Then you could say nothing good came out of the merger. Sure, it was a car and platform that many people bought, but ultimately that's their brand recognition today. Neither the Hemi nor the 300c is particularly green, nor fuel efficient. When all the record contracts dry up for rap musicians as our economy sinks further, who then will they sell these to?

The future points to smaller, more efficient cars, for cash strapped consumers. Chrysler has no such car - at least one that stacks up favorably to its import counterparts. GM hardly has such a car to mention either, and Ford is hanging on with their Focus. All 3 are guilty of building sub par economy vehicles for the last decade simply to sell as fleet (rental) vehicles. They all mostly ignored the small car market, instead focusing on truck and SUV sales. Now that the market has shifted (even with gas being affordable again), the public's perception of the Big 3 is not associated with gas efficient vehicles, even if they make them

Ford looks to survive this crisis, Chrysler looks doomed and GM ... too early to call yet. Ford has proven it can build a decent small car with the Focus, but still has a long way to go to catch up to the imports.