Posted by MikeC [198.184.28.146] on Thursday, January 02, 2014 at 11:42:54 :
In Reply to: Fiat buys out the rest of Chrysler posted by Daryl in Oz [211.26.203.122] on Thursday, January 02, 2014 at 02:34:01 :
If it wasn't for Fiat, Chrysler would be history.
Chrysler is once again making some quality vehicles and the sales reflect the improvements. Fiat has realigned Dodge to be slightly edgy and performance oriented, turned Chrysler back into an upscale brand, split Ram off into a truck division, and significantly improved the entire lineup in performance, appearance and quality.
It was an entire series of management errors that put Chrysler into the position it held-Daimler and Cerberus being significant factors. But without Fiat, it's clear that Chrysler wouldn't have survived. Jeep would have been sold off (it still retained some value), but sales of Dodge (including trucks) and Chrysler weren't enough to sustain the brands-they would have folded.
Instead, Fiat has modernized and allowed Dodge, Ram and Chrysler to significantly improve quality. Marchionne has talked about issuing new stock on the combined company-most likely on the New York exchange rather than in Italy. He's also hinted that the new, combined company may be based in the US rather than Italy. Chrysler is able to sell vehicles with very little of the past incentives and discounts-another testament to the improvement in quality and salability.
I fail to see a downside-Chrysler is finally successful and again making vehicles that people want, and vehicles that are winning awards. They’ve had 44 consecutive months of sales increases-that’s a pretty good track record. Faced with the alternative of bankruptcy and closure, the Fiat/Chrysler merger seems to be a pretty good alternative.
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