The sad truth is Chrysler has lost some of their best engineers and designers to the competition.

Eric Stoddard, the designer of the Crossfire prototype now works for Hyundai and Kia. You might have noticed how much the Korean car's styling has improved in the past few years !

Lutz and some of his team are now at GM. If the Chevy HHR reminds you of the PT Crusier that's because the same designers created it. But now they work for the General, not Chrysler ! Chrysler was known for being able to bring showcars/prototypes into production vehicles.Sadly enough, they seem to have lost that talented bunch that accomplished that. Their latest efforts are just sad. Airflite-Sebring, Jeep Compass showcar -Compass production vehicle are glaring examples of badly botched attempts at translating showcars into production vehicles.

That's the problem with these "whitecollar staff reductions" going on at domestic brands. These are talented experianced people. They not tossing their degrees and resumes into the trash; they go out and find new jobs in their field and contribute their skills and talent to the competition !

It's like a struggling major league ball team trading their higest priced, most talented players to save on payroll costs. These players are back on the field the next week; playing for the opposition and beating their former team ! It's just like a starving farmer eating his seed-corn; you'll not be hungry today but you will starve the following year !

Slim