Slideshow
Top 10 Worst Summer Jobs for 2009
Jun 11, 2009
- Chief brand strategist at Fiat Motors
- The guy in charge of Fiat's brand strategy used to have it all figured out. He had Ferrari, Maserati and Alfa Romeo firing on all cylinders, while Fiat proper was quickly becoming a respectable alternative to the powerhouse brands of Europe. Now, the Fiat brand master has to contend with product-starved Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep. Talk about your fixer uppers. Someone's in for a long summer.
- Rick Wagoner's therapist
- The Ricker was long one of the world's most powerful chief executives, and now he's forced to sit on the sidelines while the company he knows and loves is about to be ripped into smaller, more profitable pieces. That's a tough spot to be in, but not as tough as the job of the shrink who has to listen to some of the world's most depressing problems. (Photo by MICHAEL KAPPELER/AFP/Getty Images)
- President of the Pontiac fan club
- When summer arrives, car shows aren't far behind. Some of the best, most memorable cars of yesteryear come from the soon to be defunct Pontiac brand, and for guys and gals driving down Woodward Ave. in a cherry GTO, this year will be bitter-sweet. The summer will be much worse for the head of the Pontiac fan club. No more GM sponsorships, no models to look forward to, and you have to live with the fact that Pontiac finally got a car worthy of muscle car status in the G8, and now the RWD sedan is going down with the ship. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
- Commission-based new car salesman
- Talk about your tough summer. Try making a living by selling cars on commission. Sales are down 30% over 2008, and almost 50% verses 2006. Then, the people who are actually buying head straight to the used car lot. If you do get a customer, chances are you're so hard up for a sale, you're willing to cut into your profits to move some metal. Is it 2011 yet? (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
- President of the United States
- President Obama is in a lose-lose situation. If he lets GM and Chrysler go quietly into the night, unemployment jumps by leaps and bounds as potentially millions of jobs linked to the auto industry go away forever. If he saves the beleaguered companies, he's advancing socialism and killing the free market. Outside of the auto industry, the economy is still in the tank, there are two wars being waged, and North Korea is detonating nuclear bombs. And he just quit smoking. Ouch. (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)
- Guy at Autoblog in charge of bankruptcy posts
- 2009 has been a long year, and sometimes it seems like we've covered more bankruptcy talk, cancelled vehicle programs, closed plants and brands for sale than we have new vehicle introductions. We're excited for another great summer, but if we could pass up the hot weather and fun events to get back to happier times, we'd be pretty tempted to pull the trigger.