{"id":1765,"date":"2008-11-22T07:54:42","date_gmt":"2008-11-22T14:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/montaraventures.com\/blog\/?p=1765"},"modified":"2008-11-22T07:54:42","modified_gmt":"2008-11-22T14:54:42","slug":"chrysler-challenge-repost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/montaraventures.com\/blog\/2008\/11\/22\/chrysler-challenge-repost\/","title":{"rendered":"Chrysler Challenge (repost)"},"content":{"rendered":"

On April 7, 2007 I wrote this entry, given the news out of Detroit, I thought I’d dust it off and post it again. Mr. Kerkorian did not buy Chrysler, and I bet he’s happy.<\/i>
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\nEarlier this week there was news that Kirk Kerkorian<\/a> made a $4.5B cash bid for Chrysler<\/a>. Must be nice to have that much change lying around…
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\nBut to get to the point of this post, it is Easter<\/a> weekend and for a couple of billion people around the globe, that means celebrating the resurrection of Jesus<\/a> (or, something to do with rabbits<\/a> laying colorful eggs<\/a> and various chocolate treats<\/a>.) But I digress. Let’s assume Kerkorian gets Chrysler<\/a> from the good folks at Daimler, what should he do with it?
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\nLike all American auto makers, it has a fleet of non-competitive vehicles, which coupled with rising fuel costs, is simply hammering sales. I snagged the graph below from the film An Inconvenient Truth<\/a>, unfortunately, Chrysler’s<\/a> market cap wasn’t on the slide since it is a subsidiary company.
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\"Market<\/center>
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\nIt doesn’t take a Wall Street expert to interpret this chart. Fuel efficient vehicles are winning, and winning big. Last week, Toyota<\/a> announced that it sold 28,453 hybrid vehicles in March<\/a>. More than all of Saturn<\/a>, GM’s<\/a> fastest growing brand. This is not a temporary shift, it is permanent, inexorable, and accelerating.
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\nAs Easter suggests, sometimes things need to die before they can be resurrected and come back even stronger. I think that’s where the US Auto Industry is, it’s clearly dying because it is incapable of change.
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\nMr. Kerkorian<\/a>, here’s the challenge: Don’t use half-measures, don’t compromise with hybrids. Crucify the gasoline and diesel engine. The 640hp Electric Mini project has already proved this is possible<\/a>. Take the bold step forward to launch the following all electric vehicles from Chrysler<\/a>:<\/p>\n