Big changes loom for Chrysler

The concept car had been shown publicly and critiqued internally. Business plans had been written, and Chrysler Group executives had debated for months whether to build the flagship luxury sedan. But it would be up to Wolfgang Bernhard to ultimately approve or kill the Chrysler Imperial.

In mid-July, the incoming chairman of Chrysler made his call in dramatic fashion at a final product review, according to people familiar with the event.

"That car," Bernhard said, "will never see the light of day."

His swift decision is a preview of how Chrysler will operate under Cerberus Capital Management, the secretive private-equity giant that will soon complete its $7.4 billion buyout of the No. 3 U.S. automaker.

With Cerberus exec Bernhard as its hands-on chairman, Chrysler is expected to move quickly and forcefully to turn around its sagging domestic operations and grow its international business.

Cerberus is expected to close on its acquisition of Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler AG as soon as Friday, according to people close to the process.

It's the deal of the decade in the global auto industry and the beginning of a new era for Chrysler, the smallest of Detroit's struggling Big Three automakers.

Big changes are in store for the new Chrysler, including the possibility of an expanded alliance with Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co. and a deal to build cars in Russia, The Detroit News has learned.

But overseas projects and U.S. product moves are only part of the transformation awaiting Chrysler, which lost $680 million in 2006. More at Detroit News