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Lutz: GM-Chrysler Merger Makes Sense
My goodness, when isn’t former General Motors CEO Bob Lutz just the best? The former GM chief recently appeared on an Automotive News panel and boy that guy has vision and the rest of us have...
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Marchionne Calls For GM Takeover Just Short of Hostile
We have to hand it to Larry P. Vellequette at Automotive News for getting FCA’s Don Marchionne riled up. In addition to getting Sergio talking yesterday about automakers having a history of bending...
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The Biggest Car Interior Makers Are Now Companies We’ve Never Heard Of
On Monday, Magna International completed its sale of its interior business to Grupo Antolin, a Spanish firm that’s relatively unknown outside of Spain. That’s on top of Johnson Control International...
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Sergio Marchionne Hasn’t Forgotten About GM, You Guys
Speaking at the Formula One Italian Grand Prix this weekend, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne told Reuters that a merger with General Motors was at the top of his list. “That discussion...
View ArticleAs GM Gets Picky About Products, Could Factories Be Next?
General Motors is getting pickier about where it does business and the products it sells. Could that also translate to where it will build its products in the future? In a recent piece from Automotive...
View ArticleFiat Chrysler Not Planning Hostile Takeover of General Motors Because of...
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles won’t attempt to takeover General Motors anytime soon, FCA chief Sergio Marchionne told investors Thursday according to Reuters. Speaking following a shareholder meeting,...
View ArticleWho Will Build Sergio’s Next Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200?
FCA’s sweater-in-chief Sergio Marchionne has a plan to turn around the debt-laden and ailing automaker: stop building cars that lose money. That sounds like common sense, so long as oil prices stay low...
View ArticleMarchionne to Apple: Pick Me! Pick Me!
It seems Sergio Marchionne may be switching teams when it comes to shacking up with another company to build cars of the future, reports Bloomberg. At the Geneva International Motor Show, the...
View ArticleFCA Hands Out Band-Aids, Tourniquetes to Fiat Dealers
Fiat’s American retailers are struggling to bring in buyers as well as pay the cost of their dealerships, but help is on the way from the parents. On March 9, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles pitched a plan...
View ArticleTTAC News Round-up: Volkswagen’s Plans Paltry Payout, Sergio Talks up...
Volkswagen shareholders are wondering if they’ll be receiving a lump of coal in their dividend stocking this year. That, Sergio is seeking a partner (but not those French guys), NASCAR’s Derek White is...
View ArticleOffice Space: Ford Goes Green With its 10-Year Plan
Referring to one’s corporate buildings as a campus is en vogue, from Apple’s planned Spaceship HQ to the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. Yesterday, Ford Motor Company announced plans to...
View ArticleCome Dance With Me: Fiat-Chrysler Makes Another Pitch for a Partner
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles chairman John Elkann, like the company’s sweatered CEO, is making come-hither eyes in the hopes of luring a suitor. FCA needs a partner to turn its lofty debt pile into...
View ArticleTuesday Could Shed Light on Marchionne’s Master Plan, or Not
Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, could shed light on the company’s uncertain future this Tuesday when the company reports earnings. However, as the Detroit Free Press reports,...
View ArticleVolkswagen Isn’t Selling any Brands Just Yet, But it’s Still Their ‘Plan B’
Rival automakers salivating at the thought of snapping up a castoff from Volkswagen’s brand portfolio will have to sit and wait. Amid grim fourth-quarter financial data and ongoing expenses linked to...
View ArticleCheap and Green: Volkswagen Wants to Build You a Low-Priced Electric
“Do those non-diesel things, only better,” seems to be Volkswagen’s mantra these days. The aftermath of the continuing diesel emissions scandal saw the embattled automaker dive deep into cleaner...
View ArticleBuick to Axe the Verano, Leave the Compact Sedan Market: Sources
Buick is poised to take the Verano behind the barn and vacate the compact car market in North America, according to sources familiar with the automaker’s plans. The Verano’s dwindling sales share and...
View ArticleTaking Names: That’s ‘Mr.’ Subaru Corporation, to You
Subaru’s parent company plans to change its name from Fuji Heavy Industries to, simply, Subaru Corporation. Why? Because #branding, of course. In an effort to leverage the recognition of its Subaru...
View ArticleGhosn on the March: What Does an Alliance Mean for Nissan and Mitsubishi?
Yesterday’s news that Nissan will buy a 34-percent controlling stake in Mitsubishi for $2.2 billion was the latest win for Carlos Ghosn, the man behind the Renault-Nissan Alliance of 1999 and possessor...
View ArticleVolkswagen Might Hold a Big Ol’ Yard Sale: Report
With its expansion dreams fading fast in the rear-view, Volkswagen needs to shrink and streamline its operations in a hurry, meaning unwanted brands could soon be priced to sell in its driveway....
View ArticleVolkswagen’s 2025 Plan: Be More Open-Minded, Cut the Fat, and Build 30...
Volkswagen Group wants to give its operation a top-to-bottom shakeup, which means ditching the bureaucratic, centralized ways of the past and positioning itself as a lean, nimble player in a rapidly...
View ArticleAuf Wiedersehen: Volkswagen Quietly Kills Sole Hybrid Model
If you’ve long since erased the Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid from your memory bank, don’t worry. Buyers forgot about it at the same time, and the automaker is prepared to do the same. When Volkswagen rolled...
View ArticleCadillac President Will Pay Dealers to Disappear
If dealership owners spring for a recent offer by the president of Cadillac, expect to see a vastly reduced brand presence in towns and cities across the U.S. Johan de Nysschen is offering 400...
View Article‘Good Times’ Return for Volkswagen Around 2020, Diess Predicts
After the awkward auto show apologies of the past year, Volkswagen executives are looking forward to a rosy time in the near future after the brand stabilizes itself. Those “good times” will return,...
View ArticleGhosn: ‘Massive’ Plans for Mitsubishi-Nissan Alliance in US
Carlos Ghosn, the synergizing executive that Sergio Marchionne only wishes he could be, isn’t mincing words when it comes to Nissan’s plans for fledgling automaker Mitsubishi. According to the...
View ArticleSubaru’s Parent Kills Industrial Division, Plans to Coddle Its Overachieving...
It was a bombshell decision that Fuji Heavy Industries describes as “extraordinary.” Subaru’s parent company announced today that its board of directors has decided to eliminate its industrial division...
View ArticleJapanese Automakers Form Alliance To Develop Next-Gen Fuel-Efficient Engines
Japan’s cadre of automakers have formed an alliance to research and develop a new generation of diesel and gasoline internal combustion engines, with the goal of delivering a 30 percent improvement in...
View ArticleFiat Chrysler Automobiles’ London Headquarters To Focus On Corporate Finance
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ new headquarters in London, England will be as small as many Silicon Valley startups, with a staff of 50 mostly focused on finance. Automotive News Europe reports FCA CEO...
View ArticleEndless GM Recall Parade Sign Of Industry-Wide Action To Come
Detroit Free Press posits the endless recall parade General Motors has been leading since late February 2014 may be doing more harm than good for public perception or its bottom line. Though spokesman...
View ArticleFiat Sets Date Of Shareholder Meeting For August 1
Own any shares in Fiat S.p.A.? The automaker just announced it will hold its next general assembly of all shareholders August 1, where the topic of discussion will be the approval of the merger of Fiat...
View ArticleVolvo Restructuring To Three Families, Configurations By 2019
By 2019, the face of Volvo will change as the Sino-Swedish automaker begins restructuring its offerings, with the new XC90 leading the way. Autoblog reports Volvo will align its lineup portfolio around...
View ArticleBuffett Enters Dealership Business With Van Tuyl Group Purchase
Warren Buffett — no relation to Jimmy — is a lot of things: investor extraordinaire, railroad magnate, newspaper mogul, hip-hop enthusiast et al. As of last Thursday, however, he picked up a new title:...
View ArticleMarchionne: New No. 1 Manufacturer Could Arise From Mergers
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne — who will be retiring from the company after the next five-year plan runs its course after 2018 — believes mergers between automakers will one day...
View ArticleGerman Automakers Rally In Support of US-EU Trade Agreement
Leaders from Germany’s automotive sector held a rally Wednesday in Berlin to lend support to a transatlantic trade agreement heavily facing opposition. Automotive News reports the agreement between the...
View ArticleMarchionne Makes Case For Consolidation With 25-Page PowerPoint
Not one to give up on corporate marriage, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne posted a merger thesis on his company’s website prior to FCA’s Q1 2015 earnings call. The 25-page PowerPoint presentation – titled...
View ArticleMarchionne May Marry FCA To Apple, Google If No Automaker Will
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne’s search for a consolidation partner may take him to Silicon Valley if the automakers won’t give him the time of day. While making his pitch for consolidation during...
View ArticleMarchionne Hearing Wedding Bells By 2018, No Marriage With Opel
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne believes consolidation will occur as early as 2018. Meanwhile, Opel won’t be taking FCA’s hand in marriage. Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann stated a merger between his company...
View ArticleElkann: Marchionne Emailed Barra, Others About Consolidation
FCA Chairman John Elkann confirmed CEO Sergio Marchionne did email General Motors CEO Mary Barra about consolidation, though GM wasn’t the only one. Elkann informed reporters the email wasn’t the only...
View ArticleFCA Delaying Dozen Model Introductions, Redesigns Across Product Range
Suppliers close to FCA and its plans say production for a dozen new and redesigned models have been delayed, including key Jeep and Ram offerings. While high-margin products like the Jeep Wrangler,...
View ArticleBloomberg: Subaru “has to decide what kind of company it wants to be”
Subaru has a problem, though it’s a problem many other automakers would love to have. The small Japanese automaker is growing at a rapid rate and it’s fully expected to run out of capacity to fulfill...
View ArticleMarchionne Planning Shotgun Wedding For FCA With General Motors
How desperate has FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne become about marrying off his company? He’s asking activist investors to prod General Motors to the chapel. Marchionne recently began reaching out to hedge...
View ArticleToyota, Ford Show No Interest In Heading Down The Aisle With FCA
When General Motors ultimately rebuffs FCA’s attempts to put a ring on it, Toyota or Ford could be the one true love, right? Not so fast. Toyota North America CEO Jim Lentz told those attending a...
View ArticleGeneral Motors, FCA Recruit Advisors Amid Merger Standoff
The Lifetime movie starring FCA has reached the “dangerous stalker” phase, as the automaker and General Motors recruit advisors amid a merger standoff. Despite GM and CEO Mary Barra both rebuffing...
View ArticleMarchionne Not Yet Ready For GM, Fields Not Interested In Any Merger
FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne says he’s not ready to court General Motors’ shareholders for a merger, while Ford’s Mark Fields prefers no mergers at all. Though Marchionne was said to be gathering allies...
View ArticleJeep Points to Map of India, Says Let’s Print More Money Here
More and more automakers are looking at exotic locales to produce their wares (us Canadians can consider Mexico exotic thanks to its ice-free beaches) as they expand their brands and explore in-roads...
View ArticleFerrari Filing ‘Days Away’ Says FCA Boss Marchionne
Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Friday, Fiat Chrysler Automobile chief Sergio Marchionne said the official filing to spin off Ferrari could happen within the next few days. “We are days away from...
View ArticleMagna Completes $1.9B Acquisition of Transmission-maker Getrag
Supplier and sometimes-assembler Magna International will buy German transmission-maker Getrag for roughly $1.9 billion, the Detroit News is reporting. The deal would firmly plant Canadian-based Magna...
View ArticleGM to Develop Global Car with China-based SAIC Motors
General Motors will invest $5 billion to build a global line of cars with Shanghai-based SAIC Motors that will be sold in Brazil, China and other emerging markets, the automaker announced Tuesday. The...
View ArticleSpyker Emerges from Bankruptcy Charged with Enthusiasm
Spyker — the former Saab owner, F1 contender, and builder of aircraft-inspired supercars — has emerged from moratorium and plans to merge with Portland, Oregon electric aircraft manufacturer Volta...
View ArticleDueling Development Centers Force GM to Slam the Brakes on Opel Sale
The handover of General Motors’ European operations and creation of a new Opel corporate identity, which was expected later this week, has come to a screeching halt. As part of the $2.3 billion sale to...
View ArticleNeed a Loan for a Mitsubishi? Nissan Now Has You Covered in Three Countries
Mitsubishi’s new ownership spells big changes for the automaker’s product future, but the controlling stake recently purchased by Renault-Nissan also means the newly joined automakers will partner on...
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