May 14, 2009 Timeline: How Chrysler Crashed
On May 14, 2009, Chrysler left 789 dealerships, about a quarter of its dealer base, out in the cold by rejecting their franchise agreements and giving them about a month to sell all their remaining new cars, factory parts and service equipment. After almost 95 years selling Dodges, Reed Brothers was one of the 15 dealerships in Maryland and 789 dealerships nationwide notified by Chrysler that their franchise agreement would not be renewed.
Here is a timeline on how Chrysler crashed:
1920s
Walter P Chrysler purchased the Dodge company and swiftly built a portfolio of auto brands including Plymouth and Chrysler. Within five years he was competing with Ford and General Motors.
1970s
After the 1973 energy crisis Chrysler’s range of big gas-guzzling cars and a couple of recalls left it with big problems. The legendary Lee Iacocca was hired in 1978. With the help of government loans, the former Ford executive rescued the firm and rebuilt it during the 1980s, buying Jeep along the way.
1990s
Iaccoca retired in 1992. In 1998 Chrysler merges with Daimler-Benz in a $37bn deal to become DaimlerChrysler, based in Germany. It was supposed to be a merger of equals, but Daimler was in the driving seat and Chrysler swiftly fell into losses.
2007
February 13,000 job cuts announced. Daimler says its open to offers for Chrysler.
April Activist investor Kirk Kerkorian tables a bid for Chrysler.
May Daimler sells 80% of Chrysler to private equity group Cerberus for $7.4B. The German group retains a 20% stake.
2008
October General Motors reported to be in merger talks with Chrysler. Nissan considers bidding for 20% of Chrysler to add to its alliance with Renault. Chrysler announces 5,000 job losses. Daimler says its 20% stake is worthless.
November Chrysler boss Bob Nardelli says the firm needs merger or bailout to survive. Sales down 35% in a year. GM asks US treasury department for $10bn so that it and Chrysler can merge. Cerberus demands $7B from Daimler to cover post-acquisition losses. German group says claims are baseless.
December The Senate refuses the bail-out. Chrysler says it is short of cash and likely to file for bankruptcy. All plants to close for a month. President George Bush finally approves a $13B rescue loan for the big three US carmakers.
2009
January US government provides $4B cash. Chrysler reported to be in talks to sell assets, maybe the Jeep brand, to Renault. Fiat proposes taking 35% stake in return for access to technology and overseas distribution networks
March Nardelli backs Fiat plan to save jobs and asks government for another $5B. Obama gives Chrysler 30 days to do a deal with Fiat – or go bankrupt.
April Chrysler’s banks talk to US government about debt for equity swap
Maryland Dealers shut down
Via: theguardian
Road Tripping in a 1935 Dodge Touring Sedan
Lewis Reed’s 1935 Dodge Touring Sedan. Photo by Lewis Reed
This photograph was taken by Lewis Reed on one of his many cross country road trips. The car is a 1935 Dodge Touring Sedan with Maryland Dealer license plates. Note the rear-hinged “Suicide Door” in the photo below. Cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car. The term “suicide doors” was therefore placed on vehicles with the rear-hinged door configuration, the theory being that the forward motion of the car could cause the door to fly open, possibly causing the unlucky person sitting next to the door to be pulled out of the car, or the door itself could be ripped from its hinges.
I have no idea what prompted my grandfather to take a photo at this location, but perhaps it was the amazing view in the background. Photo by Lewis Reed
Lewis Reed Photo: 1911 Speedwell Touring
Two ladies posing in a 1911 Speedwell Touring car. Photo by Lewis Reed
One of the things I enjoy doing is looking through all of the old photographs in my grandfather’s albums and trying to figure out who and what they are. Unfortunately, the majority of the photos are more than 100 years old and do not come neatly labeled on the back with names, dates, people or places. Anyway, I came across this cool looking car and thought it would be fun to try and identify it, so I went on a quest. The only real clue I had to go on was the “S” on the front of the car.
After some digging, my research has identified the car as a circa 1910 or 1911 Speedwell Touring car — pictured just below is a fully restored 1911 Speedwell Series 11 50HP. Looks the same to me. What do you think?
Fully restored 1911 Speedwell Series 11 50HP. In 2011, this car was offered for sale at auction. It was estimated to sell for $195,000-$225,000 but bidding fell short of the estimate and left the auction unsold.
The Speedwell Motor Car Company was an early United States automobile manufacturing company that produced cars from 1907 to 1914. In 1910, the Speedwell cars and the Wright aircraft were produced in the same factory building. Powering the cars was a Speedwell four-cylinder motor that offered 50 horsepower, making it more than capable of sustaining high speeds. The exterior designs of the Speedwell automobiles were inspired from multiple parts of the automotive industry. Speedwell declared bankruptcy in 1915.
Source: Wikipedia – Speedwell Motor Car Company
Lewis Reed Photo: Old Car Wreck
Photo by Lewis Reed
This photo taken by Lewis Reed in the early 1920s was not picked for its shock value, but for the history it contains of an era long since gone. During the 1920s a drivers license wasn’t needed in most states. It was the wild west when it came to driving. Poorly maintained roads, uneducated drivers, and speeds approaching 40 mph was the perfect combination for some really bad accidents. The photograph sure hits home with just how fragile those early cars were.
Peerless Rockville Newsletter Feature
It was 100 years ago in October 1915, that Lewis Reed signed a franchise agreement with brothers Horace and John Dodge in Detroit. Since then, the business that Lewis Reed founded grew and transformed into Rockville’s oldest family-owned and operated Dodge dealership.
Last October, I was invited to write a feature article for the Winter issue of Peerless Rockville’s Newsletter highlighting the 100th anniversary of Reed Brothers Dodge. Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation, Ltd. is an award-winning nonprofit, community-based organization founded in 1974 to preserve buildings, objects, and information important to Rockville’s heritage. Their official website can be found here.
Pictured below is page 3 of the newsletter of the Peerless Places series highlighting Reed Brothers Dodge. (click image to enlarge)
Books
Related Resources
Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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