jimbo’s address at the ironically-named Convergence 2008 conference. Press’ exhortation tells a tale of corporate defiance and American grit: “Dontcha wish your pension was hot like mine?” Just kidding. “We’re going to be here,” Press pronounces. How inspirational is that? But credit Jim for a sense of humor, you know, providing you don’t actually work for Chrysler. “He said he had to acknowledge ‘the elephant in the room,’ then quipped, “There is a lot of distraction in our industry that is fueled by speculation. All I ask is stop reading the newspaper.” What’s a newspaper? Anyway, like any Motown exec wearing a golden parachute, he just had to take it that one step too far, explaining why GM is intent on swooping down on ChryCo to hoover its cash and pick its bones clean and leave it for dead (which it will be). “Our strategy is working. Maybe that’s why lots of people are sniffing around the Chrysler vault lately.” Yeah, that must be it.
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Since, according to your guidelines, I can’t credit him with a sense of humor, I’ll just have to say this insufferable Bozo is becoming more than I can take. And I thought Nardelli was the idiot.
Just to be clear: our guidelines forbid flaming the website, its authors or fellow commentators. Unless Press joins the Best and Brightest (C’mon down!), he’s fair game.
Mr Press clearly did not learn anything by working at Toyota, and clearly left in a miff because he was not promoted fast enough.
Just looking at his delusional comments clues me in that he wasn’t paying any attention at all, all the while he was working at Toyota – and their corporate culture didn’t seem to rub off onto him in the least.
Perhaps he is a microcosm of what is wrong with the management of America. Refusing to learn from people who came to America, learned what worked, learned from people such as Edward Demings (who was totally ignored in America), went back to Japan, improved and did a better job. Then came to America and whooped butt on the US competition, which hasn’t learned a thing.
In the meanwhile, due to total incompetence at the top (at all levels – corporate, finance, GovCorp/aka Congress AND Presidential administration, as well as high courts – we the people get to suffer in every imaginable way.
And you ain’t seen ANYTHING yet. For a tiny preview of what’s coming, look at Iceland.
But that’s all okey dokey for Mr. Press ‘coz for now, he has a golden parachute! Guess what? Gold is heavy…
Mr. Farago,
I was referring to your “unofficial” guideline in the blog concerning Chrysler employees not crediting Press’s jocularity.
Jim Press is looking forward to Chrylser being dumped or broken up so that he can go out and buy a Lexus again.
br549 :
Ah. More coffee, then.
Ah. More coffee, then.
Gallons, my friend, gallons.
Is he serious? Sounds more like the 3 headed hell hound is chasing every potential buyer possible. I’ll be looking for my offer in the mail soon.
Chrysler is dead brand walking (hobbling, crawling, pulling along with only its weak arms). The only people I know that own any new Chrysler products work for them in some fashion. These are the butt ugliest, cheapest, POS’s I have ever seen. I see a lot of Chrysler products in Kokomo, IN, near the transmission plant, but their number decrease exponentially the farther you drive from there.
Lictronamo, maybe Press and Mullaly can get the Detroit Exec Edition…