Chrysler to dealers: Sales bank is back.(NEWS)

Byline: Bradford Wernle

Chrysler LLC co-President Jim Press delivered the news Friday, Dec. 12, in a nationally telecast pep talk to dealers: The sales bank is back at least until the end of the month.

In a conference call Friday, Press told dealers that "your district managers will be calling you to try to sell one of the 12,000 units of unassigned inventory. The news emerged during a call that was intended to boost dealers' spirits as Chrysler seeks a $7 billion government loan it needs to survive into next year.

For many Chrysler dealers, "sales bank is a hated term. They remember the dog days of 2006 when Chrysler failed to recognize slowing …