Save Chrysler?

In a New York Times interview, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli says that if the government doesn’t loan the troubled automaker an extra $5 billion now to avoid bankruptcy, it will soon cost five times more – $25 billion – to rescue his dying company:

In Chrysler’s restructuring plans, submitted to the Treasury Department on Feb. 17, the automaker estimated that it would require up to $25 billion in government assistance if it were to file for bankruptcy protection.

“Why would the government want to spend $20 to $25 billion, when you can spend $5 billion?” Mr. Nardelli said.

Nardelli also suggests that if Chrysler gets the $5 billion now – on top of the $4 billion it has already received – he won’t be back again to ask for a third bailout.

“The $5 billion, we believe, will give us enough liquidity to survive,” he said.

Nearly thirty years ago, a government loan kept Chrysler out of bankruptcy, and was repaid within three years.

“We at Chrysler borrow money the old-fashioned way,” Iacocca said later. “We pay it back.”

But is Nardelli willing and able to be another Iacocca?

By: Joel