Chrysler dealers throughout the nation watched and listened intently as they learned that the company providing the cars and trucks on their lots would be heading for bankruptcy court.
Their reactions ranged the gamut from fear and frustration to optimistic hope.
At Lochmoor Chrysler Jeep on Mack in Detroit, owner Gus Russo, 68, watched with his daughter Gina, 34, as President Barack Obama laid out the plan for the Auburn Hills-based automaker.
Russo was most surprised by the reluctance of some of the company's creditors to cut a deal that would avoid bankruptcy.
"The other day, I thought we dodged the bullet," Russo said. "I felt 100 percent sure we dodged a bullet and we weren't going to file for bankruptcy."
At Helfman River Oaks Chrysler Jeep in Houston, one of Texas' largest Chrysler dealerships, vice president Alan Helfman said the plan to put the company through a mostly prepackaged bankruptcy wasn't an easy decision. But in the end, he thinks the Obama administration's plan -- which includes a partnership with Italian maker Fiat that'll bring fuel-efficient small cars to the U.S. via Chrysler's dealership network -- will create a stronger, healthier automaker.
"Obviously, it wasn't my first pick," he said. "But it's a very viable plan. We'll get all of the small cars and technology that we've needed for years."
Back in Detroit, Russo was closing a deal on a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo just as the president's announcement about the future of the smallest of Detroit's Big Three came across.
Customers Arnold Przepiora, 74, and his wife Sharon, 67, traded in a lease and got a six-year, 70,000 mile warranty on the vehicle -- one that comes with the extra backing of the U.S. government, should the bankruptcy plan go awry. The Grosse Pointe Park couple, who have multiple family members working for Chrysler, said they've been buying the company's products since 1961.
Przepiora said this purchase was a vote of confidence in the company, and he doesn't believe he'll need the extra government-backing on the warranty.
"This shows I'm planning that they're going to be around," he said.
After the sale, Russo expressed confidence his business would make it through.
"We're confident we'll still be here," he said. "Now, we sit and wait."
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