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4th largest automotive group in the making... Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot reach deal to merge DETROIT – From Daimler-Chrysler to Fiat Chrysler, the former American automaker Chrysler Corp. has gallivanted around the world to find partners to assist in its growth or help keep it afloat. It now has its sights set on Peugeot maker PSA Group. Both the French carmaker and Fiat Chrysler on Wednesday confirmed they are in talks to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker with a roughly $50 billion valuation. The PSA board approved the merger and the Fiat Chrysler board is set to meet Wednesday, a person familiar with the deal told CNBC. Executives have briefed regulators in the U.S. and France, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares is expected to lead the combined automaker as its CEO, while John Elkann, Fiat Chrysler chairman and heir of the Agnelli family dynasty that founded Fiat, would continue his role with the combined company, the WSJ reported. The deal gives Peugeot six board seats and Fiat Chrysler five, according to the WSJ. “We will not comment beyond the press release issued this morning,” PSA Spokesman Pierre-Olivier Salmon said in an email, citing a press release issued earlier in the day that confirmed the two companies were holding “ongoing discussions aiming at creating one of the world’s leading automotive groups.” Fiat Chrysler spokesman Niel Golightly said he had “nothing to add at this time.” Reports of the talks, including a potential “all-share merger of equals,” as the Wall Street Journal first reported, sent shares of Fiat Chrysler surging as much as 8% on Tuesday. The stock rose by less than 2% in midday trading Wednesday. The confirmation of the talks comes about five months after Fiat Chrysler ended merger discussions with PSA’s French rival, Renault. Fiat Chrysler, the world’s seventh-largest automaker, has been on a quest for a tie-up to grow scale and consolidate costs for several years. ‘Litany of obstacles’ Even if the deal wins approval from both boards, it faces a lot of obstacles. Challenges include consolidation, clashing corporate cultures and government and regulatory approval, among other issues. Talks of a potential tie-up between Fiat Chrysler and Renault ended earlier this year largely due to the French government, which owns a roughly 12.2% stake in Renault. The French government currently owns a 13.7% stake in PSA. Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy cited the French government’s ownership as one of a “litany of obstacles” facing such a deal. Murphy said similar to Fiat Chrysler’s potential tie-up with Renault, the “industrial logic” is “unclear unless there is massive headcount reduction.” Such a deal, according to Murphy, also could alienate U.S. buyers, lowering the potential benefit of the two automakers combining. Even if the merger is approved by shareholders and regulators, “there is a material risk American consumers may shift to Ford and GM products due to FCA possibly no longer being perceived as an ‘American’ identity, not to mention the potential political implications of this potential deal.” Bernstein analyst Max Warburton said a merger between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot “has more logic” than one with Renault. He specifically cites the potential for Tavares to create “long-term value.” “We ultimately think a deal could be made to work — this would be as much about raising performance as it would be about synergies,” he wrote in a Tuesday note to investors. However, Warburton noted a deal between the two does little to increase business in China, the world’s largest auto market, and the timing is “sub-optimal” given FCA’s earnings are at all-time high. Rewards Analysts see the merger as a quick way for Peugeot to re-enter the U.S. market after a decades-long hiatus, while continuing to grow its European operations following the company’s acquisition of GM’s European business in 2017. “This news is not unexpected, given that both companies have been actively exploring tie-ups with others to yield cost savings and other synergistic benefits,” said David Leggett, automotive editor at data analytics firm GlobalData. For Fiat Chrysler, it would finally cement former CEO Sergio Marchionne’s vision of creating a global automaker with the resources to successfully compete in the ever-changing auto industry. In 2015, Marchionne, who unexpectedly died in July 2018, called for industry consolidation in a presentation called “Confessions of a Capital Junkie.” Consolidation would save capital that was being wasted by automakers developing redundant technologies, he said. “These were not hallucinations of somebody looking to grandstand in the industry,” Marchionne said at the time. “We have spent a lot of time trying to understand what makes this machine tick. And the machine can tick a lot better if certain things happened.” Marchionne believed only a handful of the world’s largest automakers would survive and have the capital to compete as automakers push for autonomous and all-electric vehicles. The deal with PSA would give Fiat Chrysler access to PSA’s newer vehicle platforms in Europe as well as emerging technologies. Marchionne’s methodical combination of Fiat and Chrysler a decade ago is considered one of the more successful tie-ups for the auto industry in the recent years. Chrysler’s previous “merger of equals” with German automaker Daimler-Benz in 1998 was a culture clash and failure that led to a divorce less than a decade later, followed by Chrysler spiraling into bankruptcy in 2009.

Fiat Chrysler Automobile has chosen transmission manufacturer ZF as its supplier for its upcoming rear- and all-wheel drive vehicles with front-longitudinal engine configuration. “We are pleased being nominated as global transmission supplier by FCA. This is our second major order for the new 8HP and it confirms our strategy to focus on plug-in hybrids as an every-day solution and to develop attractive products in these areas,” ZF Chief Executive Wolf-Henning Scheider said. The new automatic gearbox is equipped with an integrated electric drive and can be used in plug-in hybrid vehicles that FCA plans to produce. While the company has not declared which of its models will get the transmission, it is expected to find its way into some of the company’s bigger cars. To be built at ZF's factory in Germany, production of the new gearbox is scheduled to start in 2022 and will also be manufactured in other locations such as the United States and China at a later date. According to ZF, FCA's deal with them is the second largest order in its history while its largest single order happened with BMW just three months before this.

It is rumored that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Renault have resumed talks to revive its potential merger. Its merger plan failed a couple of weeks ago and FCA blamed the French government for it. According to Reuters, Nissan wants Renault to significantly reduce its 43.4% stake in return for its support of a $48billion merger between FCA and Renault. In the article, FCA chairman John Elkann and Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard have been holding talks about continuing the negotiation, but both companies are refusing to comment on the reports officially. A senior advisor from FCA, Toby Myerson was also spotted at the Nissan headquarters in Japan for discussions with top management and would have likely include Nissan Chief Executive Hiroto Saikawa. Also in the article, it explained that the Nissan head has long believed that its alliance with Renault needed “re-balancing”. This is because Nissan is much larger than Renault but it only holds a 15% stake in the French automaker and no voting rights, while Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan. The French government has since responded, willing to reduce its 15% stake in Renault in an effort to see the merger come to fruition, but only if that would benefit both FCA and the Alliance in general.

The French government has been blamed for the failure of Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles's proposed merger. But it disagrees. It only took 10 days for the merger to fail as Reuters reported that the French government, which has a 15% stake in Renault, took things overboard by demanding a series of guarantees and concessions that were deemed excessive by FCA. A French government official then called FCA's Chairman John Elkann to persuade him to reconsider the offer but was rejected still. According to French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, the government engaged in the negotiations constructively but they weren’t ready to commit without the consensuses of Renault’s partner, Nissan. Meanwhile, Nissan's said that it would be neutral on the merger proposal. The article went on to say that the people in FCA was actually fine with Nissan's stance and put the blame on the French government for the collapse of the deal.

Maybe Renault is sick of Nissan & Japanese gov of "tekkaning" Carlos Ghosn, they are going to shelve their plan to merge with Nissan if Fiat Chrysler is interested to merge with Renault. Fiat Chrysler and Renault in talks over mergerCarmakers set to announce collaboration on electric vehicle technology and production https://www.ft.com/content/846bc2f0-7fbf-11e9-9935-ad75bb96c849

RIP https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/sergio-marchionne-ceo-who-steered-fiat-chrysler-dead-at-66 Sergio Marchionne, the former chief executive officer of Fiat Chrysler and architect of the automaker’s dramatic turnaround, has died. He was 66. His death was confirmed Wednesday by Exor NV, the holding company of Fiat’s founding Agnelli family, just days after Marchionne was replaced as CEO. His health had declined suddenly following complications from a shoulder operation at a Zurich hospital, according to people familiar with the situation. The company wasn’t specific about the cause of his death. "Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone,” Fiat Chairman John Elkann said in a statement. "My family and I will be forever grateful for what he has done,” said Elkann, who also is chairman and CEO of Exor. Selected as CEO of Fiat SpA in June 2004, Marchionne took the Italian manufacturer from the brink of bankruptcy to the New York Stock Exchange, where he rang the bell on Oct. 13, 2014, to mark the debut of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, the London company created when Fiat bought the Detroit carmaker. Marchionne, who described himself as a corporate fixer, was Fiat’s fifth CEO in less than two years when he took over. He replaced Giuseppe Morchio, who quit after the billionaire Agnelli family refused to give him the joint title of chairman and CEO when then-Chairman Umberto Agnellidied of cancer. Fiat Rebounds Marchionne was handed an automaker that lost more than 6 billion euros ($7 billion) in 2003. By 2005, he had returned the company to a profit by wringing some $2 billion from an alliance with General Motors Co., laying off thousands of workers, introducing new models, and slashing the time it took to get a new car to market to just 18 months, from four years.In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration announced that Fiat would take control of Chrysler LLC, rescuing the American company from bankruptcy. “I don’t care what a tough guy he was to work for, he saved our company,” said Cass Burch, a Chrysler and Jeep dealer in Georgia. “He deserves a bronze statue.” The deal gave Marchionne “a huge sense of responsibility,” he said in a 2011 interview. His office on the fourth floor of Fiat’s Turin headquarters was adorned with a black-and-white poster of the word “competition” and a Picasso print bearing the motto, “Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.” During his tenure at Fiat, Marchionne boosted the company’s value more than 10-fold by restructuring the auto business and separating assets. Among the biggest spinoffs was the 2015 listing of supercar-maker Ferrari NV, where Marchionne also served as CEO and chairman. Thrill Ride Marchionne’s direct manner and frumpy demeanor -- he was rarely seen wearing anything but jeans and a black pullover sweater -- made him stand out in buttoned-down Italy. He knew how to move fast and enjoyed driving his half-dozen Ferraris. “When you’re pissed off, there’s nothing better than this,” he said, stomping on the accelerator of his black Enzo at the company’s test track in 2014 and pushing the car from a comfortable 120 miles per hour to something over 200. Fueled by a dozen espressos a day and packs of Muratti cigarettes, he stormed into Fiat and fired most of the top management, then did the same at Chrysler in 2009, installing a dozen newcomers on his second day. He also knew speed can be dangerous. In 2007, he wrecked a $350,000 Ferrari on a highway in Switzerland. “In the car business, sometimes you crash,” he said. Yet even as he garnered criticism from politicians and unions for slashing jobs and cutting costs, Marchionne argued that moving slowly could be even more risky. When he took over both Fiat and Chrysler, he always maintained, the companies needed radical change in order to survive. Consolidation PushThe Chrysler deal was part of a long-standing campaign Marchionne had waged to spur consolidation in the auto industry, which he claimed had far too much capacity for all players to survive. To that end, he publicly campaigned for a merger with General Motors Co. in 2015 but was rebuffed by the U.S. carmaker. “Sergio created a remarkable legacy in the automotive industry,” Mary Barra, chairman and CEO of General Motors said in a statement. “We at General Motors offer our condolences to Sergio Marchionne’s family and friends.” Ford Motor Co. Chairman Bill Ford also praised Marchionne “as one of the most respected leaders in the industry whose creativity and bold determination helped to restore Chrysler to financial health and grow Fiat Chrysler into a profitable global automaker.” Marchionne had planned to leave Fiat in 2019, but with his health deteriorating, on July 21 he was replaced as CEO of Fiat Chrysler by Mike Manley, head of the Jeep and Ram brands. Louis C. Camilleri took over at Ferrari, and Suzanne Heywood succeeded Marchionne as chairman of truck and farm-equipment maker CNH Industrial NV. Some Italian media reports said Marchionne had cancer. People close to Marchionne told Bloomberg News that he died of cardiac arrest and didn’t have cancer. Marchionne was born on June 17, 1952, in Chieti, a hilltop town near the Adriatic sea in central Italy. His father was a local policeman, and when Marchionne was 14 the family moved to Toronto. A chartered accountant and attorney with dual Canadian and Italian citizenship, Marchionne began his career in Canada at Deloitte & Touche, then moved on to packaging producer Lawson Group. In 1994, Marchionne joined Alusuisse Lonza Group Ltd. after the Swiss chemical and pharmaceutical company acquired Lawson. Three years later, as Alusuisse CEO, he spun off the drug business to createLonza Group AG, where he tripled profit in three years. He later consolidated his reputation as a turnaround specialist at SGS SA, a Geneva-based product-testing company at the time controlled by the Agnelli family. Marchionne and his estranged wife, Orlandina, had two children, Alessio and Tyler. His partner, Manuela Battezzato, works in Fiat Chrysler’s press office.

Hi all, I am not sure if this is the right place to post, but admin you can move this post to the appropriate thread topics. but I am looking for Chrysler Jeep Wrangler or Defender for my wedding on 13th November 2016. Just 24 hours, from Saturday(12/11/2016) evening to Sunday(13/11/2016) evening This model is not widely available for rent so I am turning to this forum to hope there is a kind soul willing to rent. Please contact me at 94871986 Thank you!

The calculation is confusing. For $60 of petrol, is the net amount supposed to be $44.40 or $45.60? The cashier yesterday argued with me saying is because HSBC discount changed so its now $45.60. But I gotten $44.40 many times before.

Hi all, looking for Scrapped Dodge Caliber/Chrysler Sebring/PT cruiser parts namely Instrument panel, a/c compressor etc. Do PM me if you have :)

this is a nice looking MPV...not sure if local Chryler AD will bring in.... https://youtu.be/rAYoDe6ea2M

See the link here:

Has anybody taken a test drive - very curious about this and whether it's anygood They are doing a bunch of facebook promo, but I rather suspect that it will be underpowered? (My father drove the 4 litre straight six version for a while)

Dear sir, I know your car is very powerful. I was merely trying to filter left and probably overtook you by mistake, even though I had the signal light on. You don't have to show me how powerful your taxi is and jammed brake in front of me. You will be reported to your taxi company. Thank you. http://youtu.be/jMPPTymvEXs

The second generation Chrysler 200, which had its debut at the Detroit Auto Show, becomes another contender in the most competitive mid-size sedan category. Two powertrains are available: a 3.6-liter V-6, with 295-horsepower and 262 lb-ft of torque, or a 2.4-liter inline-4 that produces 183-horsepower and 173 lb-ft of torque. A new 9-speed automatic transmission delivers about a 13-percent fuel economy gain, not to mention (hoped for) performance gains. The gearbox is controlled via an electronic Audi-like rotary knob shifter at the base of the center console. Chrysler joins Audi, Subaru, Ford and Cadillac in offering all-wheel drive on its mid-size sedan. The 200 boasts 60 safety features—the most available in the segment and promises an estimated highway fuel economy of 35 mpg, “The design of the 200 debuts the new face of Chrysler,” said Al Greenwald, president of Chrysler. It’s an elegant, fluid, and understated design which is enhanced by LED daytime running lamps, fog lamps and tail lamps. The higher-end 200 S-model has exclusive gloss black trim and accents, dual exhaust, black wheels and sportier handling. It shares a platform with the Dodge Dart, Jeep Cherokee, and Alfa Romeo Giulietta - and benefits from the tinkering that has been done to previous models in terms of fit and finish and powertrain refinement. “This car is the result of what we learned working on those vehicles,” said Kathy Graham, a spokesperson for Chrysler. “Everything’s better.” It’s equipped with state of the art technology and available in distinct trim levels. An imprint of the skyline of Motor City in the floormats emphasizes Chrysler’s slogan: Made in Detroit. The 200's intended production plant has a 400,000-vehicle capacity and an energy consumption reduction of 62-percent from previous plants of this scale. One veteran photo-journalist called the previous Chrysler 200 one of the three ugliest cars he had ever photographed. The new 2015 Chrysler 200 is definitely not that car any longer.

Hi, Does anyone know those electricity socket at MSCP with round pin, can I change my polishing machine/extension wire to round pin, plug it into the MSCP socket and use? Will it burn the polishing machine or extension wire?

This woman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e05BKmfKhTI

Anyone knows of a good workshop that can do Chrysler servicing and repair? Not keen to go back to authorised dealer due to very bad experience

I have no idea what was wrong with Chrysler engineer, Martin Morse. We have yet to even see a few, if at all, of the 2013 Dodge SRT Viper on our shores or in other parts of the world. Yes, the car was launched just not so long ago, it's the latest Viper from the American automaker Dodge which means it's still a fresh model. Yet, Morse had already ruined one good example of the model. On 22nd April 2013, according to eyewitnesses, the car should have been going at a speed beyond 112km/h on US Highway 23. According to Michigan State Police, the temperature on that day was near-freezing and there was also light rain. The police believed that Morse must have flexed the snake's muscles too hard. Morse lost control of the car, slided across lanes and then hit a fence that separated the highway northbound and southbound lanes. Fortunately enough, the car was pretty low that it managed to get through the upper and middle cables. Unfortunately, being low as it was, the car couldn't get past the bottom cable. I believe that it must have been the bottomcable, a thick braided cord made of steel, that had caused Morse his death, as the cable cut through the car's cabin. Furthermore, it has been confirmed that there was no mechanical fault involved in the incident. So, it seems that Morse had pushed the throttle too much under wrong weather conditions.

Nobel prize winning author Ernest Hemingway's last car was a 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Convertible. Hemingway left the car on the island of Cuba before his suicide in 1961 and from then onwards, the vehicle has somehow disappeared from public view. Presumed to be lost, the car was found a couple of years back and now is the subject of an upcoming documentary about the car's history and ongoing restoration process. The New Yorker Convertible has been passed around between members of one family and there are plans to restore the car to its original condition. But, due to the United States trade embargo on Cuba, plans of restoring the car has come to a dead end. The United States trade embargo imposed on Cuba prohibits the trade of US made products to Cuba. The documentary follows actor David Soul as he tries to find a way around this embargo and get the car back on the road. David Soul is the actor who played the role of detective Kenneth Hutchinson in the television show Starsky and Hutch during the 1970s. After taking an interest in the restoration project, Soul's British passport enables him to supply the right car parts for the project and they hope that the car is able to be restored in time for the International Hemingway Colloquium which will be held in Havana in June 2013. A trailer for the documentary was released in December last year and you can catch it here at Red Earth Studio

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Guys anyone here own Chrysler Grand Voyager? Any feedback on this car in reagrds to 1) Stability 2) Gadgets 3) Pickup 4) Comfort 5)Space As compared to Estima? I need to ferry 4 adults, and 2 kids + 1 Schnez (Dog) Thank you

Many of us know what a muscle car is. But do we really know the factors that place a certain car in the muscle car category? Initially I thought that I knew so much about muscle cars but after reading a certain book about these cars, I became more knowledgeable and some of the so called facts that I previously thought were true are actually not. And now I would like to share them with you. 1965 Pontiac GTO convertible There are many varying opinions on what qualifies as a muscle car but before I touch on that let us see what does not qualify as a muscle car. First of all, it is not a piece of Italian exotic, Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc, nor it is a German performance car (Porsche, etc.). Even a British make sports car would not fit the bill (although there were muscle cars from other countries later on). All the abovementioned cars are too complex, specialised or efficient. Sports cars are not really considered as a muscle car. So, what really qualifies as a muscle car? It is essentially a North American phenomenon; in other words, in the beginning, it should be American made. The basic concept of a muscle car is taking a mid-sized American 2-door car and put in a large displacement V8 engine. The car itself should not be complex, upmarket or fancy. And usually, it should have a rear seating arrangement. 1966 Dodge Charger The muscle car concept is as simple as that. Furthermore in the beginning, the people who are interested in muscle cars are usually young and men. They are not interested in technical sophistication, excellent handling and even top speed. 1970 Dodge Challenger To the American youth of that time who were raised on drag racing, traffic lights street racing and hot-rodding, the most important factors to them were the size of the engine, horsepower and acceleration. In other words, all that they care about is straight line speed. 1958 Ford Thunderbird And when the big 3 American car manufacturers realised about this increasing trend among the youth, the companies started a power race to offer big engine displacements, huge horsepower and lesser seconds over the standing quarter. 1957 Chrysler 300C Before the era of muscle cars, the usage of V8 engines was already pretty rife during the 1950s. Companies like Ford and Chrysler all had their cars fitted with their V8 engines, for example the Ford Thunderbird and Chrysler 300. Their size were too big to place them in the muscle car category. Anyway, at that time the term muscle car has not been known or created. 1967 Chevrolet Camaro Although at that time these cars were not considered as muscle cars but they had one thing in common; they were built for powerful performance and this is one of the factors that the American youth of that time desired for a mid-sized, lighter-shelled car with big, powerful engines. 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle Conventionally, many would say or argue that the 1965 Pontiac GTO (top most picture) was the first true muscle car. 2-door mid-sized American car, huge V8 engine and it sits four people; all fits into the muscle car category. It also began a new car class that offered an affordable and stunning performance package. 1964 Ford Mustang The plan and idea for the GTO nearly did not happen. It came about when in 1963, General Motors would not produce overtly sporty cars and Pontiac was restricted with a standard 300 cu inch (4.8 litre) engine for their intermediate sized cars. And this upset some of their managers and engineers as Pontiac has always been a performance car marque and these same people are also fans of fast cars. 1968 Ford Torino GT FastBack These same people (one of them was John DeLorean who founded the DeLorean company) also felt that the only way to sell cars was by producing image-building cars and eventually the GTO plan went ahead. Before I continue, let me add that GM made all sorts of parts (engine, chassis, etc.) for NASCAR racing and they were road legal at that time. These parts were, at times, used for their production models. Pontiac fitted a 6.375 litre V8 engine together with a mix-and-match of existing parts and assembled them on the production line. This resulted in the GTO, made for truly affordable performance and the GTO fits into the muscle car concept, huge V8 engine in a smaller-sized car and it also started the trend. Other automakers soon followed with their own versions of this new car trend. Ford had its Mustang and Torino models, Dodge came out with the Charger and Challenger and Chevy had its Camaro and Chevelle models. Some people would argue that some of the models I mentioned above are in the pony car category but some of the pony car models are qualified to be in the muscle car category due to the dealer options available for those pony cars (huge V8 engines, etc.). As long as it fits the muscle car bill, many would regard it as one. 1968 Holden Monaro Earlier on I did mention about muscle cars manufactured outside of America. Cars like the Australian Ford Falcon and Holden Monaro fits the muscle category. But sadly, some muscle car purists do not consider these cars to be a muscle car due to them not being American made. 1972 Ford Falcon XA GT After the decline of the muscle car era during the 1970s (due to the oil crisis) there have been a resurgence in the muscle car category. Models like the Mustang, Charger and Camaro still remains till today and as long as the demand is there, we will get to see more of these cars. Photo credit: Car Gurus, Net Car Show, wallpapersweb.com and chromjuwelen.com

[extract] Usually when someone buys a used car, he/she will find some item left behind by the previous owner. Most of the time the item is left behind due to the previous owner totally forgotten about the item or he/she can

[extract] Jeep has been producing off-road and sports utility vehicles since the 1940s, making it the oldest manufacturer of such vehicles. Right now, it is an automobile marque under the Chrysler group. But before this, do you know that it was once known as the Willys Jeep and how did the name Jeep came about? Back in 1941, when Willys-Overland started making Jeeps, there was no such thing as

[extract] A rare find of 150