NAIAS Report: Ford and Chrysler

The 2010 North American International Auto Show was a watershed moment in time for Ford. Riding high on American pride and optimism, the one major American manufacturer that didn't need a bailout or bankruptcy protection in '09 started the show in Detroit by sweeping the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards. The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid beat out the VW Golf Mk6 and Buick LaCrosse for the car award, while the 2010 Ford Transit Connect compact commercial van beat the Chevrolet Equinox and Subaru Outback in the truck category. It was only the third time in the award's history that a single manufacturer has taken both honors. To note, Honda did so in 2006 with the Civic and Ridgeline and GM did it in 2007 with the Saturn Aura and Chevy Silverado.

One look at Ford's massive, enclosed display said it all. The thing bathed the showgoer in a softly glowing shade of Ford pride blue. Henry's surname was to be found on every wall, in every corner of what looked like you had entered into a totally different, if not entirely well-organized, building. Ford's display was by far the most impressive among all the manufacturers and it exuded confidence.

Taking the "Crisis" Out of "Chrysler" (Part 2 of 2)

Chrysler has been drowning. It's not a big secret.

In 1999 - the first full year they were part of DaimlerChrysler - 2.6 million Chryslers, Dodges, Jeeps, and Plymouths were sold in America. For 2009, they may sell 900,000. If they're lucky. In the last 3 years alone, sales have dropped a staggering 58%.

As has been discussed before, this cliff dive is due to a variety of factors. The biggest among them is that, with few exceptions, their current product line is woefully behind the competition in nearly every measurable way. Quality isn't there. Reliability has been at the bottom of the barrel. Design execution has been subpar. Fuel economy is no great shakes. And for the 4 months between their emergence from a quick-rinse bankruptcy, and last month's release of their "5-year plan", they hadn't spent money to advertise their rag-tag group of misfits.

All the while, reports of angry, jettisoned dealers and Obama officials admitting shock at how far-gone Chrysler was when they stepped in has filled the void in airtime and column inches that their advertising would have otherwise occupied.

The rank ineptitude of the Daimler management at Chrysler was hugely responsible for the bad product decisions that pushed Chrysler to the brink. And when Cerberus took the company over in 2007, they brought in their own group of incompetent managers that only cut employees, plants, future vehicle development, and other costs to the bone.

So, since the year began, the bankruptcy court has decoupled Chrysler from Cerberus. The Feds have thrown them a multi-billion dollar life preserver. And Fiat has pulled America's third-biggest car company, floating listless in a heavy sea of fierce competition, aboard its own recently-mended ship.

CEO Sergio Marchionne's plans are certainly ambitious. He has acted fast, ending engineering alliances with Renault-Nissan, Mitsubishi, and Hyundai, and starting Chrysler on a path of better integration with Fiat AG.

But will the company once known as "Fix It Again, Tony" be any better for Chrysler than Daimler was? In a word: Yes.

The Plane Has Crashed

Call the folks in from National Geographic Channel's Air Crash Investigation. It looks like we have some wreckage to survey.

Just this last Friday, General Motors announced that they were beginning the process of closing down Saab Automobile's operations for good. This comes in the wake of a breakdown in talks with Saab's latest would-be suitor, Dutch sports car maker Spyker. But Spyker was only the latest in a long line of potential benefactors that expressed interest in scooping up GM's ailing Swedish near-luxury brand. Just three-and-a-half weeks ago, talks also broke down with Swedish cottage-industry supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg.

Chinese automaker BAIC was in the mix, as well, and managed to get its hands on the tooling Saab was using to build the 1998-09 9-5 and 2003-06 9-3. They just announced that their Saab-based vehicles will be breaking cover from Beijing as soon as 2011.

Another Chinese automaker, Geely, also raised its hand to bid for Saab back in May. That didn't work out, either, and now Geely is going after Ford's Volvo division. And a couple of US investment groups, Merbanco and Renco Group, tried throwing their hats in the ring, as well. But no deal could be finalized. With the dissolution of talks with Spyker, a post-bailout-and-bankruptcy GM decided to leave its expert loss-making Saab brand without a safe runway at which their troubled craft could land.

Until now. Maybe.

If this all sounds like a mess, you're right. It is. But things with Saab didn't used to be so bad. The quirky automaker had far better, more stable days.