Last-Minute Roadblocks to Chrysler-Fiat Sale

Though the Chrysler-Fiat sale could become official as early as tomorrow, some Chrysler creditors are still pushing hard to block it. According to papers filed late yesterday, Bloomberg reports, Indiana pension funds that had lent Chrysler money in the past sought a Supreme Court review of a ruling allowing the sale. The Indiana funds, which hold $42.5 million of $6.9 billion in Chrysler-secured loans, argue the Fiat deal is a misuse of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which they contend was meant for financial institutions, not car companies.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the tense e-mailing that occurred during the final attempts at negotiation in the hours before Chrysler filed for bankruptcy. The e-mails reveal that Fiat ignored requests for documents and attempted to change contract terms at the last minute. Chrysler responded that "comments extracted from emails exchanged in the heat of negotiations reflect the normal hyperbole that occurs in the final stages of negotiating any complex transaction." In one e-mail, an official referred to the Treasury Department as "God."

Another federally bailed-out automaker, General Motors (GM) may be in the midst of an identity crisis. While the company has been heavily touting its investment in environmentally responsible car technologies, that may be just for show, the Washington Post asserts. "Even now, as General Motors fights for survival, there is something ambivalent about its prescription for saving itself," the article reads. While GM has pointed to the Volt as a symbol of its movement away from conventional car production, big and powerful cars have long been at the root of the brand. In a telling example, currently on display at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport is not the coming electric car, the Post says, but the Chevrolet Camaro, which it calls "a car that flies in the face of all the worries of the American automotive industry."

Many customers who were anxious to get their hands on the new Palm (PALM) Pre this weekend ended up out of luck, Bloomberg reports. The Pre sold out within hours at various stores after it was released, and some Best Buy (BBY) stores reported having as few as three phones to offer. The limited availability could help create more buzz for the product, touted by some as the biggest competitor yet to the Apple (AAPL) iPhone.

The New York Times wonders whether or not Warner Bros.' indie-film studio New Line Cinema can survive in the company's corporate, blockbuster-oriented environment. It's doing well so far. Though New Line now has only about 50 employees, down from close to 600 before Warner took over, it's been surprisingly resilient. As of mid-May this year, New Line had provided nearly half of Warner's domestic box-office sales through films like He's Just Not That Into You and Friday the 13^th.

Warner Bros. had a good weekend at the box office, according to the LA Times. Its raunchy comedy The Hangover earned $16.5 million on Friday. Disney/Pixar's Up brought in $13.4 million, while Universal Pictures' Land of the Lost opened to just $7.2 million, well under projections. The Will Ferrell comedy cost more than $100 million to produce, the article says, "qualifying it for the distinction of becoming the summer's first big flop."