Detroit is known as the "Motor City," but take a closer look, and you'll see why "Money City" might be a more appropriate name. More and more, the auto industry - heavily based in Detroit - is being gobbled up by private equity firms.

Example: consider the latest buzz-worthy deal: Chrysler. The interested parties aren't names you see finished in chrome on the backs of cars, they're companies such as Blackstone and Cerebus.

Not only are private equity groups looking to get into buying car manufacturers, but they've been increasing their stake in auto parts makers, as well. But it remains to be seen whether the new management and fresh flood of cash will rejuvenate the industry, or kill jobs and further the decline of an already-weakened industry.

The decision had been made. DaimlerChrysler AG's management in Stuttgart, Germany, weary of the struggle to keep its U.S.-based Chrysler unit in the black, was ready to sell. In March, Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Thomas LaSorda organized separate daylong briefings for prospective buyers. They continued their discussions during steak and seafood dinners at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Michigan -- in a gallery decorated with World War II jeeps.

LaSorda's guests weren't from Toyota Motor Corp. or General Motors Corp. They were Neil Simpkins of Blackstone Group LP and Lenard Tessler of Cerberus Capital Management LP, New York-based private equity firms that have been involved in some of the biggest leveraged buyouts of the past decade.

(Continue reading this story on Bloomberg)

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