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Whether it's a government bailout or a merger with a premier auto company, Chrysler seems to swing from tantalizing highs to crippling lows as if routine.

But how did Chrysler stumble into its latest predicament -- falling sales, nervous investors and tension among employees -- as new German managers arrived at the Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters Monday?

Insiders and analysts say that since the merger of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler, the U.S. component, clearly taken over by the Germans, has suffered from management turnover and weak products facing intense competition:

* The executive shuffle has gone on non-stop since the merger.

Robert Eaton, the Chrysler CEO who succeeded Lee Iacocca and forged the merger, left in March.

His name stirs resentment among longtime Chrysler workers who blame him for selling the company to Daimler-Benz and giving away too much control.

Thomas Stallkamp, the former president of Chrysler, was forced to resign last December after differing with the Germans about spending and how the new company could save money on product development and engineering.

Dennis Pawley, who spearheaded Chrysler's respected low-cost manufacturing operations, retired in January 1999. He was credited with giving suppliers a bigger role while squeezing them to cut costs.

Thomas Gale, head of product design, plans to retire at the end of the year. Gale won praise for Chrysler's vehicle designs.

Such upheaval demoralizes workers, analysts say.

And some say James Holden, who, since Eaton left, had been the top- ranking Chrysler executive until he was forced to resign Friday, didn't control production, then was forced to depend on exceedingly high incentives to try to cut the resulting inventory bloat.

"They screwed up earlier in the year, and really over the past two years; they have been increasing their capacity in the light-truck market to a level that is greater than demand," says Rod Lache of Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.

* A weak and aging product line could plague the company, analysts say.

The average age of its products is 3.6 years, the oldest it's ever been.

Its Dodge Ram full-size pickup, usually a high-profit vehicle, was last redesigned as a 1994 model and is the oldest pickup in its class on the market. The Ram is not scheduled for a redo until the 2003 model.

Its Neon small car faces tough competition from the new Ford Focus and Japanese and South Korean products.

And updated minivans from Honda, Toyota, Ford Motor and General Motors have cut deeply into Chrysler's dominance of that segment, although Chrysler has just put redone models on sale.

Likewise, Chrysler's once-dominant Jeep brand faces tough competition from sport-utility vehicles built by Lexus, BMW, Toyota and Nissan.

Chrysler's biggest hit is the PT Cruiser, not a big moneymaker. And the retro-looking Cruiser is in such high demand, some customers are waiting up to a year for delivery. That has cost Chrysler some potential sales to buyers who refuse to wait.

Meanwhile, some dealers have cut back their orders for new vehicles, fearing a slowdown in auto sales and uncertainty about Chrysler's future.

"The merger caused a lot of distractions," says Francois Castaing, the former head of Chrysler's engineering department.

But despite the foreboding at Chrysler, Castaing bets some employees will welcome the new management team from Germany.

"Half the people know that the (U.S. management) made a mess of things, and they are happy that the Germans are committed to doing something," he says.