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Battle Royale: If GM and Chrysler merge, which models survive?

Battle Royale: If GM and Chrysler merge, which models survive?

Posted Oct 27th 2008 7:55PM

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Click above for the Battle Royale between GM and Chrysler models

At first we thought the idea of a merger between General Motors and Chrysler LLC was laughable. We still do, but persistent reports to the contrary have us fearing that this marriage just might happen. Combining these two automakers would be a messy job, as many models on both sides of the fence compete directly with on another in the marketplace. If the merger does happen, someone may have to sit down and decide which models stay and which go. We decided to play arm chair auto executive quarterback and hold a Battle Royale. We've pitted model against model in 12 segments in which GM and Chrysler compete directly. In this thought experiment, only one model in each segment will survive to see the New World Order. Get to clickin' below to find out which ones make it.

Click here for Match 1: Chevy Cobalt vs. Dodge Caliber

Related GalleryBattle Royale: GM vs. Chrysler

Category: Chrysler, GM

Tags: featured, gm chrysler, gm chrysler battle royale, gm chrysler merger, GmChrysler, GmChryslerBattleRoyale, GmChryslerMerger

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Richard

Agreed. But I don't think the 'Vette and the Viper comparo. One is long on history, large in production volume and long in the tooth. The other has no history save for the ORECA team @ LeMans, was designed long in the tooth to begin with and is made in smaller volume than my favourite distillate of Grappa.

Keep them both!

October 30 2008 at 10:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Pontiac gets axed. Dodge takes their spot. Chrysler gets axed but 300 srt8 gets shipped to Cadillac to morph into a 400hp bmw 750 fighter. Jeep and Hummer are merged and sold off. gmc trucks are discontinued.

October 30 2008 at 4:46 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Todd

If this "merger" lol happens it will mean the loss of 30,000 UAW jobs. That is what should be the focus of discussion. Who cares what brands or models survive. What will happen to the families of the 30,000 people who lose there jobs if the government helps GM swallow Chrysler, rob them of there cash reserve's and then spit them out.

October 30 2008 at 1:19 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Christopher McCarthy

What needs to be done to chrysler is simple. What they need to do is to kill off the main brand. Chrysler hasn't an origional car of its own (pretty much all of them are just rebranded dodge/jeep models) except for the 300 and hasn't turn a profit in years. The others are the true money makers. They need to keep dodge/mopar for their racing/performance legacy and also jeep for its national heritage.

October 30 2008 at 12:58 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jethro

Just some interesting facts:

Both GM and Ford sold 1 million less cars last year than five years earlier, Chrysler...only 100,000 less.

Hmmm

Last year, Ford sold 2.5 million cars, Chrysler sold 2.1 million cars...GM sold 3.9 million.

Hmmm

Chrysler lost $1.08 billion in the first half this year, GM lost $15.5 billion in the second quarter alone.

Hmmm

Chrysler has about $11 billion in reserves, GM will be out of cash by mid 2009.

Hmmm

IMO, Chrysler should just wait till GM goes under, use the reserve cash to improve what they have or design something better and, unfortunately, keep costs down (this may involve more cuts) to achieve a better quality-to-$ ratio. Ford is doing it and I think Chrysler could too...just look at the 300. It did them wonders, but they like to beat a dead horse. A GM-Chrysler merger would be larger disater than it would be worth. What would the Chrysler reserve cash mean to them, 1 more quarter of business. If, and I mean IF, GM and Chrysler would merge, there is no reason to believe that the 2 million sales that Chrysler would expected would transition to GM anyway. More than likely, they would go to Toyota/Honda/Nissan/etc. or, to stay "american", they would go Ford because of the stability. They would get some of the sales, but not enough to warrant a merger. Pure Foolishness!

BTW, I'm not much of a Fan of either one!

October 30 2008 at 12:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

2 replies to Jethro's comment

alee

Jethro you would be correct about the $11 billion cash reserves, but GM won't last until mid 2009 unless they get the government grant they need, and that isn't looking like it could come through until after Jan 2009. That's why they want Chrysler to merge. It will keep them some what safe until Jan. 2009. If they get the grant after that, they might be able to make it.
Chrysler isn't going to do much on their own as far a design goes. They really haven't gotten out much on their own now. 300 like you said, but that's about it. And that isn't a car most American's can afford right now. Most people can't afford anything right now. I think these two coming together might be a good move, but only if they are able to get the grant they need in order to design better and more eco-friendly cars. Ford isn't going to benifit from anything, they've dug a hole also. Lack of design too. GM is spending 1 billion dollars a month right now. 11 billion would keep them afloat for a little while.
Toyota isn't doing much better either. They've shut production down for the Tundra in several plants. Even a few plants that just did a bunch of construction re-tooling for the castings of heads, and cores on the Tundra. They've also shut down lines on casting and cores for the Camary because people just aren't buying a thing. So I don't think Toyota will pick up much either. I think a merger could go either way. Good or Bad. It really depends on the Election to be honest.

October 30 2008 at 12:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jethro

First, let me get one thing off my chest...I think that Chrysler may be able to weather the storm better than either of the other Big 3. The are hemorrhaging less cash than either of the other two and have a relatively stable customer base. Now, before anyone goes into a tirade, they have also been treading in stagnant, dead water for a while now. I agree that they haven't done much design on their own, but they have shown that it can be done. The 300 and the Ram are perfect examples, so is the Charger to a lesser extent (yes the ram had problems, but the DESIGN was eaten up). The new 2009 Ram has taken huge steps in the right direction. Invest that $11 billion into the rest of the line and who knows what will happen. What do they have to lose? Everyone counts them as dead anyways!

That being said, if GM and Chrysler do merge, I think that killing a whole brand is a mistake. Cut the dead weight on both sides instead. 2 million customers aren't going to jump the Chrysler ship and swim for the GM one. Its just not going to happen.

If a merger happens, they had better do some huge sucking up to the gov't to get those grants and loans. If they don't get them, two companies go down instead of just one, and, to me, that would be a shame.

October 30 2008 at 11:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

James

The problem with all the Domestic Auto Makers and for the most part of Corporate America is Corporate Greed. They all lay off American Workers and then close plants and either move off shore or to Mexico. I will not buy another product that is made is China, Taiwan, Japan and or Mexico. All of Corporate America can fail when the CEO'S walk away with millions after comiting the crime of the century. The end is near open your eyes.

October 29 2008 at 11:25 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Bobb

PT is already gone along with the Pacifica.....

October 29 2008 at 9:04 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

CanadaCraig

Why assume that ANY of Chrysler's models will disappear? When Mercedes bought Chrysler [Also referred to as a 'merger'] nothing really changed. It is quite possible that there will still be Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealerships. And Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep vehicles to put INTO those dealerships. That said - if I owned Chrysler I would dump a few of their models - but not many. I would certainly keep the LX cars [Think 300C, etc.] and the Challenger. I'd also keep the Ram and most Jeep models. I'd also stick to Chrysler's plan to have Nissan build a Sebring version of their Altima and build the Hornet. THEN I would focus on customer service [Think Lexus] and patiently wait for things to turn around for the better. It's always darkest before the dawn. Craig!! :o)

October 28 2008 at 8:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

1 reply to CanadaCraig's comment

Duncan

This is because the combined lineups of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler had virtually no overlap - DB owned the high end and ChryCo kept the lower end.

The problem, as we now see, is that Daimler seems to have siphoned off most of the value from Chrysler and kept the development money for themselves. The 300 and Charger, while easily some of the best-engineered American cars of the modern era, were basically designed around second-hand Benz bits. The supposed "synergies" of the DCX merger never really panned out.

And once Daimler had bled Chrysler as dry as they could get away with, they dumped the near-corpse on the least-informed group of suckers (Cerberus) they could find. When the best vehicle you can come up with in a highly competitive class is something like the Avenger/Sebring, there's clearly a problem.

I agree with some previous posters that Chrysler has been slowly dying for a long time. Jeep will survive somehow (probably under Nissan/Renault), as will the Viper, but I think the Challenger may end up being a swan-song tribute to past glories rather than a triumphant rebirth.

And honestly, I think it all started going downhill when they decided not to give the PT Cruiser to Plymouth. When the Chrysler brand started going seriously downmarket is when the curtain began to fall for me.

October 29 2008 at 3:05 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

s12dave

This merger does not make sense. Chrysler should be bought by Nissan.

October 28 2008 at 6:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Sean

I wouldn't doubt that Jeep will be the only survivor of the game if that's Wagoner's plan. He should also continue the use of the Caravan's technology because that was Chrysler's best selling minivan. Jeep Wrangler is unmatchable with Hummer because of its "Top Dog Technology" that Hummer doesn't have and it should remain in production. Apparently the 3.8 engine on the Wrangler has to go and should be replaced by the 2.9, 3.5 and 4.2 GM engine, since I've serviced them and there were no complaints about the engines. This is also an opportunity to see Jeep having it's first pickup based on the Wrangler Platform since Chrysler failed to promise us, the Jeep loyalist, that vehicle.

October 28 2008 at 5:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply