Chrysler

DETROIT - Thomas W. LaSorda has a background unlike any other top auto executive in Detroit: The union runs in his blood. LaSorda, a 51-year-old Canadian, was named yesterday as chief executive of DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler division, succeeding Dieter Zetsche, who will head the parent company. While the Ford Motor Co.'s top executive, William Clay Ford Jr., for example, is the nephew, grandson and great-grandson of former leaders of his company, LaSorda's lineage is on the union side of the fence.

DETROIT - Former Chrysler Chairman and CEO Lee Iacocca is returning as a pitchman for the automaker, which is even bringing back his old tagline: "If you can find a better car, buy it." The 81-year-old retired auto executive, who led Chrysler Corp.'s comeback from near-bankruptcy in the early 1980s, will star in a $75 million campaign to tout Chrysler's "Employee Pricing Plus," a response to GM's popular "Employee Discount for Everyone" program. The program allows consumers to buy many 2005 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models at the same prices that employees pay. The Iacocca ad campaign was to be announced yesterday.

The marriage is over. Daimler has divorced Chrysler, and there's a new groom in the wings, a private equity firm known for cutting its way to profit but vowing this time to retool and build. To do so, New York-based Cerberus Capital Management is going to have to push hard for Chrysler to rebuild a lineup top-heavy with gas-guzzling large trucks, sport utility vehicles and V-8 powered sedans. Cerberus bid $7.4 billion for Chrysler, which will be split off from the existing DaimlerChrysler.

DETROIT -- Yielding to the wishes of Lee A. Iacocca, the directors of Chrysler Corp. have agreed to name a General Motors executive to succeed Mr. Iacocca as chief executive, several people with knowledge of the board's deliberations said last night.After two days of meetings in New York, the board's 10 outside directors settled on Mr. Iacocca's candidate, Robert J. Eaton, who currently heads GM's highly profitable European operations.Chrysler spokesmen and executives declined to comment yesterday on what was decided, and the company scheduled C news conference for this morning at its headquarters in Highland Park, Mich.

Say goodbye to the Prowler. DaimlerChrysler has built the last one of these factory-built street rods and has donated the car - which came off the assembly line in Detroit on Feb. 15 - to an auction to benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Although the original model carried a sticker price of $40,000, some dealers were getting more than $150,000 for the cars because they were in short supply and big demand. Today, used-car dealers say pre-owned Prowlers are hard to sell, and some of the cars have sat on lots for months awaiting new buyers.

In the car business, it's all about product. You can move iron with incentives and lure tire-kickers with a clever ad. But to rack up consistent sales and build a loyal customer base, a car company needs to make quality vehicles that meet buyers' needs and fulfill their desires. For the "new" Chrysler - which recently went private and is in the midst of a restructuring - meeting these challenges won't be easy. Although the automaker's Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles "are seen by consumers as being rugged, tough and powerful with aggressive designs," says Steve Witten of market research firm J.D. Power & Associates, "what they're below average on is being fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly, providing good value for money and appealing to younger drivers."

WASHINGTON -President Obama's decision to save Chrysler by pushing it into bankruptcy Thursday puts the company in risky, uncharted territory for a major U.S. automaker and could portend a similar outcome for General Motors Corp. as it races to meet its own government restructuring deadline. The administration is betting Chrysler's future on its ability to emerge quickly from what can be a complex and unpredictable legal process. Obama also is tying the company's fate to Fiat, a foreign owner who may not fathom American car buyers.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chrysler Corp.'s U.S. sales of cars and trucks rose 3.2 percent in July, less than expected, as lower demand for cars offset improved sales of trucks and minivans.Truck sales rose 8.6 percent to 146,503 vehicles, while car sales fell 8.2 percent to 59,915, the third-largest U.S. automaker reported yesterday.Analysts had expected a 5 percent overall increase.Chrysler's sales have benefited from an updated lineup of key truck models, such as the Durango sport-utility vehicle and Ram four-door pickup.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Chrysler Corp. Chairman Robert Eaton sold $2.8 million in stock last month -- his first sale since 1994 -- a few weeks before he said he expected the auto industry to slow in the coming year.Eaton was one of 18 Chrysler officers who sold a total of 825,185 shares for a record $27.7 million in October and November."A huge amount of their net worth is tied to value of their stock and it is a cyclical stock," said Nicholas Lobaccaro, an analyst with Bear, Stearns & Co.The sales came shortly after Chrysler's third-quarter earnings crushed Wall Street's estimates and its shares traded near all-time highs.

WASHINGTON -As time for a deal wound down Wednesday, the Obama administration finalized a plan to send Chrysler into bankruptcy, replace chief executive Robert Nardelli and pump billions of dollars more into the effort, all in hopes the company can emerge from court proceedings as a re-energized competitor in the global economy. The government's attempt to save the automaker amounts to another extraordinary intervention in the U.S. economy, but what would happen by Thursday's deadline for making a deal wasn't clear.