This was in the WSJ this morning
Chrysler Considers
Selling Off Viper Brand
By JEFF BENNETT
August 28, 2008; Page D3
DETROIT -- Chrysler LLC said it may sell off its hot-rod Dodge Viper nameplate, becoming the last of the Detroit auto makers to consider such a move amid escalating costs and the financial pressure to return to profitability.
Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said he has been approached by unnamed third parties "interested in exploring future possibilities for Viper." Mr. Nardelli said he has retained Lazard Ltd. to help in a strategic review of Viper's future, although there is no timetable. About 110 employees produce eight Vipers daily.
The third-largest U.S.-based auto maker had been the lone holdout on selling off pieces of its portfolio until this point. General Motors Corp. announced in June that it was reviewing the future for its Hummer brand before posting a second-quarter loss of $15.5 billion. Ford Motor Co. earlier this year sold its Jaguar and Land Rover brands to Tata Motors Ltd. for $2.3 billion, having previously sold its Aston Martin brand.
The three auto makers have been forced to take drastic steps over the past year amid eroding U.S. sales brought about by high fuel prices and a weak economy. Consumers have shifted away from buying pickup trucks and sport-utility vehicles to more fuel-efficient cars.
The quick consumer shift caught Chrysler, Ford and GM off guard, forcing them to spend millions to cut back their SUV and pickup-truck production while boosting small-car output. The situation has become so dire that all three auto makers are considering seeking about $50 billion in loans from the government.
Congress passed an energy plan last year that would lend $25 billion to auto makers for fuel-efficient development, but the plan hasn't been funded. Since then, the auto makers have been pushing for about twice that amount.
Reuters
A 2008 Dodge Viper at the New York International Auto Show.
The Viper, which went into production in 1992, injected a tough and fast feel into the Dodge brand with its V-10 engine. In March, Mr. Nardelli himself was at the Detroit Conner Avenue plant to celebrate as number
250,000 rolled off the assembly line.
However, squealing tires and burning gas no longer seem to fit a company aimed at responding to consumer demands for fuel efficiency. Mr. Nardelli even declined to answer reporter questions about the Viper's fate during his plant visit.
Chrysler, taken private just over a year ago by Cerberus Capital Management LP, needs to conserve cash, as most of its product portfolio is weighted toward pickup-truck and Jeep sales. The auto maker, which relies on North America for more than 90% of its sales, has racked up double-digit monthly sales declines recently.
Chrysler President Tom LaSorda has said the auto maker is about halfway through selling off $1 billion in noncore assets to raise cash. The Viper business was one of the strategic ideas that had been identified as a possible noncore asset sale, company spokesman Stuart Schorr said Wednesday.
Mr. LaSorda is also overseeing new partnerships to speed the introduction of new cars. Chrysler executives are slated to visit Nissan Motor Corp.'s studios next month to approve the design for a small car that Nissan will build for Chrysler, which the auto maker will sell in the U.S. starting in 2010.
Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Mich., is also investing $1.8 billion to build a new car-based platform and upgrade its second Detroit plant. The platform will be used to replace the truck-based Jeep Grand Cherokee.
--Mike Barris contributed to this story.
Write to Jeff Bennett at
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