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Chrysler Technician: "Don't Buy Our Cars"
-J.F. Musial
Every Sunday, much like any other car enthusiast, I go for a nice drive around some unknown back-roads in the state. I drive most of the time trying to get myself lost just so maybe I'll discovery a new stretch of twisties which I can have all to myself for a few fun minutes. My obsession with driving eats up a good portion of my paycheck, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
These random drives of mine have left me stranded several times. I spent six hours once on the side of the road just for a state trooper to finally show up to tell me to get my car out of the way. Thanks again sir! Today though, I was on the other side of the spectrum. I passed by an middle-age man on the side of the road with the hood of his Chrysler 300C up. I decided to do my good deed of the day and pull over to see if I could be of any assistance. As I stepped out of the car and walked over, I immediately overheard the man on the phone telling who I later found out to be his boss, that his car was a complete piece of crap. I introduced myself and offered if I could help. Chad introduced himself, then told me that he was driving from Ohio to New York City to look for a new job. The obvious question I had for him was, "what is your current job?". His response, "A Chrysler technician".
So here I was, on the side of the road with a Chrysler technician, with his Chrysler 300C broken down; what's wrong with this picture? As I spent more time chatting with Chad, I learned that even with some of his tools in the trunk, he still had no idea why the engine would continually stall while at cruising speeds. He narrowed it down to an electrical gremlin, which left him hopeless. I offered to give Chad a ride to a gas station or dealership, even though we both agreed this problem was not getting fixed anytime soon. We decided that it'd be best if I just drove him to the train station and he'd retrieve his car tomorrow.
In the car for the twenty minute ride, Chad had a lot to share with me. He has been an automotive technician for 15 years, five of which have been with Chrysler. He had many compliments for my eight year old Audi A4... going on to say the German's know what they're doing. He didn't need to tell me that. Then, the interesting part came. He was heading to New York to find a job because he couldn't deal with his current position within Chrysler. He hated the product he worked on, and hated dealing with the corporate 'shenanigans' as he called it. "Don't buy our cars... look at where I've ended up". Good advice from a guy I seem to be respecting more by the minute. Soon enough, we made it to the train station. Chad couldn't thank me enough as I left him to catch a train into the city. I couldn't help but think that this man had just left his relatively new car just sitting on the side of the road. A person must really hate such an expensive part of their life to just leave it without thinking twice. Lets hope New Jersey doesn't swallow it up, or maybe that's what Chad wants in the end.
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