Aug. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Chrysler LLC, now studying a sale of its Viper sports-car business, is following General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in looking to shed specialty vehicles and focus on main brands.

Ford during the past two years sold off its U.K.-based luxury-car divisions. GM is considering a sale of its Hummer line of sport-utility vehicles based on military trucks. Chrysler said today that it hired Lazard Ltd. to help in a review of options for the 600-horsepower, 10-cylinder Viper.

``When times are tough, you retreat to the core businesses,'' said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

GM, Ford and Chrysler, the three U.S.-based automakers, are scaling back as they are losing money, sales and market share in their home country. GM hasn't posted an annual profit since 2004, while Ford hasn't done so since 2005. Daimler AG sold Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management LP a year ago because of losses.

Sales declines of 23 percent at Chrysler, 18 percent at GM and 14 percent at Ford this year through July trimmed market share for their U.S. brands to 47 percent, from 51 percent a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

With losses and shrinking U.S. sales, the automakers may balk at putting more money into relatively low-volume vehicles such as Chrysler's Viper, which accounted for just 682 of the company's 965,935 U.S. deliveries through July, or GM's Hummer, which generated 18,035 of GM's 1.82 million total.

`Tough Choices'

``You don't have enough money to fund everything,'' said Stephanie Brinley, a Southfield, Michigan-based analyst for AutoPacific Inc. ``You have to make those tough choices when you've been losing money as long as they have.''

Ford Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally sold Aston Martin for $931 million in 2007 to a group led by U.K. auto-racing champion David Richards, and Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.4 billion in June to India's Tata Motors Ltd. Ford also contributed about $600 million to Jaguar and Land Rover's pension funds.

Mulally has said his top priority is getting his company's regional units to work more closely together, a strategy he calls ``One Ford.'' The Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker retains one European luxury brand, Sweden-based Volvo.

GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said on June 3 that his company was reviewing Hummer for a possible revamping or sale after U.S. purchases of the SUVs fell 36 percent through May from a year earlier. The Detroit-based automaker hired Citigroup Inc. to assist its review.

Through July, Hummer U.S. sales plummeted 44 percent as average gasoline prices topped $4 a gallon.

``GM did receive expressions of interest from various entities,'' Martin Walsh, Hummer's general manager, said in a video sent to U.S. retailers on Aug. 19. ``But we have never solicited offers and we have not negotiated with any parties.''

Record Losses

Neither GM nor Ford has forecast when losses will end. Ford posted an $8.7 billion deficit in the second quarter, the worst quarterly deficit in its 105 years. GM's $15.5 billion loss during the period was third worst in its 100-year history.

Chrysler is closely held and doesn't release detailed financial information on a regular basis. The automaker said on Aug. 1 that it earned $1.1 billion in this year's first half, excluding interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and restructuring costs.

The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company is expected to use up $2.5 billion in cash during 2008, a person familiar with its finances said in May. Chrysler said it had $11.7 billion in cash and marketable securities at the end of June.

CEO Bob Nardelli said today in a statement that Chrysler has been ``approached by third parties who are interested in exploring future possibilities for Viper,'' without identifying them. The company said it doesn't have a timetable for deciding.

Possible Price

``My bet will be they will definitely be able to unload it,'' for a price of ``maybe $100 million,'' said James Gillette, an automotive consultant at CSM Worldwide Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who does asset valuations for customers.

Chrysler's announcement comes as it rebuilds sales of the sports car, which is its most expensive vehicle, with prices starting at $88,125, and is hand-built at a Detroit plant slated to close by mid-2011. U.S. sales of the Viper more than doubled this year through July, already exceeding the 435 sold in all of 2007. Annual sales reached 2,103 in 2003.

The Viper began as a 1992 model and was considered the creation of Chrysler's then-president, Robert Lutz, who is now vice chairman of GM.

Potential Buyers

Saleen Inc., a specialty-vehicle developer based in Troy, Michigan, is a potential buyer, said Mike Wall, also of CSM Worldwide in Grand Rapids. Saleen already does early assembly work on the Viper, and its vice chairman, Chris Theodore, helped design the original Viper and the Ford GT, a low-volume sports car sold for about three years starting in mid-2004.

Kim Brugger, a Saleen spokeswoman, said the company isn't involved in talks with Chrysler.

Custom-vehicle builders such as Panoz Auto Development Co. or Shelby Automobiles Inc. also would be logical buyers, Gillette said. Such builders would be able to continue the car for many years, he said.

Amy Boylan, president of Shelby Automobiles, said in an e-mailed statement that the Las Vegas-based company is ``not interested in purchasing the sports car from Chrysler at this time.'' John Leverett of Hoschton, Georgia-based Panoz didn't immediately return voice-mail messages seeking a comment.

``The market is the same group of potentials as the Hummer,'' said David Healy, a Burnham Securities analyst in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He said the Viper business might fetch ``a lot less'' than $100 million.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan, at wkoenig@bloomberg.net; Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at mramsey6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 27, 2008 15:47 EDT