Nother CarGuy

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is set to unveil a new five-year plan later this year and outspoken CEO Sergio Marchionne has provided a few hints at what we can expect. Speaking with Motor Trend, Marchionne confirmed the company still has plans to introduce a crossover that is based on the same platform that underpins the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The executive said the design work has already been completed and everything is ready to go so "We can probably get it up and running in 18 months.” Little is known about the model but the company's original plan called for the full-size crossover to be launched in 2017. It would have be sold as a Chrysler and offered with a plug-in hybrid powertrain. When asked about the long-awaited Wrangler pickup, Marchionne said “The product is done" but they are focused on building the regular model so the Scrambler successor will arrive in early 2019. One of the major unveiling at the North American International Auto Show was the ...

"You have to shoot me first", said FCA's CEO Sergio Marchionne a couple of years ago, when asked whether Ferrari would ever build an SUV. In the meantime, things have changed, and Marchionne told journalists at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show that Ferrari's plans now include an SUV, or FUV (Ferrari Utility Vehicle) as he referred to it, AutoExpress reports. The FCA CEO didn't go into specific details, but made it clear that "it will look like whatever a Ferrari utility vehicle needs to look like", adding that "it has to drive like a Ferrari", too. By the end of this year, Ferrari will be debt-free, and so an SUV will bring in more profit for the Italian automaker, mostly from Asian markets, including China, while also helping them sell more than 10,000 units annually. From the Porsche Cayenne to the Bentley Bentayga, the upcoming Rolls-Royce Cullinan and Lamborghini's Urus, the Ferrari SUV has enough rivals to tackle. However, the P...

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles says it is interested in forming a technical partnership with Hyundai. Speaking at the launch of the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 squad, FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne said the carmaker is searching for a closer relationship with Hyundai but is not seeking a merger. “We already buy components from (Hyundai) .... let’s see if we can agree on other points, especially for the development of transmissions and hydrogen,” he said. In the meantime, FCA is investigating other ways to make money, including a potential spinoff of Magneti Marelli, the brand’s major parts manufacturer. Additionally, robotics maker Comau could also be subject to a spin off and venture into the world of artificial intelligence, Reuters reports. “Whether it happens as a spin-off or a distribution to shareholders, or whether we will raise some money in the process -- all things to be discussed with the board, we haven’t made up our mind,” Marchionne said. Word of a potential tie-u...

Remember all those times that successive heads of Ferrari have said they'd never do an SUV? Yeah, well they are. And it's not just a rumor any more. “It will probably happen but it will happen in Ferrari’s style,” CEO Sergio Marchionne told reporters on a financial-earnings conference call. "That space is too big and too inviting and we have a lot of our customers who will be more than willing to drive a Ferrari-branded vehicle that has that king of utilitarian objective.” Despite earlier pronouncements, the near-confirmation comes as no great surprise given the swirling reports of late and Marchionne's recent record of having lead both Alfa Romeo and Maserati to launch their first crossovers in the respective forms of the Stelvio and Levante. Other high-end European marques like Bentley and Jaguar have recently launched their first crossovers, with Lamborghini, Aston Martin, and Rolls-Royce soon to follow suit – all based on the success of the Porsche Cayenne. ...