by Joseph Szczesny | Jan 23, 2009
When Tennessee Senator Bob Corker dropped in on the North American International Auto Show, earlier this month, he made a point of saying that Chrysler should either “merge or go away.” But now that the ailing automaker is ready to tie its fortunes to the fate of...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 23, 2009
They’ll be shucking oysters by the barrel, at the Acme, this weekend, and serving up plenty of crawfish gumbo at The Court of Two Sisters. But even the most lavish feast, on Bourbon Street, won’t do much to brighten the mood when thousands of the nation’s dealers...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 22, 2009
Ford’s global small car, the Fiesta, is claiming another in a stream of awards, the little hatchback being named Car-of-the-Year by What Car? magazine, the British counterpart to America’s Consumer Reports. Fiesta has already won similar accolades, around Europe, and,...
by Henny Hemmes | Jan 22, 2009
The sky is falling, the sky is falling. How do you say that in Italian? The folks at Chrysler might want to learn, and fast, considering the news out of Turin, this evening. Chrysler is betting a lot, perhaps its entire future, on the global alliance it announced,...
by John DeCicco | Jan 22, 2009
The whole world is remarking on how the incoming Obama Administration is moving quickly to take charge. In spite of the president’s comments shortly after the election that “there’s only one President,” it became clear (with relief to many)...
by Marty Bernstein | Jan 22, 2009
It was little more than the equivalent of a very small, cold slice of corporate pizza, but it was the hot automotive news yesterday. Fiat was working on a alliance that could result in 35% ownership of the struggling U.S. auto company by the Italian company. Just...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jan 22, 2009
For more than a month, the assumption around Detroit has been that the United Auto Workers would agree to concessions as part of the restructuring plans General Motors and Chrysler LLC have to turn in next month. UAW president Ron Gettelfinger Wednesday said the union...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 21, 2009
So, when did so many Republicans start sounding like Democrats? I know, I know, President Obama is all about a “post-partisan” America, and it’s not uncommon to hear even the most vociferous political opponents making nicey-nice with each other in the first weeks...
by Joseph Szczesny | Jan 21, 2009
Toyota Motor Corp. has swept past General Motors Corp. to become the world’s top-selling automaker, marking the first time in 77 years that GM was not on top of the leader board in sales. The results of the 2008 sales race – which both companies insist...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 21, 2009
Reading some of what’s appeared on the Web, over the last 24 hours, I was surprised by some of the references I saw to the earlier, abortive attempt by Chrysler and Fiat to merge. The April 1990 deal was scuttled, as I first reported on TheDetroitBureau.com on...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 21, 2009
It takes little more than a glance to realize Dieter Zetsche isn’t your typical auto industry executive. Sure, he wears the appropriately tailored suits, and can rattle off facts and figures as well as any other automotive CEO. But there’s also the bushy, trademark...
by Paul A. Eisenstein | Jan 20, 2009
The perennially-troubled Chrysler LLC will form a new “global strategic alliance” with the Italian automaker that often has words like “weak,” and “troubled,,” associated with its own name, Fiat s.P.a. Barring problems with federal overseers, who must review the...
