“It was all about the unions. The unions didn’t want to have their very generous contracts renegotiated so we put $80 billion into both General Motors and Chrysler, and anybody believes that Chrysler is going to survive, I’d like to meet them.”

So goes Senator John McCain.

The Arizona senator spoke to The Detroit News while attending a Phoenix racing event.  McCain’s grim prediction comes amid the continually declining state of the Chrysler brand and dismal words for CEO Sergio Marchionne’s business plan.

McCain went on: “We see the automotive industry, and my heart goes out to the citizens of Detroit, really in the tank, and yet we have manufacturing plants all over the South, which are not bound by some of the labor rules and contracts that make them non-competitive.”

Image courtesy of Caricature Shack.

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After months of wrangling, a deal has been reached for Fiat to acquire Chrysler.  A brief delay from Justice Ruth Ginsberg of the Supreme Court was overcome, with Chrysler proceeding to exit bankruptcy as soon as next week.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is already beginning his own restructure of the Chrysler Group.  The Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge divisions will now operate separately and have a president/CEO to assume responsibility.  Chrysler’s Jim Press will now report directly to Marchionne on all corporate matters.  Sales guru Steve Landry and head engineer Frank Klegon have been fired.

The key names emerging from this change are Peter L. Fong, Michael Manley, and Mike Accavitti.  Fong will oversee the Chrysler division; he previously handled Ford operations in Philadelphia before leaving to handle Chrysler Mid-Atlantic sales.  Manley, now president for Jeep, manages US sales and global product planning.  Mike Accavitti will be chief exec for Dodge after a history with its motorsports branch.

In the meantime, Marchionne is deciding whether or not to cut the Lancia and Chrysler nameplates.  It’s likely Lancia will be retired, but Chrysler’s still-sizeable minivan share, coming 300 update, and well-received 200C concept (pictured above) are giving the brand a better shot at survival.

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