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Chrysler LLC revealed a $515 million first-quarter 2008 loss, despite the fact that the privately held firm isn't required to discuss earnings. So what gives? Ex-lover Daimler spilled the beans Thursday, stating that its 20% stake in Chrysler lost about $105 million in value. The Detroit News did some quick math, multiplying Daimler's loss by five, and a Chrysler spokesperson eventually confirmed that the number was in the half-a-billon dollar neighborhood. Jalopnik Snap Judgment: A little more math, based on the fact that Chrysler really has nothing besides the Ram truck coming out this year, tells us Chrysler is on track for a $2-billion-plus loss for the year, breaking their previous record of $1.6 billion. As Rebecca Lindland, auto analyst at Global Insight, said, "From a product perspective, you can't point to a light at the end of the tunnel." Ouch. So Chrysler's survival will depend upon how deep owner Halliburton Cerberus Capital Management's pockets...
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There are those marriages where it's hard to wonder how one partner operates without the other because both partners make the other one better. Perhaps one of the greatest comedic married couples in the last century was George Burns & Gracie Allen. One would setup the joke and the other would knock it out of the park, with George usually doing the setting and Gracie doing the knocking. Burns had a long career afterwards, but as he said himself "First you have to have a talent. You have to develop this talent. Then you have to marry her like I did!" Well, not all marriages are that successful. There were a lot of good pranks listed in our Best Car Prank QOTD , but one answer from PatFromGundo tops them all: A few years back, I purchased a flagging Detroit automaker and told the world it was a "marriage of equals." Genius! Is that you Dr. Z? . If it is, then yeah, we all got totally punked.
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DaimlerChrysler Chief Deiter "Tobias" Zetsche says everything is great since they dumped Chrysler. Seriously. They feel great, look great and are seeing new people. They'd have totally made a profit last quarter, but they needed time to get over the breakup (and related charges). Things are looking up for old Daimler so don't count him out. He's going to focus on the basic things, like Mercedes Benz. And he's trying new things, like fuel cells. Seriously, couldn't be better. Thanks for asking. [ AP ]
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