Hear New Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press' Interview on WJR Radio

SEE ALSO: LISTEN: Paul W. Smith has a great "exclusive" 15 minute conversation with Jim Press, Chrysler's new Vice-Chairman

Posted on The Firehouse Blog
By Mike Ellis

Detroit September 20, 2007; In his first interview since joining Chrysler, Vice Chairman and President Jim Press said, “it’s great to be back on the home team,” and he confidently predicted that the company would gain market share.

“I think every 37 or 38 years you ought to try a new career,” the longtime Toyota veteran said on the on the Paul W. Smith Show on Detroit radio station WJR-AM radio (760).

“It’s great to be on this team. The timing is perfect. The organization is capable. They’ve got everything situated. They need some good, fresh direction, some consistent thoughts and observations, and I can bring those.”

Press said he was motivated to leave Toyota by the challenge at Chrysler, and the timing couldn’t be better.

“We can capitalize on a growing market,” he said. “The market is going to grow, and we’re going to increase our share, and I think the domestic auto industry will increase their share.”

In the interview Press also discusses his daily swimming regimen, house-hunting with his wife in suburban Detroit, and working with Vice Chairman Tom LaSorda.