Autoblog

Chrysler's over-sized dealer-body has been struggling with the Pentastar's shrinking market share, but that's not stopping Chrysler brass from asking them for donations for the newly non-profit Walter P. Chrysler museum. Dealers are being asked to contribute $5,000 apiece to help keep the museum up and running, and in turn Chrysler is changing the museum's name to the Walter P. Chrysler Founding Dealers Society. Dealers that participate in the program will get their name added to the Founding Dealers Society Donor Wall.

While it's well-known that Chrysler is working hard to shrink non-core costs, the 70-vehicle museum only has six full-time employees, which doesn't meaningfully impact the bottom-line. The program is strictly voluntary as well, so no dealers will be unwillingly hurt during the funding of this museum.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

The recent decision by Chrysler to give employees a mandatory, unpaid two week vacation has workers peeved, and it's tough to blame them. Many long-time workers have already planned and paid for vacations that land outside of July 7-21, so those employees will have to cancel their plans or risk going unpaid for two weeks. It's very public news that Chrysler isn't exactly rolling in fortunes, and employees know that sacrifices being made, but as the Freep points out, Chrysler management really botched this one.

The problem lies with the absence of communication regarding vacation time until less than four months before the scheduled time off, when many plans are already set, and some vacation is already taken. Then there's the fact that some of the product development is being shuttered for two whole weeks when Chrysler is already behind the competition and can't afford to take half a month off. Cerberus may be new to the auto industry, but it isn't taking the private company long to disenfranchise its employees.

[Source: Free Press]

Chrysler may be struggling with vehicle styling and interior quality, but the gang in Auburn Hills sure does love the gadgetry. Sirius satellite TV, heated and cooled cupholders, and Swivel-N-Go seating will soon be joined by in-car Internet access. The Washington Post reports Chrysler will utilize cell tower signals and a mobile phone account to make the radio a WiFi port, giving passengers access to the web. The technology will be offered as a dealer add-on for existing models later this year, and it will be available as a factory option at some point after that. With Chrysler bringing web connectivity to cars and trucks this year and Ford following suit in mid-2009, it looks like access to Autoblog will soon be available everywhere.

[Source: The Washington Post]

Chrysler has been on the look-out lately for dancing partners for anything from vehicle platforms to alternative propulsion, and the Pentastar has extended its outsourcing to IT services. Chrysler and Tata Consultancy have teamed up on a $120 million, multi-year contract that sources Chrysler's dealer website work to India. The deal effectively continues the partnership formed between Tata and Chrysler in 2002, but the new deal means even more work goes to India.

Chrysler points out that the IT services were previously performed by contractors that weren't Chrysler employees, but the Auburn Hills automaker declined to mention which company lost the work. IT workers at Chrysler are still nervous about the possibility of more IT outsourcing, however, and it's hard to blame them. Chrysler is strapped for cash and looking to free up money for new products, and IT isn't exactly a core automotive function. It will be interesting to see if Chrysler and Tata will one day expand the partnership to include more vehicles, but this time it's just bits and bytes.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

Chrysler and Ford have been at the top of the headlines all year long for various reasons, with Ford continuing to slim down by selling off its PAG brands, while Chrysler got dumped by Daimler and went private at the hands of Cerberus Capital Management. 2008 looks to be an equally interesting year in the auto industry, and a recent article in Fortune by senior editor Alex Taylor III suggests that a merger between Chrysler and Ford could be in the cards for the coming year. Talk about your haymakers.

Much of the speculation regarding Chrysler surrounds how Cerberus intends to get itself out from under the prolific paperweight that is the Pentastar. Financial types still feel Cerberus is out to make a quick buck, and that long-term ownership is highly unlikely. We're no big business experts, but it looks to us as though the three headed dog has a very limited list of potential buyers out there, so throwing a blind-folded dart that lands on the Blue Oval is as good a guess as any. It's a crazy Chrysler news day anyway, as TTAC is reporting that Cerberus may be preparing to sue Daimler for tricking the investment firm into buying what a thought was an automaker with nowhere to go but up.

Let us know in the comments what you think about the wild speculation of the day.

[Source: Fortune]

We knew Chrysler would be returning to its well known pentastar logo after the sale of itself from DaimlerChrysler to Cerberus Capital Management went through, and that day was last Friday. Soon after we got a tip from a reader pointing us to a new website promoting "The New Chrysler", as well as its new look pentastar logo.

Big things are happening at Chrysler, obviously, including the sale, name change to Chrysler LLC, and the announcement of the automaker's new, industry-leading lifetime powertrain warranty. The new website touts all these things and tells us to "Get Ready for the Next Hundred Years". If you're interested in a breakdown of Chrysler's relationship with Cerberus, it's got that too.

Thanks for the tip, Tool!

[Source: Chrysler]