Dismal financial performance aside, Chrysler is still a damn sight better than its two American competitors when it comes to design. While Ford and GM have looked backwards for inspiration (the Mustang, the T-bird, the SSR) it was Chrysler that invigorated the shape of American automobiles beginning in the '90s, with a unified design language expressed in grills and headlights, new cab-forward profiles from young-buck designers like Mike Santoro, and the instantly-classic lines of the 300, the Charger and the Prowler. (Sure, you could argue the Prowler is as guiltily retro as the SSR and the 'Stang, but its undeniably deviant form factor simply never fails to turn heads.)

Now Chrysler's design group is seeing a staff shuffle. Design veeps David McKinnon and Thomas Tremont are stepping down, to be replaced by Joseph Dehner and Brandon Faurote, respectively. Whether this will be good or bad remains to be seen; old hands McKinnon and Tremont had their hands on the groundbreaking 300 and the Prowler, while Dehner and Faurote have worked on the ho-hum Sebring and 1999 Jeep Cherokee, respectively. Let's keep our fingers crossed.