Chrysler (Pre-Bankruptcy)

Chrysler's 2009 bankruptcy—its second near-death experience after 1980—reveals the fragility of organisms that survive through repeated bailouts rather than genuine adaptation. Daimler's $36 billion acquisition in 1998 ended in 2007 sale for essentially zero, acknowledging the 'merger of equals' fantasy. Cerberus Capital's private equity rescue lasted two years before government intervention. Like a patient on perpetual life support, Chrysler survived through external intervention while never addressing fundamental competitive disadvantage.