Moving and Shaking
By CAR lobbyist Jeremy Cottrell

Had Ronald Reagan moved to Russia to work for Mikhail Gorbachev during the Cold War, that unbelievable fantasy might have equated to the news out of Detroit this week. Maybe.

Cerberus, the private equity firm that owns 80% of Chrysler, has lured Jim Press from the hallowed halls of Toyota. Press, renowned for being the highest ranking executive and the only American on Toyota’s board of directors, left after 37 years to become vice-chairman at Chrysler.

Fittingly, Press started at Toyota when it was a struggling start up in a domestically dominated market. Press had a significant impact on building Toyota into a powerhouse that eclipsed GM as the No. 1 automotive seller in America for the first time in nearly 40 years.

“If you look at what Chrysler needs to do in terms of marketing and what they need to do with dealer organization, you probably can’t find anyone better than Jim Press,“ remarked David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.

Downsizing is likely considering the financial situation, market share, and inflated dealer network of Chrysler. Currently, Chrysler has approximately three times the number of dealerships as Toyota. Effectively managing an efficient dealership network is a difficult but necessary step Chrysler must take in order to reinvent itself to the American public.

Press will complete a trio of leaders at Chrysler: CEO Bob Nardelli and COO Tom W. LaSorda. With the amount of challenges and overhauling that are needed in the Chrysler campaign, the group has their work cut out for them.

It’s that challenge that many suspect brought Press to Chrysler, Jim Hall, an industry consultant suggested.

“Nothing he could have done at Toyota between now and retirement would have been as colossal a challenge as what he can do at Chrysler,” according to Hall.

Colorado dealers are thrilled with the addition. John Schenden, president of Pro Chrysler Jeep in Denver, was quoted in the Detroit News as saying, “It’s probably going to increase the value of our franchise--it’s going to be a terrific uplift for dealers.”

Cerberus has assembled a formidable team to reorganize Chrysler. They now truly have a three-headed beast as their name suggests. It may not be long before Chrysler emerges from the auto cold war as a major super-power.