Fiat to buy full control of Chrysler

Steve S wrote:
Thanks Fiat for taking things over, keep in mind you can't polish S#@T.

Nice!

Must be another Blue Oval Guy.

Jus2shy wrote:
Now Freightliner isn't what it used to be either due to Daimler.

Was not brilliant before but "Freightshaker" has become worse. Western Star is great on the other hand. Mercedes has expanded to India(Bharat -Benz), cleaned up UD trucks and wants to challenge Volvo as the most profitable and productive Global truck maker

RFCN2 wrote:
Having owned 3 Mercedes cars back in the 80's and 90's I cannot for the life of me figure out how they can sell those cars unless the buyers are all like I was back in the day and I wanted to be "seen" in a Benz.

They have no problem selling a lot of them across the globe including the US

Wilbur 1 wrote:
Chrysler had no cash when Fiat bought in and now it does but Fiat had no part in that. Right

Spot on. Marchionne has done some very good things for Jeep especially. We get the SUV's sent here with the diesels(Euro V) compliant from the US. Yes RHD and Euro V compliant, something GM and Ford find very hard to do. The other thing that was very noticeable was the improvement in build quality which was pretty so so under Mercedes ownership(considering the Grand Cherokee started out as a Mercedes SUV )that was a plus.
He wants to build a combined organisation to take on the other players Globally. Ford just ranks above Fiat/Chrysler , so who knows Fiat/Chrysler could be 6th instead of Ford?

One of my oldest friends worked for Chrysler for 30 years. Now retired. When the combo between Fiat and Chrysler happened I told him it would be a good thing. It has been. Fiat has added a lot of polish to the Chrysler products and that has helped sales. So much so that I I bought a Jeep Wrangler 4 door about 10 months ago that I love. It is a fantastic tow car and a great car for me to bang around San Diego in.

I worked with and for Germans for most of my career in the printing equipment field. When MB merged with Chrysler in 1990 I guessed it would be bad. German companies are mostly run by arrogant engineers who think anything not German is trash. Having owned 3 Mercedes cars back in the 80's and 90's I cannot for the life of me figure out how they can sell those cars unless the buyers are all like I was back in the day and I wanted to be "seen" in a Benz.

Walter P Chrysler has a smile on his face at the moment.

Lessmore wrote:

sch911 wrote:
Well... I work there (30y) and can tell you the Fiat/Chrysler relationship is totally different from the Daimler/Chrysler relationship. 100% two way sharing now as opposed to 100% one way with Daimler. I remain encouraged by what I see daily....

I think the most accurate pulse taking of how a business is doing is by hearing from the guy who works there. Good for Chrysler and good for FIAT.

Yet, rest assured, some posters will still draw their own conclusions feeling they have a better read on the situation than a guy that's worked there since the early 80s.

I was at a NYE party & had the pleasure of having a half-drunk hotshot CEO-type go on and on about the ins-and-outs of clinical research and the FDA approval process for investigational drugs. For every 1 thing he had right he'd make 3-4 statements that were blatantly incorrect.

Even really bright people often don't know what they don't know.

sch911 wrote:
Well... I work there (30y) and can tell you the Fiat/Chrysler relationship is totally different from the Daimler/Chrysler relationship. 100% two way sharing now as opposed to 100% one way with Daimler. I remain encouraged by what I see daily....

That sounds good. Hope it works.

hone eagle wrote:

wilber1 wrote:

hone eagle wrote:


Fiat gamble
They have big plans in europe for new luxury product and need Chryslers cash- sound familiar?

Chrysler had no cash, that is why Fiat now owns Chrysler. Fiat owns Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia and Alfa Romeo, I'm thinking they should be able to build some decent luxury vehicles.

They have huge cash now ,Fiat needs it.

Chrysler had no cash when Fiat bought in and now it does but Fiat had no part in that. Right.

Thanks Fiat for taking things over, keep in mind you can't polish S#@T.