Last Updated: Jan 1, 2011
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler Group, right, tours a Chrysler plant in Toledo, Ohio, in August. Marchionne, also the head of Fiat, has his work cut out for him in finding success with Chrysler in 2011.
I think the great sage Bill Murray had it wrong. The whole Scrooged denouement shouldn’t have been about Christmas Eve, but New Year’s. His whole “for a couple of hours out of the whole year, we are the people that we always hoped we would be” schtick is far more apropos of New Year’s than Noel. For one thing, on New Year’s Eve, many of us are with friends (whom we generally like) or strangers (whom we may even like more) while at Christmas we’re with family (I’ll let you fill in your own weird-uncle-inspired screed here). Besides, by New Year’s, we’re reveling in the home furnishings we’ve bought for ourselves at the after-Christmas sales rather than worrying about the full-pop debt we incurred buying gifts for others. No wonder New Year’s Eve is a time of optimism and resolution; there are parties, we’re with strangers we love and we’re so very, very thankful that Christmas only comes round once a year.
It is in this spirit of beatific celebration that I bring you my predictions, nay my heartfelt wishes, for 2011. Call it my metaphorical “taking an old blanket out of the closet” for the homeless. Perhaps this is just my way of making sandwiches for the indigent. Indeed, the desire to help an old lady cross the street is starting to feel overwhelming. Next thing you know, I’ll be volunteering at a soup kitchen and spontaneously carolling at roadside bus stops.
It is in just this spirit of heartfelt good cheer that I hope Toyota gets its mojo back. Yes, the world’s most prolific automaker had got a little too big for its breeches, some might even say arrogant. But it’s important to remember that, behind all that unnecessary obfuscation and misguided denial, there is a really excellent car company. Of all the non-luxury brands, for instance, Toyota has the best “survival rate” – as in more old cars still on the road – over the last 25 years. Camrys may not be enjoying the greatest of reputations now, but my dear old papa loved his 1998 LE with a fervour that made my mum jealous.
