Chrysler gets out the ax after profane tweet

Chrysler Group LLC is ending its relationship with the social media agency that was behind an obscene tweet that was posted to the Chrysler brand's official Twitter account.

The tweet was posted Wednesday by an employee of the company's agency, New Media Strategies. It read: "I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to (expletive) drive." Shortly after, the tweet was removed from Chrysler's Twitter feed.

Chrysler said in a statement Thursday that it won't renew its contract with the agency for the rest of this year. The automaker said it will work with the agency through a transition period until it names a new firm.

The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker apologized for the tweet Wednesday in a blog post, saying the New Media Strategies employee responsible for the tweet had been fired. Chrysler said in a follow-up post Thursday that the tweet "obviously" was meant to appear on the employee's personal Twitter account, rather than on Chrysler's, and that automaker did not demand that person be fired.

New Media Strategies CEO Pete Snyder said his firm regretted the "unfortunate incident."

"It certainly doesn't accurately reflect the overall high-quality work we have produced for Chrysler," Snyder said in a statement. "We respect their decision and will work with them to ensure an effective transition of this business going forward."