Our team over at GMInsideNews is reporting that the judge overseeing the Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings has thrown out the arguments made by the hold-out bondholders. By removing the only objection to the process, the bankruptcy proceedings can now be fast-tracked and the Fiat merger can go ahead.

Before Chrysler filed for Chapter 11 late last week the automaker explored every option, including selling the company to the Chinese and forging partnerships with any other manufacturer that expressed even a remote amount of interest.

Starting Monday, Chrysler will idle most of its plants as the company restructures under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. This will include 8 U.S. assembly plants, as well as facilities in Canada and Mexico. Other pre-assembly facilities will also face temporary closure including five North American engine plants, six stamping plants and seven transmission plants.

At a mid-day press conference President Barak Obama made the official announcement that Chrysler will in fact file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Included in the announcement was the news that Chrysler has also reached an agreement with Fiat.

President Obama is expected to announce tomorrow that Chrysler will in fact file for bankruptcy; according to a report by Bloomberg. The Wall Street Journal, however, says that Obama currently has two speeches drafted for tomorrow’s press conference: one if the struggling automaker files for Chapter 11, and one if it doesn’t.

Less than a day after the UAW, Chrysler and Fiat agreed upon the terms of a contract that would keep the struggling U.S. automaker afloat, details of the agreement have surfaced in which the union will take a controlling share in Chrysler.

To celebrate Earth Day, Chrysler invited a select group of media to the Green Ride N Drive, (held during the SAE Show in Detroit today), to get behind the wheel of the Dodge Circuit EV. So in an act of automotive environmental irony that has to this day only been perpetrated on the planet by Jeremy Clarkson, we hopped in our twin-turbocharged V8-powered BMW 750i test car and drove 300 miles, just to spend 20 minutes in a zero-emissions car.

The Canadian Auto Workers union, after burning the letter written by Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and joint-president Tom Lasorda, has now responded with its own statement.

CAW president Ken Lewenza denies that a $19 labor gap exists between Canadian and U.S. workers and refuses to re-negotiate a contract that has already been re-neogotiated. 

Lewenza calls the $76 per hour wage “inflated and artificial” and says that it, “includes many non-relevant factors, such as expenses associated with retirees who have not worked at Chrysler for years, and payroll taxes which are paid to government not to workers.” He continues: “Perhaps most galling of all, Chrysler’s number even includes the proportional cost of downtime and lay-offs. In essence, we are being ‘charged’ for our own unemployment. The best way to reduce that artificial $76 number is to put Chrysler workers back to work: that alone would reduce hourly costs by several dollars per hour.”

Regardless of how you view the statistics, Lewenza makes two other strong points. First, he says that Toyota and Honda (both of which are non-unionized) have made it well-known that they match wages and other benefits with unionized automakers. In other words, the wage that Chrysler employees are making is fair because it’s what the other companies are paying their staff. Second, Lewenza says that the bond holders haven’t had to make any concessions at all.

Unfortunately for Lewenza and the CAW, it doesn’t matter what they say and it seems that if the $19 gap isn’t closed then Fiat won’t partner with Chrysler, the federal governments in both Canada and the United States won’t keep the cash flowing. As a result Chrysler will be forced into bankruptcy, something Lewenza calls, “an increasingly likely prospect.”

Read the full letter after the jump:

Fiat is about ready to walk away from a potential partnership with Chrysler says CEO Sergio Marchionne unless the U.S. automaker can significantly cut labor costs. While the United Auto Workers union has made it known that it is willing to work with Fiat and Chrysler management, the Canadian Auto Workers union isn’t.

While President Obama outlined his plan yesterday for General Motors and Chrysler, the Canadian government was forced into some more immediate action.

*** UPDATE *** Moments after Chrysler released an announcement that a partnership with Fiat was a done-deal, the American auto manufacturer released another statement with slightly revised wording stating that it had just a “framework” of a deal in place. *** UPDATE ***

Just ahead of the Obama Administration’s press conference today, some of the most important details are already out.

According to the reliable folks over at GMInsideNews, on Monday the Obama Administration will announce a bankruptcy deadline for both General Motors and Chrysler. 

UPDATE: Since posting this article Chrysler has announced that the three vehicles slated for elimination are the Chrysler PT Cruiser,  Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango – all three of which the company had already announced were doomed. Feel free to read our exercise in creative writing/wishful thinking anyway.

MJ Acquisitions, which recently purchased most of Saleen Inc., has made it clear that purchasing Viper from Dodge/Chrysler is of interest to the company.

In recent months we have heard about a Chrysler merger with General Motors and then a possible merger with Nissan/Renault – now the struggling automaker has apparently entered into talks with FIAT.

Despite the fact that the last news article regarding the PT Cruiser on Chrysler media site is titled “PT Cruiser Continues to Shine in 2009,” Chrysler president Tom LaSorda has announced that in an effort to save money the company will cease production of the retro van, car, truck, thing. The news comes after a record low sales year for the PT, which suffered a 49 percent drop in sales in 2008.

Chrysler’s big surprise at the Detroit Auto Show was the 200C EV Concept – a sleek and European-looking sedan filled with technological innovations.

As a 268hp range-extended EV, the 200C Concept operates on battery power with a gasoline engine kicking-in once the lithium-ion batteries can no longer power the wheels.

The interior may look like a typical crazy concept with all sorts of modern shapes and colors, but Chrysler says many of the technologies found in the cabin will be availale in the future.

Chrysler’s UCONNECT system will provide never-before-seen technologies. Taking from social networking sites like Facebook, the Uconncet system will let drivers program in their freinds’ cars – and the onboard system would be able to tell a driver where his friends are.

The Uconnect system comes with an iPhone-like portable control panel that can turn on the car and operate the windows. It is also connected to a camera in the car – perfect for keeping an eye on your teenage kids.

The 200C also contains several other safety features for parents with teen drivers allowing a maximum speed to be set or a notification sent to the parent if the vehicle leaves a certain range. It will even be able to alert a parent if their teen driver is operating the vehicle erratically.

Official release after the jump:

Chrysler continues to expand the use of its new dual-clutch transmission, offering it in a total of three models – just not in North American. Originally offered in the Dodge Journey in European markets, the transmission will now also be available in the Avenger and Sebring.

Designed in partnership with Getrag, the state of the art transmission is similar in design to Audi’s DSG unit or the new PDK transmission found on new Porsches. Essentially it operates like an automatic transmission from the driver’s perspective, and gears can be selected through a manumatic-type system. Because of the dual-clutches, the next gear is always pre-loaded, meaning gear changes are incredibly quick and smooth.

According to Chrysler, it also makes for an improvement in fuel economy of six percent.

Currently the dual-clutch transmission is only available on 2.0-liter turbo diesel engines found in the Journey, Avenger and Sebring overseas.

Official release after the jump:

For 2009, Chrysler has announced it will offer it’s first production Hybrids, the Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen Hemi Hybrids. As the name would suggest, both are powered by environmentally-friendly gasoline-electric hybrid engines. Ironically, however, the gasoline engine is a 385hp 5.7-liter V-8.

Welcome to the AutoGuide.com News Blog, your comprehensive source for breaking automotive news. Our staff of writers and contributors will keep you updated on all aspects of the auto industry, from vehicle unveilings, to concept cars, to news from auto shows, the aftermarket and the world of motorsports.

Some might call it a poor man’s Bentley, but the Chrysler 300 is still one of the best looking sedans on American roads even after five years on the market.