Earlier today, Chrysler released its second-quarter financial report, showing net revenue of $507 million — a very impressive 16% increase over the second quarter of 2012. Around the same time, Chrysler’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne, sent an email to Chrysler employees. It’s a short letter: half pep rally, half straight talk. At first glance, it… …read more
Filed under:
Europeans should be dancing in their nearest piazza, as Alfa Romeo is ditching its front-drive MiTo and Giulietta to return to its rear-drive roots, according to a report from the UK’s Car. The switch is expected to happen in 2015, and is meant to bring Alfa Romeo closer to Maserati.
Car is claiming that a 3 Series-fighting Alfa will hit the streets first, followed by a larger model to contend with the 5 Series. After that, Alfa will field a pair of SUVs, its first models of that body style. We sincerely hope all of these cars come with sweet-sounding, high-revving six-cylinder engines.
While we’re quite happy for European gearheads, the shift in logic has us wondering, once again, what this means for Alfa Romeo’s long-promised return to the US of A. Both the MiTo and Giulietta were slated for the US market at some point in 2013, according our most recent report. We’re half way through the year now, and there hasn’t been so much as a whimper indicating that timetable would work.
Based on remarks Sergio Marchionne made at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, bringing Alfa back properly is more important than bringing it back quickly. That logic could explain this latest possible delay. Getting American Alfa Romeo’s right for Americans could also explain things, which is perhaps a lesson learned from the Dart’s rushed launch.
In any case, with this news that two of the core models of Alfa’s US return are being ditched within the next 30 or so months, we’re left wondering (again) when the legendary Italian brand will return to our shores.
Alfa Romeo dumping FWD Mito, Giulietta hatches in favor of RWD sedans originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 21 Jul 2013 13:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
By Jens Meiners
Alfa Romeo’s 4C will continue to look as gorgeous as it does, even if it winds up being property of Audi.
Fiat is strapped for cash and the Volkswagen Group knows it. What’s more, VW can help. Over the years, German executives have made no secret of the fact that they’d like to add Alfa Romeo to the VW Group’s impressive portfolio of brands. The advances, however, have been met with a cold shoulder. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, in particular, has reacted harshly to VW’s praise for Alfa’s potential—which he largely has left untapped—with a firm “hands off.”
In the past two weeks, the fire surrounding the ailing brand has flared up again with a report from Wards Auto. According to the report, negotiations are taking place at the highest level in Ingolstadt and Turin, and that the deal could include Fiat’s Pomigliano plant and supplier Magneti Marelli. The official line from Audi and Fiat is that there is no truth to the rumor. And to our knowledge, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler and Sergio Marchionne haven’t met to discuss the subject as yet.
We believe there is some merit to the speculation, however. Our sources tell us that the Agnelli family could well be open to a sale of Alfa Romeo, Marchionne’s posturing notwithstanding. However, some of the details of the rumor don’t exactly jive with what we’re hearing in Germany. For example, the Volkswagen Group has shown no interest in taking over one of Fiat’s production sites. The brand is interesting, but its baggage isn’t. Audi also has no interest in purchasing Magneti Marelli. “Why would we take over a supplier?” an Audi source asked us rhetorically. That source at Audi believes, and we agree with him, that the rumor originates in Turin, intended as an elegant way to communicate that Magneti Marelli is for sale.
If the VW Group manages to acquire Alfa, it would make a lot of sense to integrate it into the Audi empire of brands, which includes Lamborghini and Ducati. In fact, Audi designers have been spending time to come up with strategies and concepts in case of a takeover. Alfa design can only profit from the departure of a styling language that has led to vehicles such as the MiTo, which, according to former BMW chief designer Chris Bangle, looks “like a squirrel that has been kicked in the balls.”
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver
Today at The Car Connection, Jaguar added fuel-saving technologies to its vehicles and Tesla announced that deliveries of the Model X electric crossover will be delayed a year. Sergio Marchionne donated his Dodge Challenger SRT8 and we drove the 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo. All this and more in today’s car news, right here on The Car Connection… …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at The Car Connection
Filed under:
Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne says there’s a real possibility that its majority-owned Chrysler Group may eventually return to the ranks of publicly traded companies. According to Bloomberg, the Fiat and Chrysler CEO gives that a “50 percent chance” of happening, but he doesn’t appear to favor that scenario: “My preference is to be one single company… we belong together.”
Marchionne has seemingly been operating under the assumption that Fiat will eventually own all of Chrysler, working to buy up the shares it doesn’t own and looking to buy out the retiree trust fund that it shares Chrysler ownership with. Certainly, Chrysler going independent again would be increasingly difficult, as the companies continue to blend products, technologies, facilities and staffing, a trend started immediately after the Italian automaker became custodian of the brand following Chrysler’s bankruptcy in 2009.
Marchionne’s remarks to the media came at Chrysler’s Kokomo, Indiana plant, where he was on hand to announce a major investment at four facilities in the state to build eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions.
Fiat’s Marchionne ponders Chrysler going public again originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
Filed under: All that stands in the way of Fiat’s total ownership of Chrysler is a 41.5-percent stake currently held by the United Auto Workers healthcare trust, but according to SFGate.com, Sergio Marchionne is currently trying to raise the capital to complete the acquisition. The article says that a deal could be completed in as soon as 12 months, and the estimate for the remaining stake could cost Fiat SpA around $2.98 billion.
With a goal of completing the deal by the end of 2014, Marchionne is said to be in talks with various banks to help finance some of the deal. According to the report, the banks have indicated a need for a stronger balance sheet, controlled debt and reserve cash.
Two things that don’t seem to be on the table to get the deal completed include issuing new shares to raise the capital or selling a stake in Ferrari. Fiat started with a 20 percent share of Chrysler in June 2009, and it raised its stake up to 58.5 percent in January 2012.
Fiat talking with banks about buying rest of Chrysler originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
By John Lamm
Anyone who has driven in Europe likely knows of the Fiat Ducato, the ubiquitous utility van that can be found on most any city street on the Continent. Now in its third generation, more than 4.5 million Ducatos have been sold worldwide. In the latest example of Sergio Marchionne’s march to overlay Fiat and Chrysler, the van has been used as the base for a line of Mexican-built utility vehicles that Ram will sell under the Promaster label in the U.S. Those Ram-branded vans make their debut at the 2013 Chicago auto show. READ MORE ››
By Dan Roth
Filed under: Podcasts, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo
Mitsubishi Mirage, Toyota thinks of beefing up US production, Marchionne on Alfa, Dart and minivans, Ford Atlas concept, Honda Gear concept 
Episode #317 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Jeff Ross and Michael Harley bookend the other podcast topics with a pair from the Montreal Auto Show, the Mitsubishi Mirage and Honda Gear concept, and in between we talk about Toyota building all its US-market cars stateside, Hyundai building a Nurburgring test facility, Sergio Marchionne‘s latest words about Alfa Romeo, Dodge Dart powertrains and the future of Chrysler vans. Some chatter about the Ford Atlas concept finishes up the meat of the ‘cast and then we wrap with your questions. For those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Keep reading for our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #317:
Topics:
In the Autoblog Garage:
2013 Volvo C30
2013 Dodge Journey
2013 Nissan Altima
Hosts: Dan Roth, Jeff Ross, Michael Harley
Feedback
Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com
Review the show in iTunes
Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #317
Autoblog Podcast #317 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
By David Kiley
Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa Romeo, Fiat
As a reporter covering an auto show, the one opportunity you never want to miss is going to the Sergio Marchionne press briefing.
“This undertaking to bring Alfa back is a one-shot deal… We are not going to do this twice.”
There just aren’t that many real characters left in the auto industry. Marchionne, who sits atop both Chrysler and Fiat, is not only one of the smartest execs in the business, but also the most frank. Herein, a sample of the quotable always-sweatered executive:
A controversial remark on the return of Alfa Romeo to the United States:
“This undertaking to bring Alfa back is a one-shot deal… We are not going to do this twice… Alfas must have ‘wop’ engines… and we don’t have the powertrains worked out just yet.. we won’t put any Chrysler engines in Alfas, or Maseratis.”
The production Alfa Romeo 4C sports car, which may be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March, is not ready for a US launch, Marchionne said earlier this week at the Detroit Auto Show. But then, on January 18 at the INforum breakfast in Detroit, Marchionne reportedly reversed course and said the 4C will be ready for US dealers by the end of this year. Given how many delays have been suffered in Alfa’s return plans, we’ll file this under “wait and see.”
Continue reading Marchionne on Alfa’s US return, Dodge Dart’s powertrain weakness and minivan plans
Marchionne on Alfa’s US return, Dodge Dart’s powertrain weakness and minivan plans originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
By Dale Buss, Contributor The Detroit auto show press preview is a microcosm of the auto industry: It’s big; it’s frenetic; it’s global; and, above all, it’s forward-looking. So is Sergio Marchionne.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Daniel Pund
In a press conference today at the Detroit auto show, Fiat head honcho Sergio Marchionne acknowledged that the C-segment Dodge Dart has been something of a sales disappointment for the company.
Marchionne places the blame for the weak sales on the Dart’s available transmissions. Marchionne describes the six-speed manual (with which the Dart launched) and the six-speed dual-clutch automatic that came shortly after as, “not the ideal solution for this market.” Based on our test drives of the manual and the dual-clutch, we think his description is something of an understatement.
In hopes of delivering to the market a product that does not annoy buyers, Chrysler will add a ZF-sourced nine-speed automatic gearbox that will be seen first in the replacement for the Jeep Liberty this spring. Unlike the dual-clutch unit currently available, the nine-speed will be a conventional torque-converter that Marchionne (and us) anticipate will better suit the expectations of American C-segment buyers.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver
By Kurt Ernst
On June 23 of last year, Oklahoma tooling company owner Scott Thomas paid $300,000 for a new SRT Viper. It wasn’t just any Viper, however, it was serial number 001, and the proceeds went to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation, a charity that helps fund research into curing pediatric cancers. In other words, it was an historically significant car, with the money spent going to a worthy charity.
Thomas’ Viper was delivered in a recent ceremony at the Conner Avenue Assembly Plant, where all new Vipers will be put together. Ralph Gilles, president of SRT, gives the key to Thomas after saying a few words; in a moment of comic relief, Gilles accidentally hands off the keys to his own car, a Chrysler 300 SRT8, by mistake.
Even Fiat and Chrysler chairman Sergio Marchionne gets in on the action, boldly stating that “Viper defines Chrysler.” The most touching moment in the video, however, is when Gilles dedicates the Trim and Chassis Final Line to Dan Knott, a senior vice president at Chrysler who once served as director of the SRT division. Knott died of cancer last April, but his words regarding the approval of the new Viper are now immortalized on the sign honoring him.
“Today,” Knott wrote in a message to Gilles, “we are a real car company again.”
Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Chrysler, SRT
Celebrations at Chrysler today, as the company posted the image above on its Facebook page showing a 2013 SRT Viper, VIN #001, rolling out of its Conner Assembly Plant in Detroit. New owner Scott Thomas (pictured with his family standing next to Sergio Marchionne) is understandably pleased.
As you may recall, the 400,000 square-foot Conner facility closed in the summer of 2010 with no immediate plans for it to reopen. However, things changed the following year when the automaker chose to open the plant for the next-gen Viper and implement Fiat’s World Class Manufacturing (WCM) production system. (WCM is a methodology that makes employee safety the number one priority, focusing on eliminating waste, increasing productivity, improving quality and restoring dignity to the employees, says Chrysler.)
Completely modernized, the state-of-the-art facility is now tasked with producing the all-new SRT Viper. The sport car’s frames arrive from an outside supplier in Kentucky, before spending upwards of six days inside Conner for assembly and finishing before they are ready for delivery. The plant is expected to produce about twelve Vipers each day. Read more of the details in the press release below.
Continue reading Connor Assembly reopens, first production SRT Viper goes down the line
Connor Assembly reopens, first production SRT Viper goes down the line originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Jan 2013 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
![2014 Ram Promaster: More Italian than Anyone From Jersey Shore [2013 Chicago Auto Show]](http://bd.summit.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/x97243-thumb-320x200.jpg.pagespeed.ic.yoqxG0hWfe.jpg)