We seem to be forgetting that Lido chose Eaton over Lutz as his successor.
Lutz departed in May, 1998, after Eaton declined to place him on
DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, six months before the merger, and not
because of the "Germans". Tom Stalkamp departed DaimlerChrysler after a
disagreement with Eaton (he was all but outright fired), and Eaton chose
Holden as Stalkamp's replacement as president of the American auto division.
If you love Chrysler, and want it to survive, pray that Kerkorian and
Iacocca do NOT gain control of Chrysler. The great things that happened at
Chrysler in this past decade were post-Iacocca. Mr. Iacocca is a great man,
but his tastes and perceptions are a little out of tune with today's market.
And it took the LH cars to prove that. Kerkorian is only interested in what
he can get out of it - and if that means selling things off piecemeal to the
highest bidder, so be it.
The problems that lie at Chrysler's doorstep today in North America were
created by Chrysler in North America, and not in Europe. The decision to
restrict production of the PT Cruiser was made in Auburn Hills, not
Stuttgart. The decision to kill the Plymouth was made at least six years
ago in Highland Park and not in Stuttgart last year. And take the
anti-German hype of the media with a grain of salt.
One web writer announced that dealers were upset because the "Germans" were
not going to advertise the new Sebring line as heavily as the PT Cruiser as
they did not want to strain production, as happened with the PT Cruiser.
Within 24 hours of reading this garbage, I read two magazines that had ads
for the new Sebring, and every night after that while watching television,
there have been ads for the Sebring. The Chrysler Sebring is pushed every
night on A&E, for one. So much for honesty in reporting!
When you compare sales of the Chrysler Cirrus/Sebring with last year's
Plymouth Breeze/Chrysler Cirrus/Sebring, and the Chrysler Voyager with the
Plymouth Voyager of last year, you can see how and why Chrysler is
suffering. The decision to axe Plymouth is turning out to be akin to
slitting your throat.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
> Larry Jett wrote:
>
> > NO NO NO, not LIdo....it's Lutz we want. Lido turned out to be a bit of
a
> > villan himself.
>
> Don't think of Lee as a villain - he and Kerkorkian wanted to buy Chrysler
and
> just think of where they would be now if that had happened! Lutz would
still
> be there so would Gale, et all. Not only that they probably wouldn't be
in
> financial trouble as they are now. Don't sell Iacocca short! He may be
> arrogant but he knows cars!
>
> Even if this whole thing dumps, Lutz has another job now anyway...
>
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