ORIGINAL: mopar2ya
I think there are a couple of important factors that aren"t addressed in your post though RLSH. The biggest one being they are an investment company. As such I don"t think they ever intended to get in the car manufacturing business. I believe it was purely an investment opportunity... buy low... sell high. The sudden retreat in aut sales caught them off guard and they are probably just wanting to get their proverbial albatrose off thier neck. A cut and run manuever. I don"t think they ever planned on having Chrysler this long when they inked the deal.
As for thier portfolio as investment managers it is probably more than just a little worrysome that there is a potential for bankruptcy at the end of the road. From a professional standpoint a bankruptcy is probably one of the last things they would like to have on thier watch.
If it was just a matter of playing the cards your dealt and making the best hand you can I would have to agree that there is a great opportunity to save Chrysler... but I am not so sure they ever had that in mind.
Companies like this are hard to read. They seem to have their hand in about any industry they can get their hands into for a reasonable price. Do I believe they were going to hold on to them forever? No; however, I believe they are trying to get rid of them prematurely. Given how far they have come in just one year despite the market and considering the money they have available yet to resolve the issues, it would be a mistake to get rid of them now. They could probably give it a few more years while developing a competitive mid-sized offering with their new Phoenix engine line, a new compact, and drop the models that aren't worth keeping. In this scenario, they could fetch a much better price than they can with this arrangement. Considering the market and who they are considering selling to, they risk loosing and that certainly would hurt their reputation as well as their pocket book.