Chrysler Chairman Attacks Kerkorian

Chrysler Corp. Chairman Robert J. Eaton launched a strong attack Tuesday on renegade stockholder Kirk Kerkorian, saying the time had come to speak out against a “negative campaign” hurting the automaker.

Eaton accused Kerkorian, Chrysler’s largest stockholder, of trying to harass and discredit the automaker’s management as part of an effort to enrich himself at all costs following a failed takeover bid.

His speech to a group of large investors, along with an ad campaign begun this week, marked a new aggressive tone in the No. 3 automaker’s effort to defend itself against Kerkorian.