Chrysler's intriguing new hire: Jim Press

Who cares about that Nardelli guy? This strikes me as a far more interesting hire by Chrysler/Cerberus:

James Press, the former head of Toyota's North American operations, has been hired by Chrysler. He will share the titles of vice chairman and president with former Chrysler chief executive Tom LaSorda.

"Tom LaSorda and I are thrilled that one of the most successful executives in the history of the auto industry has joined our leadership team at the New Chrysler," said Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli said in a prepared statement. "Our top team now consists of a world-class 'supply' leader in Tom and an equally world-class 'demand' leader in Jim."

Press will be responsible for global and North American marketing and product strategy as well as parts and service for Chrysler.

Alex Taylor of Fortune wrote a smart profile of Press a couple of years ago. He began it by saying that Press "arguably has as much influence over the course of the American auto industry as anyone else alive." Then, after making the obvious point that much of that influence was due to where Press happened to work, Alex went on:

But Press is also influential because of his stature within Toyota. If the world-beating company were Admiral Nelson's navy, Jim Press would be the trusted commander of the flagship squadron. He gets inside the minds of the American car buyer, distills what he's learned, and interprets the results for the product planners and engineers in Japan. Then comes the most delicate part of his job: badgering his employers into making vehicles that will sell in the U.S., such as the redesigned Sienna minivan, the hybrid Prius, and the new entry-level Scion line. Reconciling the fickle tastes of the world's richest consumer market and the unyielding perfectionism of the world's most profitable car company is no simple matter, especially for an executive without CEO authority. But Press has a rare blend of attributes: He has a feel for his countrymen's tastes, and he's a 34-year Toyota veteran who has mastered his employer's internationally worshipped engineering and manufacturing systems. That combination gives him enormous clout inside Toyota--which in turn gives him enormous clout in the U.S. auto industry.

Sounds to me like Chrysler could have done a lot worse. Maybe they aren't toast just yet.