Of course, Nardelli’s take-no-prisoners attitude will invariably alienate people, and Chrysler has already lost some management talent. Wolfgang Bernhard, a highly regarded executive from Germany who was C.O.O. of Chrysler during its brief revival four years ago, had been slated to return as chairman but walked out when he learned that he would be working with Nardelli. And in March, veteran Chrysler engineer Mike Donoughe also left, under even less pleasant circumstances. Donoughe ran a critical program to develop midsize sedans to replace the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, both of which flopped with customers. At a meeting to discuss the program, says a person familiar with the events, Donoughe disagreed with a consultant that Nardelli had brought in. “If you listen to everything he says, you don’t need me,” Donoughe said to Nardelli.

"Fine," Nardelli shot back and then had Donoughe escorted from the building. (Donoughe declined to discuss the matter.) The company issued a statement saying, “Chrysler denies that the departure had anything to do with a clash with management.”

At the same time, Nardelli—who, like Mulally, did not have any prior automotive experience—has brought in other executives from G.M., Ford, Nissan, and Lexus. “It’s an auto-industry melting pot,” says Tom LaSorda, Chrysler president and vice chairman. An eight-year veteran who ran Chrysler under Daimler and who now oversees manufacturing, LaSorda is known around the hallways as Mr. Supply, while Jim Press, who came to Chrysler after 37 years at Toyota and is responsible for sales, marketing, and dealer relations, is known as Mr. Demand. And, of course, Nardelli has poached people from General Electric, where he made his reputation. All of these executives will make history, and millions, if they can lead Chrysler back to profitability.

Their plan calls for a complete overhaul of the company: shrinking it to a more realistic size, reinvigorating an out-of-date product lineup, and consolidating dealerships by putting all three brands—Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep—under a single roof. Ford and G.M. face similar issues, but Chrysler is starting later and with less strength. Most significantly, it needs to boost overseas sales. The company sells just 10 percent of its vehicles outside of North America, the lowest of the Detroit Three by a wide margin. Building international operations the traditional way would require time and money that neither Chrysler nor Cerberus has, so LaSorda is striking deals with foreign companies. In one such arrangement, Nissan is producing a subcompact for Chrysler to sell in South America. And Chery Automobile, based in China, will make a small car for Chrysler to sell in international markets this year.

Chrysler’s deal with Chery will also let it bring to the U.S. the first Chinese-manufactured car, a fuel-efficient subcompact that looks a little like a Chevrolet Cobalt. Its name hasn’t been determined yet, but the model will address a deficiency in a lineup that is still—still!—centered around fuel-thirsty vehicles. Chrysler’s major in-house launches this year are the new Dodge Challenger retro muscle car (13 miles per gallon in city driving) and the Dodge Journey crossover vehicle, which gets just 19 m.p.g. in the city, 16 m.p.g. with the all-wheel-drive V6. Later this year, Chrysler will finally unveil its first hybrids: the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen king-size S.U.V.’s.

Which brings up another issue: The Durango and the Aspen are virtually identical vehicles sold in separate dealerships, a costly system that the company wants to discontinue. Chrysler has about 3,500 dealers right now, a number Press and Nardelli would like to reduce—they won’t give a target figure, but 20 percent is probably realistic—by selling the Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep brands through unified dealerships with no overlapping products. The premium cars would carry Chrysler badges, mid-market models and pickup trucks would be Dodges, and Jeep would be, well, Jeep, an iconic brand with global appeal and one of Chrysler’s most valuable assets. Of course, the dealers—who are akin to franchisees—are likely to push back and seek hefty buyouts from the company. But Press says there’s no room in the budget for such arrangements. “We aren’t cutting dealers, the market is,” he says. “We’re opening a dialogue so they’ll understand the same reality that we understand.” Rather than offer straight buyouts, Chrysler will encourage weaker dealers to sell to stronger ones.