Re: OT: Dodge Charger

From: jon@dakota-truck.net
Date: Fri Jan 14 2005 - 18:32:17 EST


"Ryan Stewart" <dapurplert@dakota-durango.com> wrote:

: Just because AOL and TimeWarner merged doesn't mean either one no longer
: exists, same as ChryCo and MB. It's a MERGER, so what if some higher-ups
: from Germany were put in charge of ChryCo? They finally with their
: second attempt got someone in there who did what no American was doing
: by turning it around and making some cool ass cars again finally. I am
: not racist so I could care less if the guy who did it came from Germany,
: Russia, or France (OK, maybe France....) as long as he has a true
: passion for the car he is developing, and I truly believe Dieter does.

: I am tired of hearing this BS that ChryCo is gone when truth is it's
: doing the best it has in DECADES.....

   I didn't say that Chrysler doesn't exist, I said that it was "a
facade of the entity it once was". There is a company called "Chrysler",
but 'tis not the same. It is run by completely different people, and
a buttload (that's a technical term) ;-) of talent and top managment
jumped ship when the "merger" happened. (It wasn't really a merger,
DaimlerBenz essentially purchased Chrysler; it bears more resemblance
to a hostile takeover than a merger.) Heck - Jurgen Schrempp (sp?)
has come right out and said as much. If you're looking for excuses
to call BS on things, start with the "merger of equals" crap.

   Wether the "merger" was for the better or for the worse could probably
be debated, as there is some room for personal perspective and opinion,
but facts are facts, today's Chrysler is not the same company it once
was, the same way that today's Indian motorcycle company is not the same
company it once was. It may be arguable that there might be no
company out there which is the same as it once was due to its management
turnover over the years, but its especially obvious when something as
drastic as the DB/Chrysler "merger" happens to so completely sever
the ties to the past.

   Chrysler was on a *major* rebound surge when DaimlerBenz (with some
insider help) stomped 'em and spent all $20 billion of Chrysler's cash
reserves. IMHO, Chrysler would probably be doing even *better* today
if it were on its own. Unfortunately, now we'll never know. (Hey,
if anyone figures out how to jump between parallel universes, let me
know, I want to go to that one.) ;-)

-- 
                                          -Jon-

.-- Jon Steiger ---- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com --. | 1970 Barracuda - 1990 Dakota 'vert - 1992 Ram 4x4 - 1996 Dakota | | 1996 Intruder 1400 - 1996 Kolb FireFly - 2001 Ram QC 3500 CTD | `------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com --'



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