Chrysler acquired by Cerberus

Well, what does the future portend for Dodge in NASCAR now? Any
speculation?

Cerberus is a privately held equity firm that specializes in turning around
companies that are in trouble. From what I have been able to gather in the
short term is that Cerberus is a no-nonsense company that is highly oriented
to profitability. Since they are privately held they can focus on a
long-term investment strategy vs. a short term outlook to satisfy investors.
The question is, do they view Dodge's participation in NASCAR as a long-term
investment strategy or as a financial drain whose resources could be better
spent elsewhere?

As a Dodge fan, I hope that they will see the benefit of retaining the Dodge
presence in NASCAR. Time will tell however....

The times they are a changin'

Mike

On Mon, 14 May 2007 05:55:19 CST, "Mike Simmons" <mikesim (AT) yhti (DOT) net> wrote in <134gg0db3u7h760 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com>:

Well, what does the future portend for Dodge in NASCAR now? Any
speculation?

Not from me.

You explained the alternatives Chrysler faces very well.

Reasonable people could disagree about which option to take.

Marty
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"DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote

"Martin X. Moleski, SJ" <moleski (AT) canisius (DOT) edu> wrote in message
news:134gnicqri0s759 (AT) news (DOT) supernews.com...
On Mon, 14 May 2007 05:55:19 CST, "Mike Simmons" <mikesim (AT) yhti (DOT) net> wrote
in <134gg0db3u7h760 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com>:

Well, what does the future portend for Dodge in NASCAR now? Any
speculation?

Not from me.

You explained the alternatives Chrysler faces very well.

Reasonable people could disagree about which option to take.

So is this all part of the vast...ummm...whatever conspiracy to get Jr to
Penske? Cerberus cancels all racing endeavors, Penske wheels and deals
with Chevy, Jr goes to Penske. It's all very obvious what is going on
here!!

Ah yes, I see the black helicopters are flying over your house too!

;^)

Mike

"Mike Simmons" <mikesim (AT) yhti (DOT) net> wrote in
news:134gg0db3u7h760 (AT) corp (DOT) supernews.com:

Well, what does the future portend for Dodge in NASCAR now? Any
speculation?

I'll hazard a guess that Cerberus will split off Jeep, and sell it
to someone (perhaps even back to Daimler) at a healthy profit. The
rest of Chrysler will be downsized, and eventually sold to the
Chinese.

I don't think they'll make many changes to the NASCAR program, tho.
Dodge's sucesses in recent times, such as the 300 sedan, appeal to
the same demographic as likes NASCAR racing, so it makes sense to
continue to dedicate part of the marketing budget that way.

John

On Sat, 19 May 2007 15:54:52 CST, John McCoy <igopogo (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com>
wrote:

I'll hazard a guess that Cerberus will split off Jeep, and sell it
to someone (perhaps even back to Daimler) at a healthy profit. The
rest of Chrysler will be downsized, and eventually sold to the
Chinese.

I sure hope they do something to stop these unions from destroying the
car industry.

On Sun, 20 May 2007 07:46:32 CST, "DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
<7_udnVrvvqKU3s3bnZ2dnUVZ_umlnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com>:

"Head Shot" <HeadShot (AT) HeadShot (DOT) gov> wrote in message
news:unqu43lajj87pu3ibnj6aetbnu6sba66rs (AT) 4ax (DOT) com...

I sure hope they do something to stop these unions from destroying the
car industry.

Besides being off-topic, I think this might be a flame post but I'll bite
anyway. The unions only build what the designers and engineers give them.
Why does it take the Japanese to successfully market a hybrid? Why are US
automakers selling Japanese cars just rebadged (Pontiac Vibe=Toyota Matrix,
one of many)?

AND, by the way, the Cerberus deal was endorsed by the UAW!!

Without getting into the explosive questions raised here,
let me comment on the boundaries of our topic area.

Because the group is about stock-car racing (such as it is),
it is pretty natural for us to get into the state of the
automobile industry--and the NASCAR industry!--as we
ruminate about the fates of our heroes.

Feeling free to talk about our personal lives and issues
tangential to racing (LIKE THE SABRES LOSING YESTERDAY
IN OVERTIME) is part of cultivating a nice community
environment. The thread about where people live is an
example of that kind of topic-stretching.

On the other hand, the group was designed to prevent long
excursions into political theory and social justice,
except insofar as they are part of the NASCAR scene.

Chrysler's condition is of interest to us, I think.
The factors that may or may not make Chrysler (and Dodge)
a success are kind of caught up in that concern--but
they can also easily lead us astray, since undoubtedly
we have representatives from the whole social and political
spectrum in the group.

Here are the first four paragraphs of the charter for
your consideration. You may find the whole charter
and other information about the group at <http://rasnm.carracing.com/>,
a site provided FREE OF CHARGE for us by Bill D for 9 years and
counting (thanks, Bill!).

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The unmoderated newsgroup rec.autos.sport.nascar has always been fairly
relaxed about what is on-topic. The moderated newsgroup will be the same
way. Basically anything related to NASCAR or stock car racing will be
considered on-topic.

Posts about other types of motorsports (Indycar, F1, etc.) should be
directed to the appropriate newsgroup, unless they are comparing stockcar
racing to the other motorsport. For example, a comparison of the point
systems of F1 and Winston Cup, and how using the F1 system would change
the Winston Cup championship standings, is on-topic.

The goal of rec.autos.sport.nascar.moderated (r.a.s.n.m) is to provide its
participants with a degree of free expression approaching that found in
unmoderated groups while maintaining an environment free of the spam,
commercial and money-making posts, personal harassment, vulgarity and
blatantly off topic material found in most unmoderated forums.

The philosophy of r.a.s.n.m is that responsible people should be trusted
to post like responsible adults. Therefore, the moderation effort will
focus primarily on dealing with problems as they occur, not on screening
every post. All posters will be initially trusted with auto-approve
status, which will enable their subsequent articles to be posted
immediately to the newsgroup without the involvement of a human moderator.
They will retain auto-approve status unless they demonstrate cause for its
revocation.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Marty
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"DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
news:7_udnVrvvqKU3s3bnZ2dnUVZ_umlnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com:

"Head Shot" <HeadShot (AT) HeadShot (DOT) gov> wrote in message
news:unqu43lajj87pu3ibnj6aetbnu6sba66rs (AT) 4ax (DOT) com...
On Sat, 19 May 2007 15:54:52 CST, John McCoy <igopogo (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com
wrote:
I'll hazard a guess that Cerberus will split off Jeep, and sell it
to someone (perhaps even back to Daimler) at a healthy profit. The
rest of Chrysler will be downsized, and eventually sold to the
Chinese.


I sure hope they do something to stop these unions from destroying
the car industry.

Besides being off-topic, I think this might be a flame post but I'll
bite anyway. The unions only build what the designers and engineers
give them.

I don't think it's the union members/pay/performance of today that's
an issue. The problem, with respect to the unions, is the large
body of retired union workers who get pensions and health care paid
for by the automakers. Much like the US government can't afford the
social security promises it made decades ago, the smaller automakers
of today can't afford the promises they made 30 and 40 years ago
when they were larger.

Why does it take the Japanese to successfully market a
hybrid? Why are US automakers selling Japanese cars just rebadged
(Pontiac Vibe=Toyota Matrix, one of many)?

I wish I understood this, too. Ford has a state of the art hybrid
in the Escape small SUV, but have you ever seen them advertise it?
The American car makers almost seem afraid to publisize their
efforts to push the bounds of engineering. On the other hand, we've
seen a ton of ads for the Pontiac G6, which is a fairly crappy car
straight out of the 1980s (I just had one for a rental).

In a way, the success of NASCAR probably contributes to this.
NASCAR purposefully presents the appearance of being technilogically
backward. If NASCAR was less prominent, and the automakers were
more active in series like the WRC and ALMS, perhaps they'd both
try to create and to market the engineering of the vehicles.

John

On Sun, 20 May 2007 16:26:04 CST, "DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
<huWdnTDWR41RIc3bnZ2dnUVZ_uSgnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com>:

snip Marty's detention post

You are entirely correct Marty. But...but...but...the UAW is the title
sponsor of a race. Does that count? I mentioned the UAW in my post.

:>)

Hold your hand out steady whilst I whack at it with
this h'yar ruler, DB! :-P

Marty
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On Sun, 20 May 2007 16:23:55 CST, "DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
<_bOdnU0OPs_NIc3bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com>:

... I'm thinking of buying from a Ford dealer who is a
member of the South Florida Ford Dealers Association, the sponsor of Ford
Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. How's that for staying on
topic and within the charter ;>)

Pretty awesome.

You get bonus points for so delicately and artfully
suggesting that you are Connected, unlike the rest
of us poor slobs.

I'll ask my friend who's family owns the dealership about the marketing plan
for the 'Scape. I do know that it's tough to get an '07 'Scape 'Brid. It's
only May and Ford is pushing the '08.

Let us know how it turns out.

We're kind of sorta in the market for a used
Focus, maybe.

Meanwhile, I feel bad that Kurt Busch got turned
around by Kyle last night. Ford and Dodge at
least put in an appearance in the top 5 before
falling out of contention. (

I think Kenseth should have taken 2 tires and
worked his way back to the front. Trying to
do the no-service pit stop seems to have gotten
him out of his ordinary rhythm.

Marty
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"DollarBill" <nospambillgean (AT) nospamearthlink (DOT) net> wrote in
news:_bOdnU0OPs_NIc3bnZ2dnUVZ_qOpnZ2d (AT) comcast (DOT) com:

"John McCoy" <igopogo (AT) ix (DOT) netcom.com> wrote in message
news:Xns99366CE962924pogosupernews (AT) 216 (DOT) 168.3.30...

Why does it take the Japanese to successfully market a
hybrid? Why are US automakers selling Japanese cars just rebadged
(Pontiac Vibe=Toyota Matrix, one of many)?

I wish I understood this, too. Ford has a state of the art hybrid
in the Escape small SUV, but have you ever seen them advertise it?

"State of the art hybrid?" It's technology licensed from...take a
guess...drumroll please...TOYOTA!

Well, when you say "state of the art" about hybrids, that pretty
much does mean Toyota.

The point being, that Ford has nothing to be embarassed about with
the Escape Hybrid. It's not a half-baked, rushed out design; it's
every bit as well done as the Prius. But you don't see Ford trying
to make that point.

John

(trying to think of a way to get this somewhat on-topic, and
failing. Marty's patience is probably being somewhat tried).