You can go home again: Bernhard sits down with Chrysler
The last time that Chrysler was on the brink around the turn of the century, Dieter Zetsche and Wolfgang Bernhard came over from Germany to try and right the ship and seemed to have succeeded at least for a time. Then Bernhard was recalled to the mother ship in Stuttgart where he ruffled former CEO Jurgen Schrempp's feathers a bit too much. He subsequently went to Volkswagen where he appeared to be trying to dismantle Ferdinand Piech's legacy and was dismissed again.
He is now back at the site of his greatest success in Auburn Hills, this time leading the bid by Cerberus Capital Management to buy Chrysler from Daimler. Bernhard has visited Chrysler headquarters at least twice in the past week and his involvement seems to be giving Cerberus' bid some extra credibility. If the private equity fund does end up winning, it seems likely that Bernhard might end up back at the helm of Chrysler. If that does happen, the big question is... will he green light the Tomahawk?
[Source: Detroit News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Avinash machado 12:44PM (5/04/2007)
Well maybe Chrysler should make a 100 Tomahawks and sell them to collectors.
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DJ 1:10PM (5/04/2007)
Having Wolf at the helm of Chrysler is probably the best thing that could happen at this point. He's a die hard car guy that isn't going to let the beancounters screw things up. Plus, he was the driving force behind the SRT Group and getting the Challenger concept going.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 12:52PM (5/04/2007)
The Tomahawk can't even turn more than like 2 degrees. It's not a true functioning bike. It could be built as an art installation I guess.
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Ligor 12:56PM (5/04/2007)
Or maybe he should just focus on some new product, cause what they have now is stale.
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bmoredlj 1:05PM (5/04/2007)
It did build 10 as "rolling sculptures" thru Neiman Marcus in 2005 for $550K each.
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BC 1:18PM (5/04/2007)
and, he's hot.
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Nick 1:24PM (5/04/2007)
Bernhard could run Chrysler and that's your big question...???...
My big question is why do we continue to discuss the Tomahawk???
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pOOma 1:55PM (5/04/2007)
Instead of the Tomahawk why not a Dodge Demon roadster for around 18K?
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GusAGV 8:11AM (5/05/2007)
#2 (why not the LS2/LS7?): I'm impressed about how much you research before opening your mouth.
Although Cerberus isn't that much related to automakers, the fact that they have a car guy in the negotiations' table brings their bid much more credibility than to that of Blackstone/Blackwell.
The big question would be: Would Zee Germans let Chrysler (their piggy bank) go with the guy who might know how to get them out of the hole? I sure hope there isn't many Schrempp-friends in DCX.
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Tool 3:18PM (5/04/2007)
Chrysler needs someone with the product savvy and management experience of Bernhard.
Frankly, DCX should have brought him back to run Chrysler a long time ago (or simply moved him up from COO to CEO years ago) and they wouldn't have been in this mess.
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Hayes 3:52PM (5/04/2007)
"6. and, he's hot."
He would get me into the showroom!
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why not the LS2/LS7? 5:01PM (5/04/2007)
It was offered in the Neiman Marcus catalog. Up to 10 were to be made. There is no info on how many were actually made. 0 is the most likely number, these such items that N-M offers each year commonly don't sell even a single copy.
GusAGV:
Did I miss something here?
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GusAGV 2:04PM (5/05/2007)
LS2/LS7: "Steering Lock: 20 degrees, left and right
Lean Angle: 45 degrees, left and right"
http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/tomahawk.html
It does turn more than... "like 2 degrees". Both the suspension and the steering mechanism were the biggest challenges they had.
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Sickmanseth 5:03PM (5/05/2007)
Maybe he'll fix the charger.
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