"Call the Chrysler failure a lock"

[XDCX]

It seems that ever since Mr. Nardelli made the "Operationally Bankrupt" comment that the floodgates have opened with negative stories about the future of Chrysler LLC.

The latest will be a story in the January 7th edition of the New Yorker Magazine where stock picker Jim Cramer makes the statement "Call the Chrysler failure [in 2008] a lock."

His prediction is made on his observation that Chrysler is in a weakened condition and he questions the abilities of Mr. Nardelli to make the necessary changes.

Fortune Magazine adds to the coverage with another story released today.

Here's a link to the Fortune story on Chrysler LLC: http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/03/news...tune/index.htm

[XDCX]

Here's another story questioning Chrysler's future with Cerberus:

http://www.autoobserver.com/2007/12/...li-cerber.html

While I take issue with the fact that the Banks have not been able to sell the $4 Billion in Chrysler Bonds, I was not aware that the VEBA payment as part of the UAW Agreement was not due until 2010.

Concerning the $4 Billion in Bonds - that's the Bank's headache, not Cerberus'.

Concerning VEBA, that's the program where the UAW assumes responsibility for Retiree Healthcare in exchange for a "lump-sum" of cash. GM was a big fan of this program because they had the cash on hand. Cerberus was never a fan of this program but went along with the pattern agreement.

As always, it will be interesting.

[XDCX]

I was reading through some of my posts last night and thought, this is going to be a depressing website for people to visit unless I add some balance.

In my opinion, I believe that most of the bad press can be attributed to Nardelli's "Operationally Bankrupt" comment - he should have known that the press would pick up on that.

I also wonder how much the resignation of Jason Vines, the Head of Chrysler's P.R. Department, may have contributed to the problem. Vines resigned just a day or two before Nardelli made his comment.

If Vines had been on board, he probably could have contacted his sources immediately after Nardelli's comment and minimized the damage. Without Vines, it appears that the Chrysler P.R. Department did nothing until the story became front page news. Then they reacted so strongly that some in the media thought that was "proof" that there must be a problem at Chrysler LLC.

I'd love to hear some other opinions - what are your thoughts about Chrysler LLC's future?

[XDCX]

OK, I know that I didn't want this thread to become too negative, but I just had to post this story: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/bus...0?OpenDocument

The quote concerning Chrysler's outlook for 2009 is near the bottom of the article.

The article also questions whether Cerberus will still own 80% of Chrysler LLC, in five years.

As a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge dealer, what are your thoughts about the future?