I'm going to give an opinion that will surely not "jive" with what you're going to read in the media. Largely because I don't believe in sentimental BS. Luckily I don't have to run my feelings through a PR department.
What saved Fiat from exiting the car business entirely was the $2 Billion Sergio negotiated from GM in 2005. (For not exercising an option to purchase their car business.) Wisely this money was spent to green-light the retro-cute 500 model in cheap-labor Poland, despite Italian protests. No one man designs any automobile, but one man can recognize a solid proposal. It debuted in 2007 and hit the (European) market just right, something like the retro-cute PT Cruiser in 2000. Concurrently, Daimler was exiting Chrysler and selling the light bulbs from the fixtures. The Cerberus deal was put together in haste, to cut-off angry German shareholders who were staring to demand Daimler consider all potential buyers, not just the ones management favored, which meant an employee-purchase agreement backed by Kerkorian cash was frozen out.
The Bush administration split $25 billion among the Detroit 3, which was a sliver of what they gave banks who created the credit crisis and dried up financing and leases. The net effect was no one went out of business on Bush's watch just before an election. Despite popular wisdom, Cerberus did a few things right, especially by re-contenting cars (2009 Ram and 2011 Grand Cherokee, 300 and Gen I 200 were done on their watch). The industry has very long lead times, so Marchione couldn't impact much by June of 2009 when he was anointed by the Obama Auto Czar. That whole deal was basically Obama paying back the industrial Midwest for voting for him... And it should be noted,
I take no issue with that. The McCain plan was essentially "America still makes cars? I drive a Lexus. Go f-yourself and get training as a nursing assistant or Barista". As a noted capitalist, I didn't take issue because no American President (
until now ![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
) ever gave a sh*t that American companies were "tariffed" out of foreign markets and therefore could not enjoy the economy-of-scale benefits of the Asians, or the premium pricing of the Euros once the Feds turned American, luxury cars into FWD crap via CAFE regulations. Obama's plan was a nice gesture, but like most Government plans it did nothing to address a root-cause. It was also long on appearance and puddle-deep.
Cerberus would not be given a chance because they were an evil Private Equity Capital Management Partnership. In other words, something Americans would think of as "bankers", so the appearance of bailing them out looked bad. On the other hand, Fiat was a European company that made small cars and therefore the smartest people in the room. They even promised to sell the Fiat 500 here! Hurray! Or should I say "thud".
So let's look at what really happened since Sergio's involvement...
- Bankruptcy wiped all debits, including Chrysler's portion of the $25 billion. Wiped a lot of dealers too, but some were just crooks and this was the only way to dump them.
- $10.5 Billion in loans that was wisely poured into neglected manufacturing facilities, netting quality improvements. I'd like to think the Feds made this a requirement, but given their typical stupidity, probably not. Loan was repaid.
- No Fiat model has impacted the company's profits.
- Fiat involvement on the Dart produced an underpowered (by US standards) sedan with so-so mileage.
- Basically the same flop repeated with Gen II 200, except the problem this time was me-too bland styling with a cramped interior. Saving grace was the 3.6 Pentastar; an awesome engine (funded under Cerberus) that hauls *** and returns good mileage.
- Ram-branded Fiat vans. Flop.
- Ram (2009-18 Dodge) trucks print money. No Fiat involvement beyond 1500 diesel that's tangled up with EPA investigation.
- Ram (2018) no Fiat involvement.
- L cars date to 2005 and continue to print money. Nothing remotely Fiat about them.
- Grand Cherokee (2011) and spinoff Durango (2012) are cash machines. No Fiat connection.
- Wrangler, cash machine. Fiat connection related only to Patton driving through a smashed Facist Italy.
- Cherokee, Fiat/Chrysler-reworked platform that was almost a disaster, but has redeemed itself.
- Renegade, Fiat platform that sells based on name and being unrecognizable as a Fiat.
- T&C and Caravan, no Fiat.
- Pacifica, very little from Fiat.
- Electric/hybrid platforms all from Chrysler side of house.
- Alfa-Romeo, ego stroke that wont crack 1% of the market, but has diverted funds from modernizing many old platforms.
- Constant public desire to merge with other companies destroys employee morale, makes it hard to recruit talent.
- Stupid public comments about Dart/200 while they sat on dealer lots. Exiting car-packaging was smart, but keep your mouth shut!
- VP-level corruption proven.
Like I said, not very PC, but all documentable. I can at least say we survived... Largely because of appearances and debts owed, but survival is survival. Live to fight another day.