Of the three dogs begging for a handout from the government a week ago, the most pathetic was Chrysler.

General Motors is still imbued with the arrogance that comes from decades of ruling the roost. But the news that it needs to do a lot of work in both developing new product and regaining its reputation is sinking in. Certainly the company is focusing on cost cutting and the development of new technology. And no doubt chairman Rick Wagoner will want to forget the dressing down he was accorded from irate senators.

And Ford is comparatively well off compared to its crosstown rivals. Armed with a number of successful products - the Focus and Fusion come to mind, while its 2009 F-150 pickup truck is garnering rave reviews - as well as nearly $20 billion in cash, the iconic American company seems to be in the best position to weather the financial downturn.

But Chrysler? What was Cerebus Capital Management thinking when it paid Daimler $7.4 billion for 80 percent of the company back in August 2007? The company lost $1.6 billion last year and $1.3 billion in the first half of this year, according to The Associated Press.

Certainly Cerberus could not have predicted the surge in fuel prices earlier this year followed by the crash of the stock market and continuing economic crisis in the fall.

But it might have seen that Chrysler was producing no small, fuel efficient vehicles. So when those fuel prices jumped up, the company had almost nothing in the showroom that anxious consumers were interested in.

Certainly, Daimler is looking pretty smart right now!

Maybe too smart. That seems to be Cerberus's latest line as it is accusing Daimler of "intentionally and materially" misleading it before it sold Chrysler, according to AP.

Cerberus has been negotiating to acquire the remaining 20 percent of Chrysler from Daimler and the latest charges will no doubt complicate that potential deal. Plus GM had recently expressed interest in acquiring Chrysler but those negotiations have been called off.

As I have mentioned before, it will be interesting to see what Chrysler chairman Bob Nardelli walks away with if the company gets bought out or goes belly up. Remember the $210 million parachute he received when he was given the traveling scholarship (ie was fired) from Home Depot a few years ago?!

- Peter C.T. Elsworth