Apr 30, 2009 8:04 pm US/Eastern
Expert: Chrysler Should Come Back 'Lean And Mean'
AAA's Robert Sinclair: Bankruptcy, Partnership With Fiat Just What Struggling Automaker Needs To Rebound
HEMPSTEAD (CBS) ―
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U.S. flags flutter in the wind underneath a sign displaying the Chrysler name at a local dealership in Miami, Florida.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images
Chrysler's chapter 11 bankruptcy makes the struggling automaker eligible for another $8 billion in federal aid. The question is: What will this mean to Chrysler buyers and sellers?
Dealerships across the tri-state area took a deep breath on Thursday. Phones were ringing off the hook in Hempstead. They'd just heard President Barack Obama speak and wondered what bankruptcy protection will bring to one of America's most storied automakers and to the locals here who buy, sell and drive Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.
"It's unfortunate that Chrysler has to go into bankruptcy, but sometimes things are necessary for people to survive," said Roosevelt Chrysler shopper Ed Jones.
Jones was skittish but Coronda Foster wanted to buy and heard bankruptcy will not affect her ability to get a Chrysler serviced and repaired.
"I believe the government will back the warranty. Obama said it, so I'm going with that," Foster told CBS 2 HD.
The president said the partnership deal with the Italian carmaker Fiat will give Chrysler a new lease on life to survive the economic crisis ravaging the nation's automakers. The federal government hopes Chrysler will emerge from bankruptcy in two months, under the new partnership. The feds will back all warranties until then.
Garden City Chrysler sales manager John Negri predicted it will be great for the consumer.
"You want to move the metal? Always want to move the metal. Always want to sell cars? This is the opportunity for the public to come out and get a good deal on a car," Negri said.
Added Bayside Chrysler shopper Marcia Kimmel: "I'm going to stand by my own country. That's the only thing that's going to help the economy. Buy American."
Robert Sinclair of AAA said American consumer should be cautiously optimistic.
"The idea of bankruptcy is, believe it or not, a good thing, because that way they'll be able to reorganize, shed some of their debt, drop some dealers, and be able to go into the future lean and mean," Sinclair said.
President Obama predicted that the automakers will "come back" and he said he wants to see Chrysler recapture the place it had in society when it was "a pillar of our industrial community."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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