When we wrote earlier this week that Chrysler had sold off a third of itself to Fiat, the quote we used mentioned that Chrysler had received a $4 billion bailout from the government last month. So you might be interested in what Chrysler’s doing with that money we taxpayers gave them - and apparently it’s buying product placement in films and taking out full page ads in newspapers thanking us for the money.

The Consumerist has both the stories in two separate posts, so let’s see what they have to say. First off, about the product placement, we quote The Consumerist quoting Reuters:

Chrysler, which has received $4 billion in emergency aid from the U.S. government, has a deal to place its vehicles in cameo roles in “Terminator Salvation,” scheduled for release later this year and starring Christian Bale, executives said on Tuesday.

To be honest, though, I think the most important part of the Reuters article is probably this little gem:

First released in 1984, “The Terminator” starred now-California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cyborg sent from the future to kill a woman whose son would lead a resistance to a worldwide takeover by machines.

Because that’s important. Oh, also, the article notes that Chrysler is expected to ask for another $3 billion in the coming months. Anyhow, maybe that increases visibility, or something, which will sell more cars, or whatever. But what of the newspaper ads? The Consumerist once again:

Here’s a sad little saga. After convincing our government that it was responsible enough and commercially viable enough to deserve a multi-billion-dollar bailout, Chrysler spent some of the money taking out full page ads in The Wall Street Journal and USAToday, thanking America for its money. They also posted these ads proudly on their blog.

People were less than pleased. You can click here for some of the responses on the blog page where Chrysler posted the thank you. That page, by the by, has since been deleted from Chrysler’s website. Because, you know, censorship.

This all comes, we might note, as Chrysler has laid off 36 percent of its employees.

At times like these, I must confess, I struggle to figure out the little take action item I need to include at the end of each post. I mean, basically, I’m writing about Chrysler taking our money, and throwing it out the window. So. Um.