Why is Chrysler sitting at the free money trough with Ford and GM?

Question 1
Why is Chrysler sitting at the free money trough with Ford and GM?...  Ford and GM are publicly traded companies and their stock is subject to impact average Americans and their retirement plans. I don't agree with a bail out, but I see why they are at the table begging. I can't believe no Senator or Representative in either of these trips to Washington asked Chrysler why they were there also. They are a private firm held by a private company that has plenty of money. If they need money shouldn't they just ask the parent company for it? Are we really going to give a few billion dollars to a hand full of guys that already have a few billion dollars in the bank?

Answers
1)   They are sitting at the free money trough because free money is being offered....instead of making quality cars in styles the public wants. Chrysler was bailed out once before, and was able to recover and pay it back..although at a small interest rate. They don't seem to be very enthusiastic to 'recover' this time around though. Maybe they want even more bail out money?..Oh God no... - likesfemalefeet

2)   First of all the money was not free!
Second Ford removed it's self from the table and took no government help. The Ford family still hold the majority of preferred stock and did not wish to loose control of the company. It is rumored that the preferred stock holders put up some capital out of pocket to help keep the company out of government hands.
Chrysler, which as you noted was privately held had to make concessions concerning the private ownership. The exact extent I can not remember. But the out come was that Fiat is now the owner for practical purposes. Fiat is investing capital into Chrysler.
Chrysler and GM ended up filing for bankruptcy protection and was able to shed billions of dollars worth of debt.
The Government received stock as payment for part of the loan at least from GM. Which they soon will be selling on the market at a profit we hope. - Old Man Dirt

3)   There is no "free" money trough. Cerebus which owned Chrysler has given up control and lost billions. If Chrysler went under, over 100,000 workers and small business owners who supply Chrysler go under sucking up more taxpayer money. It was the best of a bad situation for Chrysler and GM. Ford did not take any taxpayer money. - C-Tech

4)   From the Wall Street Journal:

Lawmakers last week questioned Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli on Cerberus's commitment to the company. In one exchange with Mr. Nardelli, Sen. Robert Corker (R., Tenn.) criticized the firm. "Cerberus has cash, lots of cash, that it is unwilling to put into this company," Sen. Corker said.

I'm not sure if Senator Corker was the only one to actually ask the question (I was at work, and am relying on media reports), but plenty of others are objecting to Chrysler getting money. In fact, it's bipartisan opposition:

If the Senate fails to pass a measure to aid the industry, the House will not act.

That would be fine with Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton. He opposes providing money to Chrysler, which is owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP.

Admittedly, Rep. Kagen's opposition sounds personal: Another of Cerberus' companies closed paper mills in his district, but refuses to sell the facilities to investors who want to have a go at running them. But he's urged other Members of Congress not to give Chrysler any money at all.

It looks like there are Congresscritters who support giving GM and Ford help that object to giving Chrysler help. Whether they're enough to change the outcome remains to be seen. - dipaolo

5)   Yeah, the big 3 have the govt buffaloed.

All 3 are cash strapped. Chrysler is a fairly new company that is privately held and does not have the backing of a huge number of stockholders. Daimler still holds 20% of Chrysler, but Daimler is not interested in putting any more money into the company. Chrysler's intent is to eventually buy out Daimler.

But Ford and GM need Chrysler to keep out of monopolistic charges. For example, if there were only 2, and one of them did not offer a specific product, the other company could claim monopolistic practices and the lawyers would get rich at our expense. Back in the '60s, GM financed Chrysler's greater warranty program in order to keep Chrysler afloat.

If the car makers were smart, they would crank out a high quality model and private lable it to the other car makers. Like Toyota Matrix does for the Pontiac Vibe. Why should each company produce very similar models? All cars are going to look virtually alike because fuel economy dictates a shape that moves through air efficiently. - intuitiv

6)   The way they ended up with money was to sit around in nice suits and convince other people to let them use their money. It’s called using other People’s Money, or OPM. In that business you never leave any cash on the table. Other People’s Cash. If legislators are dumb enough to stack the thousand dollar bills to the ceiling, no Wall Street type is going to leave a dollar on the table.

And they don’t have that much money either. You see money is *all* they have. Once that is gone the show is over. No more yachts and cigars. And if you publicly blow all your money on a bad investment, the OP are somewhat reluctant to let you manage any more of their M. - cekniks

7)   management of these companies without restrictions who screwed up and, in the case of Bank of America, won't give a loan to that company where the employees are picketing. And all of those bonuses and golden parachutes that are being paid to those executives with our money. Who is protesting against that? Not enough people that I can see. But I do believe this feeling against the Big 3 is a backlash.

The loan (not bailout) is being given to the Big 3 so that our last manufacturing base in this country (thanks to the Bush administration) does not go under. Manufacturing cars has always been a tremendous industry in our country, and in WWII the assembly lines converted to war production and helped us win the war. This is a gift to main street, the hourly guy who breaks his back everyday for maybe $28 per hour (not the $72 talked about). If we allow them to go belly up, there are about 3 millions jobs across the U.S. that will go under because they are small businesses that get their income from the auto industry. You are talking of crippling Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. This will tip us over into a real Depression. This is a lot like locking the barn after the horse has run away. You think things are bad now, just let the Big 3 go under.

I admit that the public is disgusted with the previous bailouts, but the emphasis on punsihing the Big 3 for the others, is unfair. The automobile companies are guilty in the past of riding the gravy train, but so was everyone else, the American public for instance. How much have you charged to credit cards? Can you pay your mortgage? Let's get real.

I come from Michigan and know how much the Big 3 supports the Mid-west. My family is still there and things are so bad now with layoffs that there are a rash of home robberies going on now. People are afraid that if the Big 3 goes down, the state will become a welfare state and crime will become rampant.

But, as I said, this loan affects main street, not corporate executives, and we have enough people floudering because of the home failures, let alone adding a 3 million job loss to the burden that Obama will take over in January.

To put things in perspective, Bush just bought a $2 million house in Dallas where he will reside after his presidency. He gets us in two wars, bankrupts the surplus, in debt to China, and leaves us with a near disaster of an economy. Why isn't anyone angry about that?

It's smart business to save the Big 3, and it's a loan people not a bailout. - Freddie

8)   The automobile industry in America is absolutely huge. I can't tell you why the CEOs decided to ask for a bailout, but I can tell you that we've got to do it. There are way too many possible seriously negative outcomes if we don't bail them out. I understand that we're going to have some hefty governmental oversight of their businesses after the money is received. I'm furious at all the wealth some of the car manufacturer CEOs and higher management have socked away. If they had been saving some of that excess money they wouldn't need a bailout. Mis-management for sure, among other things.

Not to mention disgusting that they showed up for their first go-round at asking for a bailout in private company jets. What nerve! - Andrina


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Question 2
I have a 1988 Chrysler 5th avenue and lately it's been acting like it's running out of gas! What to do?...  Today i just replace the fuel pump and the fuel filter..it only act like it was running out a few times

Answers
1)   Is this a front wheel drive or the old M body rear wheel drive Chrysler 5th Avenue? If it's the old rear wheel drive, chances are you have a partially stopped up filter on the end of the pick-up tube in the tank. These things were really bad about stopping up after the car got as lot of miles on it. Try blowing compressed air into the tank at the supply line that goes to the pump. but be sure the fuel tank is almost empty and the fuel cap is off! The filter may give you a sound 'clunk' when it comes off the end of the tube and hits inside the tank. This filter has so fine a mesh that water has a hard time going through it. We always remove them and and leave them off. If it is a front wheel car, I can only sympathize with you. These were some the first front wheel drive cars made by Chrysler with fuel injection and they was truly a nightmare to keep running right. The only ones worse than the 88's were the 87's. The first EFI's made by Chrysler were built in 86, but there were only 500 built. Thank goodness for that! - Jackolantern

2)   before spending more on experimentation, spend a few bucks with a pro and find out what is going on. - badbill1941

3)   I've never heard a "professional" give advice to remove a pick-up screen, those are there for a reason, which is to filter out contaminants such as rust or other larger contaminants from getting to the fuel lines. The in-line fuel filter is for the smaller contaminants that can get through the pick-up screen, it isn't designed for larger chunks and will clog very quickly without the pick-up screen in place. Most knowledgeable professional technicians know this rather than throwing out some BS advice to "blow it off" with an air hose! The better advice here is to take it in and have it checked out to see why it's acting up. You could spend hundreds or more chasing an unknown problem yourself. Those screens are simply a fine mesh that keeps large chunks from getting into the lines and clogging the lines and filter up with rust particles or whatever, if there's enough contaminants in the tank to plug this screen, then it's time to clean the fuel tank out, NOT blow the freakin' screen off! Under normal circumstances, fuel will not have any problem flowing through this filter. A "mastertech" should know better than to tell you to do something so stupid -- I would believe this advice came from a retired shade-tree more than I'd believe a retired "mastertech". - bokeboy71


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Question 3
Did the Plymouth Road Runner car come with floor mats with the cartoon character on them from the factory?...  My friend is looking at a '68 Road Runner and the guy says that they are the original floor mats. Not that this is a deal breaker but we were wondering. Thanks for your help!

Answers
1)   I bought one new in 68 and it just had plain rubber mats - pickmefirstplz

2)   No, they did not! NONE of the Road Runners, from 1968 to 1975, and the ones from 1978 to 1980, came with "cartoon", floor mats. Chrysler had to PAY Warner Brothers for every time they used that character, and they went as cheap as possible! The ORIGINAL horn, incidentally, is ALWAYS PURPLE in color, and the V.I.N. from 68 to 70 is gonna be RL (or RM...or, in one VERY SPECIAL 1969 case, RP!) 23! The 71 and up V.I.N. is WL, WM, or WH 23 or 29. The !969 Convertible (that year ONLY!) is RM 27. - charles h

3)   No they came with just rubber mats...Now you can get ones that do.... - Johnny Rotten


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Question 4
How do I find out what a Chrysler part number fits ?...  I cant remember what this caliper fits. Chrysler part 5093264aa
Is there a reverse parts lookup software for Chrysler?
None of the auto parts websites find it.

Answers
1)   Your local library should have something called a Hollander Interchange Manual. It is a HUGE green book (or set of books) that catalogs what every part is and what else it fits. - Big Jabowski

2)   Call a Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep dealer and give them the part number, they can tell you what it fits. - C-Tech


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Question 5
What hapened to the Chrysler/mitsubishi partnership?...  Dodge and Chrysler dealers sell plenty of Minivans and SUVs, but as far as cars they have nothing to offer in the low price smaller car market. It is like they gave up on small cars.
If people start to think they want an efficient vehicle, the dodge and chrysler dealers will have nothing to sell them.
They used to sell the Colt and some other Mitsubishi made cars. Mitsubishi seems to have a hard time getting it 's product sold by their own dealer network. They need Chrysler to market their cars in smaller towns.

Answers
1)   Do you have a question? - C-Tech

2)   The Colt was the best car you could buy at a Dodge dealer in the 70s & 80s - Balto


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