Chrysler Automobile

To Cerberus Capital Management, the New York-based private equity firm that just bought Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler, congratulations and … what do you mean I'm being laid off? I don't even work for you guys! So far, the company is off to a rousing start. It was widely expected that Cerberus would name Wolfgang Bernhard, former executive for Chrysler, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen, to be Chrysler's chairman-CEO.

In the car business, it's all about product. You can move iron with incentives and lure tire-kickers with a clever ad. But to rack up consistent sales and build a loyal customer base, a car company needs to make quality vehicles that meet buyers' needs and fulfill their desires. For the "new" Chrysler -- which recently went private and is in the midst of a restructuring -- meeting this challenge won't be easy.

Chrysler said it was recalling about 125,000 2007 and 2008 Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring cars to address a problem with the cooling fan motor connector that could lead to engine fires. The automaker has received reports of 17 fires since July that could be related to the condition, a company spokesman said. The recall covers only Avenger and Sebring models with 2.4-liter engines.

FOR the purposes of this article, I will dispense with my usual sphinx-like air of mystery to tell you something personal. I am a new father. This is an astonishing turn of events, primarily on account of my astonishing age (47). Nonetheless, my two gorgeous daughters are the joy of my life and will be until the day I keel over at a middle-school dance recital. Apropos of current events, I've been reading Alan S.

DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler group has sold fewer vehicles so far this month than in the same period last year, and the automaker will cut production and increase incentives to prevent a buildup of unsold autos, sales executive Joe Eberhardt said. Chrysler, whose U.S. sales fell 2.7% in November and 5% in December, "hasn't seen substantial improvement in January," said Eberhardt, executive vice president of global sales and marketing.

Chrysler unveiled a stunning concept Jeep Hurricane at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit last week, an all-wheel-drive sport-utility vehicle about the size of a Grand Cherokee. With all-wheel steering, you can turn front and/or rear wheels in or out and drive in a perfect circle. While an unlikely feature for the highways, it would be ideal for military application.

The stock Chrysler 300C could not be said to suffer from inadequate charisma. This is a car that managed to win the 2005 North American Car of the Year award from auto writers and the Snoop Dogg seal of approval. Like the Cadillac Escalade, the 300C is an automotive crossover hit, finding favor with urban audiences (witness the car's repeated drive-ons in hip-hop videos) as well as the wider, whiter world of suburban moms and dads looking for a car that doesn't bore them to tears.

Chrysler has again returned to the past to come up with a car for the future. The automaker, which looked to the 1970s muscle car era to create the 2006 Dodge Charger, has gone back to that time to pluck another muscle car nameplate, the Challenger. It's on a concept of a car that Dodge says will take a bow at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

The usual tempo for new-to-market coupes is to launch the hardtop version first and then, when the fires of consumer demand are banked a little, to stoke them again with a convertible version. From Audi to Volvo, this is a time-honored tradition observed with increasing finesse, and more than a little rote cynicism, thanks to advances in convertible top technology.

Lisa Spilker has a shiny white 2001 Chrysler Concorde parked in her driveway, but it isn't going anywhere. The car's 2.7-liter engine was destroyed by oil sludge several months ago and now Spilker can't afford the $6,500 cost of a new engine. Chrysler officials told the woman, who lives in Medical Lake, Wash., near Spokane, that the failure was caused by neglected maintenance, though she insists she changed the oil monthly and tried to take good care of the vehicle.