Hyundai in talks to buy Fiat Chrysler

[CrAlt]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

LOL!
So a German industrial behemoth needed Chrysler for its little horde of cash and its aging product line in serious need of investment to bail it out?


Yes.
In the 90s Chrysler had billions in real cash in the bank and was making money. MB had a 1.70% market share and their mediocre cars where getting their butts handed to them by much better built and selling Lexus and BMW offerings.
You could argue that the "cloud" cars and Neon where [censored] but they did sell a ton of them in the 90s. And they where selling Jeeps,Minivans and Rams as fast as they could make them.
DB took the cash to inject in to fixing their own brand and tossed some outdated scraps to the Chrysler side.

But hey, you dont have to take my world for it.
https://www.forbes.com/forbes/1997/0113/5901082a.html#3945af5cae81
Quote:
... finished 1996 on the sunny side of $5 a share, on $60 billion in sales. The return on net sales is above 6% fantastic for a metal bender. GM, with the help of lots of diversification, has been running only 4%; Ford, a bit under 3%. The average for all 1,280 companies covered in this issue is 4.6%.

Chrysler's return on capital is 20% again fantastic for a company in a capital-intensive business. The all-industry median is 9.6%; the auto and truck industry median is 8.2%.

One in every six vehicles sold in America is a Chrysler, up from one in seven a year ago an impressive gain.

Financial strength? $7.5 billion in the bank, $1 billion a year in dividends and $2 billion earmarked for stock buybacks in 1997.


Who needed who again

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Carmudgeon
DCX was clearly not a result of a "merger of equals," and Schrempp was playing a game that Eaton didn't even know he was in.

Pawning off the carcass to the clueless vultures at Cerebrus, because no one else would take it, was the coup de grâce.


You work hard on that rebuttal to wikipedia that nobody quoted?

Originally Posted By: Wikipedia
In 1998, Chrysler and its subsidiaries entered into a partnership dubbed a "merger of equals" with German-based Daimler-Benz AG, creating the combined entity DaimlerChrysler AG.[36] To the surprise of many stockholders, Daimler acquired Chrysler in a stock swap[37] before Chrysler CEO Bob Eaton retired. It is widely accepted that the merger was needed because of Eaton's lack of planning for Chrysler in the 1990s, to become their own global automotive company. Under DaimlerChrysler, the company was named DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC, with its U.S. operations generally called "DCX".


Good grief.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: CrAlt

You could argue that the "cloud" cars and Neon where [censored] but they did sell a ton of them in the 90s. And they where selling Jeeps,Minivans and Rams as fast as they could make them.


You're right, the money was in minivans, trucks and Grand Cherokees, and in 1997/1998 Chrysler couldn't make enough of them, and they were the vehicle to have - it's funny to think about but pulling up in a Grand Cherokee was something back then.

My family had a couple Neons and cloud cars, and they all gave great service. A Cirrus was the last car my Grandmother bought and it served her well for the last 13 years she drove. I had a Neon and it took me through high school, college, and every job I had until my current one. We've had close to two dozen Chryslers in the family and all gave great service. Never had a major repair or engine/transmission failure.

I hate to admit it, but my Dad had a '91 Acclaim that was my favorite car - it rode well, drove nice, had a good amount of power, a ton of room inside and never broke.

We lost a couple Nissan and Honda Transmissions, but that's for another thread.

 

[VNTS]

dumbler stole the 18 billion chrysler had saved for the next downturn, onlyreason they stole them was to rape the cash!

 

[4WD]

Originally Posted By: VNTS
dumbler stole the 18 billion chrysler had saved for the next downturn, onlyreason they stole them was to rape the cash!


Where is that article?

 

[VNTS]

go look on Allpr

Kekorian was pushing for a takeover, Eaton then decided for the merger, chrysler had 18 billion cash saved in war chest, which dumbler quickly pillaged!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: VNTS
dumbler stole the 18 billion chrysler had saved for the next downturn, onlyreason they stole them was to rape the cash!

Daimler paid $37 billion for Chrysler and then sold it to Cerberus for $7.4 billion. That sounds like a $30 billion loss to me.

How does the $18 billion you refer to factor into this?

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: VNTS
dumbler stole the 18 billion chrysler had saved for the next downturn, onlyreason they stole them was to rape the cash!

Daimler paid $37 billion for Chrysler and then sold it to Cerberus for $7.4 billion. That sounds like a $30 billion loss to me.

How does the $18 billion you refer to factor into this?


Of course.
Even if we credit the very generous attribution of $18B in cash as Chrysler's dowry, then DB still lost $12B in the deal alpha to omega, so I'm not seeing how Chrysler could have been anything like a cash cow for Daimler.
There was no doubt that Chrysler had played out its hand with its then current product lineup and would need considerable investment in new models for the future.
Bob Eaton knew this while Jurgen Schrempp apparently didn't.
This was very much a German takeover and while the Germans may have thought they were getting a nice little piggy bank they were really getting a cash black hole which sucked up billions of dollars.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
The Jeep and Ram brand is making a lot of money for Chrysler. I just wish it was Ford or GM in a bidding war for them.

Yes, Hyundai would have access to reasonable sized SUVs, not to mention trucks, and Chrysler doesn't seem to have the depth in the econobox market.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Yes, Hyundai would have access to reasonable sized SUVs,
Is Santa Fe not reasonably sized?

 

[Garak]

It's getting there, but for a guy from the generation where an S-10 blazer is a small SUV, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

Of course, from that same perspective, it's not like Jeep has a Suburban equivalent, either.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Garak
Yes, Hyundai would have access to reasonable sized SUVs,
Is Santa Fe not reasonably sized?


It depends of family size and what it's needed for. You can haul 6 (inc. the driver)-but then behind the 3rd seat there is only room for grocery bags-not much else. So it would be tough to haul any gear with the 3rd seat up. If you have a couple of kids (using the captain seat setup)-then you can fold up the third seat and then there is enough room for sports gear or luggage for going away for the weekend. So -it just depends.

The big thing is value-you could literally buy two of the "limited model" for what one Suburban costs.

I bought one a year ago and no big issues (other than a rear lift-gate motor-that needed replacement) and it has 15,000 miles on it.

They are working on a model to compete against the Suburban to be called "The Palisade". It's an eight seater.

 

[earlyre]

Originally Posted By: Garak
It's getting there, but for a guy from the generation where an S-10 blazer is a small SUV, I guess it's a matter of perspective.

Of course, from that same perspective, it's not like Jeep has a Suburban equivalent, either.

My Current Boss is about 6'5", his 13yr old son is 6'1", and he's got 2 more not far behind. all in some sort of sports...
He's Currently Driving a Jeep Commander which works for now, but...he's considering moving up to used (5-ish yrs old) Suburban..

...I keep suggesting a caravan, and he says, yeah, the wife has one, and everyone fits fine...but...(he really wants to go back to a single cab 4x4, but wifey says nay-nay)

 

[Brigadier]

Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Garak
Yes, Hyundai would have access to reasonable sized SUVs,
Is Santa Fe not reasonably sized?


It depends of family size and what it's needed for. You can haul 6 (inc. the driver)-but then behind the 3rd seat there is only room for grocery bags-not much else. So it would be tough to haul any gear with the 3rd seat up. If you have a couple of kids (using the captain seat setup)-then you can fold up the third seat and then there is enough room for sports gear or luggage for going away for the weekend. So -it just depends.


Same goes for the Tahoe/Yukon or Expedition.....