Chrysler....still considered an american company?

So, I've just got done re-watching the Eminem commercial for Chrysler.

Chrysler is now owned primarily by Fiat (Italian) and investment groups (Global), Is it still an American company? or just a portrayal of an American company that once was?

The Italian automaker took a controlling 20-percent share in Chrysler LLC in 2009, after Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, in exchange for small-car and clean-engine technology, as well as management know-how. It expects to meet three milestones, each yielding another 5-percent share, to raise its total share to 35 percent this year. To get to 51 percent, Fiat would have to repay Chrysler's loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40886719/ns/business-autos/

Multi-national corporations do not have countries. They are global entities. Is GM a US company? One that sells more cars in China than they do here in the states? One that builds cars in Canada to sell in the US? I tend to think that these big multi-nationals are really not of any particular country. Sure they are based somewhere and historically were founded somewhere, but to expect them to have some sort of national identity other than as a marketing gimmick is silly. They will go to which ever country they think they can make the most profit. No nationalism, no patriotism - those things are just part of a marketing campaign.

IIRC, the commercial wasn't buy American, it was Buy Detroit, or Motor City, or whatever.

Not sure if that matters.

I made similar comments elsewhere after seeing that. Alot of Chrysler's advertising these days is "We're American" but lets face it they are partially owned and mostly managed/run by Fiat now.

Doesn't bother me either way but I do find it amusing.

Personally, I haven't considered Chrysler an American Company since the so call "merger of equals" with Daimler.

I know too many Americans employed by Chrysler to consider them anything else.

IIRC the 200 is based on a Mitsubishi Galant - but this time, they've put a Chrysler designed engine in it and seem to have made some major changes over the Sebring variant.

Chrysler is banking on the previous generation telling the current generation what's up. "I remember when all the cars were built in detroit, none of this tin can Jap Crap" and all of that. I have to say, even for a person who puts Chrysler at the back of the line like myself, it did inspire a good amount of patriotism.

And then I went back to watching TGUK reruns on BBC.

Tom Heath wrote: I know too many Americans employed by Chrysler to consider them anything else.

By the same note, How many Americans are employed by Toyota?

I worked for a company who, amidst many SEC issues, was basically told they could either stop shutting down their American MFG plants (of which they had closed 4), or stop shipping from overseas, or they would no longer be considered an American company and would then be in BIGGER trouble with the SEC then they already were. Amazing. I no longer work for them, but when I saw that internal memo, I was very disappointed considering the company was only a generation old - its founder was still on the board, and it went from a symbol of American ingenuity and pride to almost not even American anymore. a shame really. Fix it? Naw, throw it away and get a better model than the neighbors...thanks soccer moms

/ranting nonsense

Grtechguy wrote:

Tom Heath wrote: I know too many Americans employed by Chrysler to consider them anything else.

By the same note, How many Americans are employed by Toyota?

Certainly some, but far fewer. Same with Honda, BMW, Hyundai, etc...

A former company I worked for is owned by a father and his three sons, all born and raised in northeast Ohio. They employ more Mexicans than anything else. Does that make them a Mexican company? That kind of logic doesn't work. What country a company belongs to I would think must be based on things like:

Where was it founded?
Where is it headquartered?
Who owns it, and from what country are they?
Where does it manufacture it's products?
Where does it sell it's products?

That said, I don't have an answer. More importantly, does it matter? I think when it comes to car companies, where they make the car is just as important as where the company is "from". Some like to say that the profits from buying a japanese car go back to Japan. That may be, but what if that same company is expanding operations in this country, spending money on building new plants, in some cases design and development, and hiring Americans to work in those plants?

In the case of my former employer (not sure if its the same with all industry), the issue had to do with manufacturing - products made here versus overseas and imported. They started here, were owned here privately, are still primarily owned here now that they are public, and are headquartered here. But in terms of whats made here and shipped to domestic addresses and what is made elsewhere and shipped into the states, they were on the brink of crossing whatever boundary the SEC/IRS has drawn in the sand.

The commercial drew heavily on communist Russian labor symbolism.

I don’t know what message I’m supposed to get from this but it’s unmistakably there.

RX Reven' wrote: The commercial drew heavily on communist Russian labor symbolism.

Are you referring to the images they showed of the Diego Rivera frescos in the Detroit Library? There was some controversy about them when they were first painted back in the 1930s, but I believe that 80 years later they're considered more as an icon of Detroit than of anything else.

stuart in mn wrote:

RX Reven' wrote: The commercial drew heavily on communist Russian labor symbolism.

Are you referring to the images they showed of the Diego Rivera frescos in the Detroit Library? There was some controversy about them when they were first painted back in the 1930s, but I believe that 80 years later they're considered more as an icon of Detroit than of anything else.

Yea, they were painted after Rivera was inspired by the Ford Rouge complex down on the riverfront. Where they were able to make Model A's- every single little part.

Sure, Rivera was pro worker. Not a communist, though.

Rivera's communist "controversy" picture was painted in New York.

I don't go out of my way to buy Chrysler products, therefore I do not care if it is or it is not American.

As far as the ad goes, I missed the point all together.

http://articles.cnn.com/2008-12-12/us/american.cars_1_foreign-brands-dutch-mandel-american-car?_s=PM:US

If you wanted to buy an "American" car, how would you know which one to buy? Fewer than half of the parts on some Big Three vehicles are made in the U.S. Looking at a Ford Fusion? It is assembled in Mexico. The Chrysler 300C is assembled in Canada, but its transmission is from Indiana; the brand's V-8 engine is made in Mexico. Engines in the Chevrolet Equinox sport utility vehicle are from China. On the other hand, Toyota's Camry is comprised 80 percent of parts made in the United States, and 56 percent of Toyota's vehicles sold in the U.S. also are made here, according to Toyota spokeswoman Sona Iliffe-Moon. The Toyota Sienna and Tundra also have 80 percent of their parts manufactured in the U.S. [...] "When you think of buying American, you should focus on three points -- its engine, transmission and where it was assembled," Klier said. To get that information, read a vehicle's window sticker. U.S. automakers are legally required to detail the origin of a car's parts and its final assembly point. "Unfortunately, there are few people who know about the sticker or even bother to look at it," said Bernard Swiecki, a senior project manager at the nonprofit Center for Automotive Research in Michigan, which follows trends in the industry.

Here's a good website for checking where cars are assembled http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/is-your-car-american-made.aspx

Ah, now I can point out the Ford Crown Vic was legally an import.

RX Reven' wrote: The commercial drew heavily on communist Russian labor symbolism. I don’t know what message I’m supposed to get from this but it’s unmistakably there.

The painting was by Diego Rivera; it was on display in every lunchroom in the 8 separate buildings on our campus. Rivera was a Marxist; I can totally see similarities in the styles.
The rest of the story...

The Joe Louis Fist, however, is unmistakably Detroit. Read all about it...

FWIW, I still don't consider Daewoo to be a US company, and GM is their majority shareholder. The cars are built in Korea or Vietnam. Likewise, purchasing a rebadged daewoo (e.g. Chevy Aveo) is not "buying American."