Chrysler Group returned to U.S. ownership Friday, just as the troubled automaker and its U.S. rivals are facing make-or-break labor negotiations and American car buyers are increasingly turning away from domestic makers.

The purchase by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management closes the books on a failed nine-year old merger. The German automaker then known as Daimler-Benz paid $37 billion for the company in 1998, and essentially ended up paying Cerberus tobuy 80 percent of the automaker, and take its long-term liability to pay for its retirees' healthcare coverage off its hands and off its balance sheet.