I was just stunned to learn that Jim Press has been lured away from his top position at Toyota of North America to take charge of sales, marketing, and product development at Chrysler. Like Tom LaSorda, who remains in charge of manufacturing and supply, he’ll be a vice-chairman and president. Both will report to recently hired CEO Bob Nardelli. Press played a key role in Toyota’s success in North America, and in the eyes of many he and Toyota were inseparable. Apparently not.

What this tells me more than anything is that investment firm Cerberus, which recently purchased Chrysler from its German parent, is willing to do just about anything to spark a quick turnaround. They’ve now hired two very high profile executives to form a triumvirate with broad experience at the top. These guys are no doubt being promised huge bonuses if Cerberus can sell Chrysler at a huge profit in a few years. They’ve made a number of other appointments a level or two down in the organization, such as hiring a Lexus executive to serve as chief marketing officer. In a similar vein, Chrysler recently announced a lifetime powertrain warranty (not transferable, alas).

What’s next? The only thing that seems clear is that more big surprises are coming. These people are willing to think well outside the box, and do whatever seems necessary for rapid change.

This forms a stark contrast with Ford. Ford has been touting “bold moves” for over a year now, but not a single one of these has created the shockwaves Chrysler has today by hiring Press. In contrast, the strategy at Ford seems to be to use the existing team, with the addition of a CEO from outside, to make steady, relatively undramatic improvements in the way the company operates and its products. A similar strategy has been pursued at GM, though hiring Bob Lutz back in 2001 was a truly bold move that also rocked the industry. One big difference: Lutz wasn’t a top executive at another auto maker at the time.

Will slow and steady win this race for Ford? It has been working for GM, if not as well as many hoped. Or will glory go to those swinging for the fences at Cerberus and Chrysler?

The next year or two are going to be exceedingly interesting.