The crisis destroys his hopes and leads him to hand today

Chrysler in the Fiat Galaxy! With agreement in principle announced yesterday, the American company prepares a new unexpected stage, at the end of an already turbulent journey. The saga of Chrysler, enamelled some successes such as the Chrysler 300 (1955), the first model to exceed 300 horses, or the invention of the concept of monospace family with travel in 1984, summarizes it only the vagaries of automotive U.S., nine tumultuous decades.

It is in 1925 that Walter Chrysler, former President of Buick (possession of General Motors), creates the third and last of the "big three" from a small manufacturer badly, Maxwell Motor. It launches outset a model that will work well, the Six, the first car of the era sold moderately priced ($1.565) despite its 6-cylinder. Wanting to respond to the broad portfolio of the great GM of Alfred Sloan, he multiplies the coats of arms in its group, first by acquiring Dodge Brothers, and then by creating brands Plymouth for the entry, at the end of the 1920s, and DeSoto to mid-tier. Comes after the war the Imperial mark, which involved five the number of different ranges, as GM at the time. The crisis of 1929 strike the young group as its competitors, but Chrysler held to distinguish themselves and make themselves known as the "firm of engineers" of Detroit. It thus leaves the Chrysler Airflow in 1934, the first model to use the scientific principles of aerodynamics. It was designed in a wind tunnel. And then, after the war years past to assemble tanks, the group will sign of many other technical as the Steering, the generator, the box chassis innovations and the famous Hemi V8 engine (1951). It will be even the first to include a turntable in its cars (45 rpm), in the 1960s, to track the popularity of the jukebox of the time! This decade marks a turning point for the group, which should scuttle its DeSoto brand, as it will subsequently do with Plymouth Valiant, due to internal cannibalization emanating Dodge. The launch of "muscle cars", embodied by the Plymouth Barracuda, symbol of American prosperity, is tarnished by the outbreak of an armada of rivals: Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac Firebird. By 1966, Chrysler launches in Europe in a reckless manner, with the resumption of Simca in France and the British Rootes, despite its obsolete activities. An error. Since the oil crisis takes completely to wrong way in the United States, with a fall in sales that which is underway since last year. At the time, the star group rings European retirement by selling in 1978 to PSA both Simca and Talbot marks and their factories.

Exactly like today, he pays her too much dependence on large models and has more lines of sufficient sedans in the second oil shock. Where a financial bailout organized by the administration Carter late 1979, based on a system of loan guarantees to avoid bankruptcy (1 billion at the time). Here also, the scenario recalls widely current film, with much lower at the time financial amounts. Lee Iacocca, a former leader of Ford, rocked the House, breathes in the range of modern platforms that make it default, invents the crossing the minivan in the U.S. (Renault will launch its version, space, shortly after) and makes a point of honour to repay Washington with a lot in advance.

A nugget, the Jeep

Chrysler is a bit of visibility on the small sedan after a partnership with Japanese Mitsubishi and sign especially a nice coup in 1987, when Renault brings on a plateau group American Motors Corp. (AMC), that he knew what to do and which contains a nugget: the mark Jeep. After tortuous paths, the famous legacy of the second World War 4 4 was indeed found in the portfolio of AMC and Renault. Chrysler will be able to wake up the beautiful sleeping with "civil" version Jeep Wrangler and other adaptations from his Jeep Eagle division.

It is ultimately a Chrysler in relative good health is in 1998 German Daimler, for an American foot. A transaction of $ 36 billion. But this "marriage designed to heaven", according to the purchasers, many setbacks, will ultimately resulted because the business return and Chrysler accounts degrade. Cost reduction programs are cycled through, the shares of components become the alpha and the Omega and engineers from Stuttgart, closest of Mecedes-Benz culture that of the universe of Dodge, leave little room to their counterparts in Auburn Hills. After a relatively short relief, Chrysler returned to losses. Daimler takes the sponge in 2007. It gives Cerberus a player weakened, undercapitalised and which no longer has many projects of vehicles in its cartons. The Fund hoped to redress the matter. The crisis destroys his hopes and leads him to hand today.