Local dealers applaud sale plan

American ownership and lack of debt inspire confidence in new owners.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
Area Chrysler dealers are welcoming the pending sale of Chrysler to a New York-based investment group.
"We're an American company again," said Chuck Eddy of Bob & amp; Chuck Eddy Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Austintown.
Bob Frederick Jr. of Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Boardman said he expects the transition to be seamless because the new owners are retaining Chrysler's executive team and business plan.
Cerberus Capital Management said Monday that it will acquire the Chrysler Group in a 7.4 billion deal with DaimlerChrysler, a German-based corporation that was formed when Daimler-Benz merged with Chrysler in 1998. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of this year.
Cerberus will own 80.1 percent of Chrysler.
Eddy compared the news to an announcement that former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca made more than 20 years ago. Iacocca announced that the company had paid off a federally guaranteed loan seven years early, showing that Chrysler was financially stable after a period of uncertainty.
"This is that big of a day for me," Eddy said.
He said he is excited because Chrysler will be free from debt with the deal and it will be able to set its own course, instead of having oversight from German executives.
Eddy also likes that Chrysler is to become a private company because it "won't have to answer to Wall Street."
He said the management at Cerberus are business-savvy leaders who are running companies such as Air Canada and GMAC, the former finance unit of General Motors Corp.
Eddy is on the executive committee of Chrysler's national dealer council and also is chairman of the Chrysler side of the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Frederick said he likes that the German company, which will be changing its name to Daimler, is still involved with Chrysler with a 19.9 percent ownership stake.
Having Daimler's involvement has helped Chrysler to improve its quality, engineering and design, he said.
He also noted that Cerberus is expected to have a strong finance unit because it also is acquiring Chrysler Finance. Frederick said that unit probably will be combined with GMAC, of which Cerberus is now the majority owner.
Vehicles to be introduced
Also, Chrysler has some vehicles that will be introduced soon that will help the company recover from its financial problems, Frederick said.
The company is preparing to introduce hybrid versions of its Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen sport-utility vehicles. Hybrid vehicles save fuel because they use both an electric motor and a gasoline engine.
Other hybrids are expected to follow, including those that use the company's powerful Hemi engine, Frederick said.
He said he's also excited about next year's arrival of the all-new Dodge Challenger. The car hasn't been produced in 35 years, but concept versions have been shown at car shows recently.
shilling@vindy.com