Will GM Buy Chrysler?

I truly hope that this doesn't happen for several reasons:

First and foremeost, GM is hurting in the quality department and is finally designing cars that are staring to move... thanks to Bob Lutz (ex-President of Dodge). The two cars that Lutz has his personal hands in (the Solstice & Saturn Sky) are the only cars on back order. The Soltice was actually Lutz's personal design that he wanted to build when he was at Chrysler. Lutz would have a field day dishing out pay-back for firing him before the merger with Daimler.

Lutz was the man that Iacocca passed over to hand the keys to Bob Eaton... who sold Chrysler's soul to Dainler. Lutz wanted to merge with BMW, which was a much better proposition than Daimler (who was struggling financially). Chrysler was an easy target for Daimler because they had cash in the bank and manufacturing expertise that Daimler didn't. If you are interested in reading more about this story, read the book called "Taken For A Ride" by Bill Vlasic and Brad Stertz .

At this point in time GM is just turning the corner in eliminating duplicate cars that compete with one another. All they need now is to bring in Chrysler and to start axing their overlapping lines. It would also mean that GM would be eliminating the competition... which historically has never been good for American business. David Howell's article runs pretty true to form, but fails to mention a relevant solution on who Chrysler should merge with... please don't mention Hyundai who just sent their CEO to jail and the fact that they are a car company without a personality... just like Yugo.

Secondly, if Chrysler needs help in competing on the world markets. I would recommend that they talk to a ideologically struggling Asian manufacturer like Honda. Handa has some of the best engineering on the planet. Unfortunately, they are getting their butts kicked by Toyota because the got beaten at their own game in the luxury markets.

If you recall (not so long ago) the folks at Acura released the very first luxury sedan called the Legend. It sold well but it's achillies heal was that it was a front wheel drive car trying to compete against the RWD world of Daimler & BMW. Lexus and Infiniti learned from this strategic error that Honda has yet to recover from. Think about this, that the NSX was the ONLY RWD car in Honda's inventory. To this day, Honda has absolutely no RWD car that they can showcase.

How can a company (like Honda) that competes in the Formula 1 world not have a car to showcase this technology? Why can't that very same company campaign a car at Le Mans of on the SCCA circuit... the answer is that they have NO RWD cars!

On the other hand Chrysler can make cars and does know what style means to sell cars. Chrysler's history (old and new) is about performance and style (note: that I didn't mention anything about interior design). They need Honda's engineering, eye for detail and innovation to compete.

Other options that Chrysler needs to explore are formidable (IMO). First they need to consider bringing in a personality like Wolfgang Bernhard (ex- Daimler, Chrysler and recently VW) to shake this company ou tof their old tobacco chewing accounting paralyzed Chrysler. He is a true car guy and was the man behind the developments of the SRT program and the soon to be legendary Viper powered motorcycle called the Tomahawk. Wolfy would absolutely have no tolerance for the unions or for their crappy build quality. Bernhard above all else is a car guy who brings German standards for quality, style and engineering to the table.

The final Chrysler option that will only happen if Santa comes early to the car industry is that they be bought out by Roger Penske. This is the consumate American car guy who has the Midas touch in almost all of his business ventures. He brings the knowledge and the passion of his rich history in automotive racing. You would be hard pressed to name anyone who has meant more to post WWII automotive racing than Roger Penske.

I believe that Roger has always had his finger on the pulse of America's car industry. He is not only a successl business man, but he is also an evangelist that hasn't forgotten the old addage "racing cars on Sunday and selling cars on Monday". The bean counters of the Big 3 have whittled these wonderful companies down to the bone. People like Penske are business builders (versus morticians). Let's all hope that Christmas come early for Chrysler.