Chrysler makes progress on the sale of the Dodge Viper business
Chrysler LLC has drawn interest from international and North American parties for the possible sale of its high-performance Dodge Viper sports car line, Vice Chairman and President Jim Press told reporters on Wednesday.
Chrysler in late August announced it was exploring the sale of the Viper sports car business as part of its effort to generate cash and ride out the deepening U.S. auto industry downturn. The Viper is a low-volume V10-powered sports car first produced in 1992.
“We have been approached by outside individuals who want to work with us to buy the asset and sustain Viper going forward,” Press told reporters after an Automotive Press Association event.
Press said it would not be necessary for Chrysler to retain any stake in the sports car line.
It sounds like Press is not a fan of the “halo car” marketing approach. He is turning Chrysler into Toyota. High volume, fewer brands and models, focused on quality and efficiency.
Chrysler says parties interested in buying Viper - reuters.com
September 14th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
They’re gonna need that money for the next round of buyouts!
PERFECT TIMING!
September 14th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
“It sounds like Press is not a fan of the “halo car” marketing approach. He is turning Chrysler into Toyota. High volume, fewer brands and models, focused on quality and efficiency.”
Lets all pray!
September 15th, 2008 at 6:29 am
Administrator…you need to start a blog on the recent events at CFC with respect to their new floor plan policy and how it will effectively terminate those dealers who are cash poor!
September 15th, 2008 at 6:30 am
“It sounds like Press is not a fan of the “halo car” marketing approach. He is turning Chrysler into Toyota. High volume, fewer brands and models, focused on quality and efficiency. ”
Stop this bullshit speculation.
September 15th, 2008 at 6:31 am
Dealers who are cash poor and stocking more than they afford should be shut down. If they can not afford to be in business they shouldn’t be. All they are doing is continueing the glut of over credit by CFC and other financial institutions.
September 15th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Press and crew are pretty smart. If C is to survive, they have to start doing business based on reality, not tradition. If he is trying to shape C into something that looks more like Toyota, that is a good thing…I mean great thing. Better that C try to emulate the most successsful car company in the world than Ford or GM, or even (God forbid) the Damlier run C.
September 15th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
Good, I don’t like to see the Viper sold but it’s better than chrysler selling off dodge or jeep. The viper is a great car but they can’t keep it after the new emissions laws take effect anyways.
September 15th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080915/AUTO01/809150372/1148
The Viper as halo car was great in the 1990s. But like it or not, the model for a halo vehicle in an era of gasoline at 4 bucks a gallon is Prius..
This Detroit News story reports on how Ford is trying to get its mojo back. Chrysler is following a different pattern, using Nissan and Chery for small cars, not Europeans. Nevertheless, there are some insights here that are relevant to Chrysler’s situation and to the condition of the entire industry.
September 15th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Cerberus: New Chrysler products will have appeal
Cerberus chairman says Chrysler must produce cars people like, offer them at attractive prices
http://chrysler-news.newslib.com/story/2782-3257240/
..
September 16th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
http://www.dodge-nitro.com/dodge-nitro/f25/car-design-news-1892/
Dodge-Nitro.com blog reports that the Challenger’s main exterior designer at the Pacifica Studio has left Chrysler after 15 years. Be sure and see the link in this article to his other concept cars.
September 16th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Selling off the Viper is a mistake, but these are desperate times! I’d say retire it and perhaps it could be resurrected if and when we get through this bad economy. I’m more excited about the Challenger, but make it more affordable to the masses. Give the V6 model more power and a 6-speed manual. Perhaps a sporty entry priced well below the Challenger is just the ticket. The Demon concept was awesome and if the priced it at $15,000, like they said, I’d buy it, even though it was an impractical 2 seater. When I heard it would be based on a Chinese platform and front wheel drive, I was no longer interested. I will never buy anything from Chrysler based on a Chery or any other Chinese vehicle. Nissan-based, yes.
September 17th, 2008 at 10:10 am
GRAND RAPIDS — The chairman of the private equity firm that owns most of Chrysler says a commitment to making better products and working more closely with dealers will be key factors in the struggling automaker’s turnaround.
John Snow of Cerberus Capital Management LP said Monday after delivering a speech to representatives of the metal-forming industry that he is confident the seven new models Chrysler plans to offer by 2010 will appeal to consumers.
Chrysler LLC Vice Chairman Jim Press announced the new models last week, saying only that they will include the previously announced revision of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and a subcompact car jointly produced with Nissan Motor Co.
Snow declined to disclose particulars about the new vehicles, saying that information should come from Chrysler executives.
“I know there’s a deep commitment here to putting out better products,” he said at the International Council of Sheet Metal Presswork Associations’ International Congress, held every three years.
He also said Chrysler is working in concert with its dealers to make sure it is building cars that people will want to buy.
“In the end, this comes down to producing cars that people want at attractive prices and having your dealers in concert with the manufacturer,” Snow said. “I think we’re going to get that right. I really do.”
Chrysler’s U.S. sales are off 24 percent so far this year, while the overall market is down 11 percent.
In August 2007, New York-based Cerberus obtained an 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG in a $7.4 billion deal, ending a stormy nine-year partnership. The German automaker retained a 19.9 percent interest in the new privately held company, Chrysler LLC.
Snow, who served as secretary of the treasury under President Bush from 2003 to 2006, said during his speech in Grand Rapids that he expects the nation’s economy to continue going through a “painful” but “absolutely essential” adjustment period for the next 12 to 18 months to offset years of Wall Street excesses.
The news Monday that Bank of America had acquired financially troubled Merrill Lynch for $50 billion and Lehman Brothers had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection “underscores the depth of the financial market’s problems that the United States and the world are going through,” Snow said.
September 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
Cerberus: New Chrysler products will have appeal
Cerberus chairman says Chrysler must produce cars people like, offer them at attractive prices
Is Nardelli is listening to Oscar? How did WPC’s strategy go, “Luxuriously engineered cars at affordable prices”???