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Sergio Marchionne: Resurrecting Chrysler

March 25, 2012 4:19 PM

Three years ago, Chrysler was sputtering toward bankruptcy, but one man bet he could save the company and tens of thousands of jobs. Steve Kroft interviews Sergio Marchionne.

Sergio Marchionne: Resurrecting Chrysler
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by jinglejazz June 10, 2012 10:57 PM EDT
What does FIAT stand for in Canada..

FIAT - Fix It Again, Tony!

I remember Fiats back in the 70's. You'd find them sitting on the side of the road with the hood up. You could use it as a landmark there were so many. As for Chrysler, I recall when they almost went bankrupt back in the 70's. Iaccoca saved them then, and it was because they were fat and lazy and put out garbage. They made a surprising comeback. Iaccoca paid back the 1 billion dollar loan 6 years early. That's when a billion dollars was a billion dollars.

I bought my latest Chrysler 12 years ago. A 2000 Chrysler Intrepid, it had the 2.7 engine. Well, just last month the engine died on it, with only 204,000kms. 120,000 miles. Cars not worth fixing so I've ditched it. I am looking for a new one, however I'm afraid of buying Chrysler again. Like the Dart, however still shaking over quality.
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by khkh12 April 16, 2012 1:11 PM EDT
Kortvp, you are an idiot.

seriously pulling the military card
??

Used vehicles are ALWAYS As-Is.. buyer beware.

I hate military families that demand handouts... and this is coming from someone who's spouse is former military... you give us all bad names!

your car broke... deal with it.
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by ssmiley1 April 1, 2012 7:10 PM EDT
It may perform like a Giulietta, but that Dart looks like dog@#t... What happened?
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by Kortvp March 29, 2012 7:17 PM EDT
Chrysler ignores known defect and leaves Navy wife without transportation and a $9,500 bill the day her husband deploys for 8 months protecting Americas interests.

My son learned how to drive in a Jeep Cherokee, our family currently owns 4 Jeeps and has owned 12.

My son bought American and purchased and Jeep specifically because of his personal experience with the brand. He and his wife bought what was described as a Certified Pre-Owned 2006 Jeep Commander in California and shipped it to Hawaii where he is stationed at Pearl Harbor. He used the vehicle as a daily driver between home and the base. With Honolulu traffic rarely exceeding 55mph and a short drive this was a pampered vehicle. After less than 2 years they only put 20,466 on the vehicle before experiencing catastrophic engine failure..

Our sailor deployed Saturday March 24, 2012 as a petty officer on a Battleship leaving home for up to 8 months. The morning of deployment he and his wife go to start their Jeep to drive to the base and it refuses to start. They have it towed to the local dealer who determines the engine is completely shot and that it needs to be replaced at a cost of $9,500. This for a vehicle worth about $17,000 in top condition.

Their diagnosis is that the valve seats fell out of the heads in cylinder 5 and 2 in this once venerable Hemi engine. This should not happen so I searched the internet only to discover this is a common and known problem. There are mechanics who have told me that there were defective batches of heads from subcontractors who are no longer being used. There are hundreds of stories of identical failures

I contacted Chrysler customer service and on the first day thought we were making headway. They were very nice and understanding. At the end of the 2nd day they called and said there is nothing they can do and that it is our problem. I requested to speak to a supervisor and was asked to hold for 2-3 minutes. Ten plus minutes later an apologetic woman came on the phone and asked if I wanted to hold longer or have the supervisor call back when they are available. I requested a call back. That was over 20 hours ago. Still no contact.

Sergio Marchionne appears to be the savior for Chrysler and a true quality oriented leader. I would like to believe that if under his leadership the company was able to payoff a 6 Billion Dollar loan, that they can step up and stand behind a know defect that has been dumped on many unsuspecting owners.

I hope this gets some attention from someone at Chrysler, and that they are willing to do the right thing, contact me.

BadJeepHemi@gmail.com
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by td7901 March 28, 2012 7:34 PM EDT
oh so now Alfa Romeo isn't returning to the states until 2014. Really, the last time I read about Alfa Romeo returning to the states was in Auto Week and that was in 2009, then it was 2010, 2011, and then 2012. Are you kidding me. This is as believable as Renault returning next year and Peugeot/Citroen having GM buy 7% of it's stock and sharing platforms. I'll believe it when I see it.
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by 07281974 March 27, 2012 10:16 PM EDT
Sergio Marchionne did a remarkable job in bringing Chrylsler back to stability. Needless to say, he knows the car business and he also has an excellent staff! Besides that he is the CEO of Fiat. I get tired of just thinking about his 2 jobs that he does!!
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by RobertPDrake March 27, 2012 10:01 AM EDT
Watching his career is a trill for me, I believe my late father, Ralph Cowan, was one of business teachers at the University of Windsor. This, even though I'm not a fan of bailouts.
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by michelecharger March 26, 2012 4:16 PM EDT
I have a very good feeling about Chrysler new big boss. I have been a Chrysler lady for many years. I have only driven Chrysler since I started driving, and I have worked for Chrysler at two of our local dealerships, and both surely have their problems. One can be bothered to help customers with the purchase of a vehicle, will sale anything they talk them into, without knowing the customer, the other will screw customers by telling them they need a specify repair on the vehicle when they DONT. I dont work for them anymore because of such dishonest representative of the product. I personally have 4 Chrysler products, 1 truck, 2 vans and 1 car and would never buy anything else, but I know I will be going elsewhere to buy it. I had a great reputation with my customers, why because I listened, and heard everything they told me. I still have customer come to me first before going to the dealership and I tell them exactly how not to see, and tell them what to asked for so they dont get screwed. Oh i can go on and on. I hope the new boss take the time to consider costumer relations. It all starts with Respect
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by Transatlantique March 26, 2012 12:26 PM EDT
Ciao bella!
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by Sky5226 March 26, 2012 11:51 AM EDT
As the owner of a new 2011 Jeep grand Cherokee Overland I love it congratulations on a wonderful product fit and finish are phenomenal and a beautiful vehicle best I've ever owned congratulations to Chrysler .
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