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Red's the Color of Christmas at Chrysler; TheCarConnection.com Explores The Automaker's Worsening Crisis - And the Turnaround Plans Of New CEO Dieter Zetsche

20 December 2000

Red's the Color of Christmas at Chrysler; TheCarConnection.com Explores The Automaker's Worsening Crisis - And the Turnaround Plans Of New CEO Dieter Zetsche 
    DETROIT, Dec. 20 There's nothing like a little red ink to
dampen the holiday spirit.  And there's more than enough to color the mood at
Chrysler this year.  Based on a letter going out to DaimlerChrysler
shareholders this week, the U.S. side of the company is likely to report a
fourth quarter loss of well over a billion dollars.  The unexpected downturn
is so severe, it's expected to drag the entire company into the red,
TheCarConnection.com reports, despite the huge profits from DaimlerChrysler's
other big car brand, Mercedes-Benz.
    In his first meeting with the media this week, Chrysler's new CEO, Dieter
Zetsche, tells TCC he's going to have to move fast to deal with what he called
the "breathtakingly fast deterioration" of his company's bottom line.
Zetsche's big revival plan won't be announced until sometime close to
February.  But he stressed the need for sharp cost cutting if Chrysler is
going to turn around.  And those cuts will have to come fast.  According to
industry insiders, Chrysler will face an uphill battle to bring Christmas 2001
back into the black.
    In this mid-week special report, TheCarConnection.com also unveils the
real reasons why Firestone tires have been catastrophically failing -- a
problem that's already resulted in hundreds of deaths and thousands of
injuries.
    TheCarConnection.com brings you buying, selling, and leasing tips; and a
wide range of news, views, and reviews from the automotive world's top
columnists and correspondents.  Whatever you're interested in, you'll find
everything automotive on the Web's Automotive Authority,
http://www.TheCarConnection.com .
    Web users also can access The Car Connection by going to the PR Newswire
site http://www.prnewswire.com .