Up in the Air

Jan. 21, 2008
Ford and Chrysler unveil new pickup trucks at the Detroit Auto Show. Do they have anything to say about the futures of these companies?
I was just watching MSNBC's coverage of the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and heard some disturbing words from an auto industry analyst. The segment was looking at the health of the Big 3, and while the analysts were very optimistic about General Motors, and hopeful about Ford (most notably the new F-150), they were downright dreary about Chrysler.   Dodge is showing off the new Ram at the Detroit show, and while the truck looks every bit as good as the F-150, one of the industry analysts said that it offered "worst-in-class" interior fit-and-finish and materials quality (and it must be remembered that this truck was developed under Daimler's guidance). These same analysts went on to predicted that Chrysler would be up for sale sometime in 2008, and that perhaps we might see a Ford-Chrysler corporation.   Now, anytime a talking head on the news starts predicting doom and gloom, I take it with a grain of salt. It's hard to to believe that Cerberus Group would unload Chrysler so quickly, but then perhaps the market is shifting more quickly than anyone could have expected. If you have plans to add new Dodge Rams to your fleet, you might want to buy them sooner than later.

About the Author

Mark O'Connell | Fleet Maintenance contributor

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