Among those who haven’t resorted to rose-colored glasses, I’ve been among the more hopeful people with regard to the future of Detroit. I’m still hopeful about GM, but the other two, not so much. My optimism for Ford was shaken by the obvious cluelessness of Ford’s executives in Chicago. And now we have the sale of Chrysler.

It’s bad enough that DCX cannot figure out how to sell Chrysler Group cars. Now we find they’re at least equally inept when it comes to selling the Chrysler Group itself. The many very public responses of “not interested” can’t be helping the sale price. And they make it more and more likely that Chrysler will end up being purchased by a private equity firm that will gut what remains of it.

Did DCX put any thought into this sale, or is it purely an impulsive act of desperation? I feel like we’re witnessing a home sale following a divorce. Except in this case one of the spouses is being sold, sans dowry, and with a “damaged goods” warning label.