Auto News 5

It was December 2008, mere weeks after former chairman Robert Nardelli pleaded with the U.S. Congress for bailout funding for Chrysler Corporation. The company was up against the ropes, sales were tanking along with the economy, and the product lineup was heavy on misses, light on hits. An increasingly desperate Chrysler invited the usual scrum of automotive journalists, pundits, and analysts to the company's design dome in Auburn Hills for a sneak peek of the next-generation Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sedans, among other future models, in an attempt to prove that this was a car company and a roster of products that were worth saving. There on the dome floor sat two draped vehicles; there was no time or inclination for such niceties as elevated turntables. The drapes were unceremoniously peeled away, revealing two crisply executed sedans that were distinctly American and clearly related to the existing cars, yet substantially different. It was immediately evident that these were not just pinpoints of light in Chrysler's gathering darkness, they were kliegs, and they were vivid proof of the talent that resided in the vast Chrysler headquarters complex even through the years of Daimler mismanagement. To quote Madonna, they had style, they had grace. In those grim days, though, we weren't sure if they had a chance in hell of ever seeing the showroom floor.