To get federal help, Chrysler has 30 days to do Fiat deal

— -- For Chrysler, the clock is ticking. The Obama administration has told the deeply troubled automaker it has 30 days of financial aid in which to complete its proposed deal for an alliance with Italy's Fiat — or find another partner — and then it's on its own.

That's only the start. Over the same month, Detroit's smallest automaker faces a list of tasks to get the government's financial backing for the deal.

Chrysler also has to chop its debt, pacify the United Auto Workers, solve issues involving its former consumer finance unit and show that after making all those moves, it can make money like it did in the good ol' days when Americans lapped up its minivans and Hemi-powered muscle cars.

Only with that, along with a definite partnership deal, will Chrysler be considered for a second government loan, another $6 billion atop the $4 billion announced in December.

"To me, It's the equivalent of a 70-yard field goal," says Michael Robinet, vice president of consultants CSM Worldwide.

Even if it is found to merit further government support, privately held Chrysler — 80% owned by Cerberus Capital Management and about 20% held by former owner Daimler — is hardly out of the woods.

It still needs to sell cars to consumers who may have doubts about its future. President Obama announced Monday that the government will give its backing to car warranties as a way of reassuring potential buyers, but there is no similar floor being put under resale values. Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps might be considered less valuable as used cars because customers worry about the company going out of business.

Getting people to buy won't be an easy task when you consider that Chrysler sales are expected to be dismal again for the month when it reports them later this week. For the first two months of the year, Chrysler's sales have slid 49.1% compared with last year.

Chrysler gets less help than GM

As bad as life is for General Motors, it is decidedly worse for Chrysler now that the Obama administration has rejected its turnaround plan as not viable. While the administration seems clear that it will work to prevent GM's disappearance, it seems willing to let Chrysler sink or swim on its own.