Chrysler Identity At Risk.....

Yeah this has been coming for quite a while unfortunately. Iacocca saved Chrysler back in the 80's when it was hanging on by a thread, but he could only do so much for so long. The Chrysler brand that the great Walter P. started way back when is all but gone sadly. Hopefully it will continue on through those of us that are proud to own them and tout their appeal.

I am currently reading "Chrysler" by Vincent Curcio and it really paints quite the picture of the brilliance of Walter Chrysler. Incredible how he got through the depression and essentially climbed to number 2 behind GM, whose founder Billy Durant REALLY fell on hard times.
 
It was amazing to see Walter P's personal tool box on display at the Chrysler Museum with @detmatt and my brother 2 days before the Museum closed for good.

Touring the museum was one of the highlights in my life!
 
It was amazing to see Walter P's personal tool box on display at the Chrysler Museum with @detmatt and my brother 2 days before the Museum closed for good.

Touring the museum was one of the highlights in my life!

I am jealous. Wish I would have been able to see it. Thankfully we still have the slightly tall, art-deco building to look at as we drive through New York in our New Yorkers. Okay, maybe not that last part, but the building still stands as a marvel of the good ol fashioned American spirit.
 
I am jealous. Wish I would have been able to see it. Thankfully we still have the slightly tall, art-deco building to look at as we drive through New York in our New Yorkers. Okay, maybe not that last part, but the building still stands as a marvel of the good ol fashioned American spirit.

Yep! To me it is the most beautiful building in the world. I wish I could go exploring in the building. Access is restricted to the ground floor.
 
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Found a photo my friend took that day, our trip down was a bucket list item for both of us, he called me on Thursday;

"their closing the Walter P. Chrysler Museum on Sunday, what are you doing Saturday?"

I was at his place Saturday morning by 4AM, and we headed down to Detroit from there, getting there just in time for its opening.

Nick
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My brother, Detroit Matt and me at Matt's shop in Detriot. I have other pictures on my other computer.

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So, what happened with the cars and other items in the museum?
 
So sad to hear but one could almost see it coming. It will be up to folks like us and our children to keep the Chrysler name and heritage relevant with our cars.
 
I've got a book "The History of Chrysler" and it has that iconic picture of WPC and his tool box. The Chrysler story, engineering prowess, drive and forward thinking had a big influence on me. Once I read that book and understood more about Chrysler and the simple fact that all of my family were MoPar owners, pretty much sealed my fate :)
 
1) Detroit News is a click-bait rag staffed with "bloggers".

2) While it's true that a handful of cars at the museum were owned by private individuals, the vast majority, including perhaps 75-100 that were never seen, are (still) owned by Chrysler. For a while they were displayed at the former Viper plant (which became a conference center for big corporate meetings). Sources say they've been moved back to their former, non-public location as the building prepares for a "new chapter".

3) A new Chrysler model is coming.

4) Never refer to the company as "FCA" unless they're paying you like Carl's Jr. (ala Idiocracy). This keeps the name alive. Even our glorious President says "Chrysler" in tweets and other official communications. People still know what you're talking about... Unless you want to say something negative, like "Former FCA Chairman Sergio was a crook". Also, the word "Ram" is pronounced "Dodge (pause) Ram" until I tell you otherwise.

That is all.
 
My opinion, we don't have any persona left in the car business. Real car guys like Iaccoca, Delorean, the Ford family, etc. such are gone. These guys got in front of the cameras bragging, about their cars, their factories, their workers. Even when times were'nt so good. I bet many of us were connected to somebody working the auto industry and we rooted for their success.

Members of our family packed our bags and drove 1,000 miles to the WPC Museum about 4-6 years ago when they announced the first closing of the WP Museum. The history of Detroit is truly amazing from the development of the auto industry in late 1800's, to war effort assemblies and back to domestic production as you can see in the Chrysler Museum. The history of the cars and displays is (was) second to none.

Times change; the new generation cannot relate to the industry the same as the 50 plusers. Heck, today's generation don't even want to drive let alone have any interest in the auto game. We have become digitized; instead of going to a museum we'de rather look at pictures and use that dehumanizing social media to "stay connected". Sad.
 
I've been a Mopar guy for 50 years.....

I was fortunate to tour the Chrysler Museum prior to it closing for good.

However, I have not seen the Ford Museum yet. I heard it's really a must see museum. Takes 2 days to see everything. I heard the Ford truck museum is a whole day by itself.

I will visit that museum too. And visit my good friend Matt while I'm there!
 
I am extremely sorry I never got to the Chrysler museum. Daimler and Fiat both sucked what they could out of Chrysler. There should still be a BIg 3, (not that anyone under 30 knows what that refers to)but they all helped with their own decline. I remember the Iacocca commercials for Chrysler touting the great workers, engineering while standing by an assembly line. It was a great 60 second TV moment that for myself made me proud to be American. He was a great showman, great salesman, but it worked for me. I know Chrysler isn't the powerhouse name it was, but I will still be sad if it gets to the point that it joins Hudson, Studebaker, AMC, etc as a defunct brand.
 
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