jaunty75

They had already owned a controlling percentage. Now they'll own the entire thing.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/01/news...fiat-chrysler/


Was Chrysler considered a U.S. company when it was sort of half-owned by Daimler?

Regardless, it will now be a 100% foreign-owned company.

I have a question. Will buying a Chrysler in the future be any different than buying a U.S.-assembled Toyota or Nissan or Honda? There's been a lot of discussion on this site over the years about this issue and whether you're helping or hurting the U.S. economy if you buy a car made by a foreign-owned company that's assembled in the U.S. It seems that buying a Dodge Challenger or Ram truck will now be something that falls into the same category.


The number of U.S. automakers went from 4 to 3 when Chrysler acquired American Motors in the 1980s. It appears that 2014 will be the year that the number goes from 3 to 2.

oldcutlass

It's sad isn't it.

jaunty75

It is, but at least the employees will still have jobs.

I really misspoke above when I said that 2014 will be the year we go from 3 to 2 U.S. auto manufacturers. We went from 3 to 2 when Fiat first took the controlling percentage at the time of the industry bailout several years ago.

pogo69

To me when you buy a car your putting more money in the owners pocket ...japan,korea german,usa whatever everything is global now so it doesnt really matter except the rich get richer the middle struggles and the poor get poorer

jaunty75

There's nothing wrong with this concept on a fundamental level. If you buy a dishwasher or a book or a pack of gum, you're also putting money in the owner's pocket. That's how he makes money, pays his employees, and stays in business, and that's the foundation of our economy.

The question is, how do you feel about putting money in the owner's pocket if the owner is not a U.S. citizen BUT some of the people employed by that owner ARE U.S. citizens? There are people on this site who have quite strong feelings on both sides of this issue.

olds 307 and 403

Makes no difference in the end, as long as jobs stay in North America. My question is, why in hell is the Challenger more expensive in Canada when it is built here? Where is the so called Free Trade? Whose pockets are getting filled? Our dollar has been equal or higher the last couple of years. You can't trust CEO's or Goverment's from any country. We just have to smile and trudge along.

Kyle's 77 Cutlass

It called taxes my friend, we get taxed every which way we turn. I glad gm couldn't buy them when they wanted. Would of screwed another brand

Koda

People should note that a publicly traded company is global, even if headquarters is in X country.

The REAL question you should be asking is not "Will buying a US made Chrysler be like buying a US made Toyota?" but rather "Is buying a US made Toyota or Honda better than buying a foreign made GM or Ford?" because it probably is.

While it's nice to buy American, there's no need to prop up the UAW or the government's bailouts by buying a car out of loyalty if it is not the best car for you.

I work for one of the big auto companies, and I tell people to read the quality reports, the specifications, the warranty claims, the recalls, etc etc, then go buy one that is good, looks good to them, and has what they want, as opposed to just "buy one for this company because I work for them."

Kyle's 77 Cutlass

Yep that is why I gave up on GM, too much not our problem bs. So I went and bought a VW, our family was loyal to GM for over 70 years. After my 07 chevy dually, not another GM again. Except my Olds

seansolds

I had always wanted to purchase U.S. built, but have to take in consideration the quality and the cost and what exactly I'm getting for my dollar. Its disturbing to realize a majority of what I purchase is not made in America anymore. My television is made from parts all over the world and works great. Have had it for many years. My GMC was guaranteed to not rust from time of purchase for 6 years. It lasted 8, then doors showed signs of rot then down hill from then on. Funny how that works. Mechanical issues outside 36,000 miles. I had to purchase a foreign car so I know my wife will be safe with reliable transportation and an ease off my mind. The time will come when all company's will be partnered to be able to survive. And possibility of one Euro dollar. Or just a swipe card, or thumb print verification to transfer funds. Be it the machine that reads your identity will probably not be made in the states..but my American made coffee table holds my coffee just fine!

Jaybird

Now days, it only maters who owns the shares. You could be a share holder from anywhere around the world.
Keep buying Chrysler vehicles, especially minivans! Thank goodness the buying public like them! (I sure hope Fiat doesn't screw up the new minivan!)
Minivans keep me employed!
Jaydriving0008sm.jpg

Yup... That's me behind the wheel from a few years ago. Google Street caught me delivering another load of seats from Magna International to Windsor Assembly.
The seats are comprised of parts from; China, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, United States and Canada. (I'm sure I've missed a couple of countries.)
B.T.W. We now drive Mack tractors, not Freightliners. (Also notice, the Daimler name has been painted out on the trailer!)

pogo69

The real real question is....how bad we are going to get screwed when china makes a car for 8k and can manage to ship it here for a 100 bucks

ELY442

[QUOTE=Jaybird;635331]Now days, it only maters who owns the shares. You could be from anywhere around the world.
Keep buying Chrysler vehicles, especially minivans! Thank goodness the buying public like them! (I sure hope Fiat doesn't screw up the new minivan!)
Minivans keep me employed!
Jaydriving0008sm.jpg

Yup... That's me behind the wheel from a few years ago. Google Street caught me delivering another load of seats from Magna International to Windsor Assembly.
The seats are comprised of parts from; China, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, United States and Canada. (I'm sure I've missed a couple of countries.)
B.T.W. We now drive Mack tractors. (Also notice, the Daimler name has been painted out on the trailer!)[/QUOTE

I've heard Volvo bought out Mack trucks.

nsnarsk65cutlass

Thats fine and dandy until the government bails you out and you your shares are gone,lets not go there.

garys 68

Buy a good old American car....like a Camaro...assembled in Canada, with a tremec trans from south of the border, and parts supplied from all over the world.

DarrylJ

At least it's not the Chinese buying it like everything else in the US!

joepenoso

Volvo is owned by Geely motors..................China
Mack was owned by Renault of France 10 years ago .........I'm not sure of it's current status
joepenoso

CQR

That won't happen. There is no way they could come up with an emission compliant car that meets all the safety regulations and cafe standards that our Gov't requires.

cutlassjoe

Hey Jay! I know right where that was taken. Looks like EC Row coming into Tecumseh just before Manning Rd. I hope things are good on your end.

Joe

jaunty75

Isn't it pretty much everything, not just cars, that costs more in Canada? Taxes, right? VAT? GST? More initials than you can shake a stick at? After all, that's how you pay for that wonderful health care system everyone was arguing about in that other thread, isn't it?

joepenoso

Actually Canada's health care costs 50% less per person compared to the old pre Obama system south of the border
joepenoso

jaunty75

Yes, but if this is at the expense of everything else costing more, it's all the same in the end. There's no free lunch.

Sampson

There are so many directions you can take this conversation I do not know where to start. I am in the market for a new car for my wife so this hits home now, on what brand and foreign or not. Here are some thoughts.

Besides my Olds I own a Ford F 150. This is the 10th Ford F 150 I have owned in 25 years. To say I have been loyal is an understatement. It blew the spark plug out of the head at 75000 mi. This was the original plug installed at the factory. Ford would not honor the warranty even though it was clearly a design problem with the head and I had purchased the 100k mi warranty. My wife currently drives a Toyota 4 runner with 170000 miles. During that time other than routine maintenance I have replaced the battery and had the timing belt replaced at 120000 as per manufactures recommendation. What should my next vehicle be?

As to where the profits go....... A good part of them go to the entitled CEO's on wall street. I am not so sure I wouldn't rather see the profits go overseas!

Red Delta

Bought my wife this Dart. She loves it. I think Sergio is doing a decent job with Chrysler. Now Chrysler can bail out Fiat.

jaunty75

That's a beautiful house!

Red Delta

It's a bit breezy in the winter. Happily, natural gas is cheap these days.

Red Delta

Volvo car division (owned by Geely) is a different company than the heavy equipment.

nonhog

Interesting topic. I'm o.k. with whatever each individual chooses as how they purchase. I work for a Toyota dealer. The family was at a Studebaker meeting when they were told they were done. Right down the hall was a Toyota meeting. They walked in and got a franchise (1966 ?) kept people employed. They were the 2nd dealer in the US.
I had no problem parking my brand new (in 08) Silverado in the work parking lot. I liked the look better, and so much cheaper than a Tundra.

While waiting for my kid one day some guy, also waiting for his kid in a
MB owned (at the time) Dodge starts complaining about the US built Tundra some other guy had. Like we were better than the guy who drove the import (?) He had no idea if my truck was US built (it was) or Mexican. Or that I worked for a Toyota dealer.

I see both sides of the issue and respect each opinion. If its based on facts.

1970cs

With all of the funded studies out there. Has anyone has ever seen or heard of a impact study i.e. local, country for buying:
A. American made and owned product.
B. American made and foreign owned
C. Foreign made and owned

If so, please post a link to it.

Pat

Killian_Mörder

That's a drop in a bucket, compared to how many western companies China is buying up. They now own the makers of this fine car:


Here's an entertaining one, once you get past all the annoying lisping:

66 Olznut

Volvo did buy Mack trucks, they share many of the same parts as well, I see all makes of trucks daily. My current ride is a '06 Ram 2500 with over 100k miles and the only thing gone wrong is 1 fuel injector, it's a towing beast and pretty fast as well. My first and last new GM vehicle was a '95 S-10 which was in the dealer at least twice a month in the 2 years I had it. Sorry GM, you haven't made many good moves recently imo. I am now in the market for a daily driver and a new Passat diesel has my attention at the moment, built in Chattanooga, Tn. DC and Cerebus (sp) almost killed Mopar during that dark time.