Chrysler Gets 3 Offers for Viper Business

Chrysler announced that it was selling its Viper sports car operation last summer, proving just how painful its financial woes had become. Since then, it has remained mum about receiving possible offers for the highly-regarded program. Yesterday, Chrysler co-President Jim Press shed a little light on the Viper sale process. According to Press, Chrysler has had three offers to buy the Viper business. "We're doing due diligence," he said in a conference call. Chrysler must submit a restructuring plan to the U.S. government by March 31 in order to keep a $4 billion federal loan it received last year. When asked if a sale was possible before the deadline, Press said Chrysler didn't expect it to be done by then. The Viper factory in Detroit employs about 110 people. Last year, Chrysler sold 1,172 Vipers in the U.S. In January, sales rose 74 percent from a year earlier, to 127 units. Source: Automotive News