Posted by MoparNorm on Saturday, April 07, 2007 at 02:30:35 :
In Reply to: Re: Tracinda Offers $4.5B To Purchase Chrysler posted by Dan Shockley on Friday, April 06, 2007 at 20:50:43 :
The fact that Daimler transfered the billions in Chrysler reserves to germany, is well documented. The pension liability is near 24 billion, only if Kerkorian gives the unions an equity stake in the company in return for restructuring the pension plans would the deal work, and unfortunately, those pension plans are now the jurisdiction of federal law, not the unions, so it is doubtful that the unions can bring anything to the table except for future concessions, the 24 billion is a major hurdle to clear, unless the federal gov. takes them over now, and that is a very long shot. However if Chrysler fails, the government will be forced to guarantee them, so it's a lose-lose for the tax payers either way.
It certainly does matter if Kerkorian teams up with a foreign maker, AMC and Renault ended in failure. Chrysler and Mitsubishi, ended in failure, Daimler and Chrysler, ending in failure, Nissan and the "new" Chrysler, doomed to fail again.
Foreign auto makers have proved time and time again that they can make money in the US, but they have also proved time and time again that when two cultures are mixed in the boardroom, it's like oil and water, they do not mix. The germans did not "get" Jeep, they misunderstood Dodge, they neutered Chrysler and killed Plymouth. We should be looking at home grown salvation, there is not time for more experimentation if Chrysler is to survive. York has a proven track record, so if Tracinda prevails it can work...if Kerkorian stays out of the way. (he is 89)
My preference is Magna.
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