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Fiat and UAW back at negotiating table over Chrysler stake

We knew there'd be no Chrysler IPO before the end of this year, but Fiat is determined to get the best run going into 2014 and is back at the poker table with the UAW. The delay was said to be Chrysler's desire to clean up a tax issue with the IRS; turns out that also bought the carmaker time to try and close a deal for the UAW's 48.5-percent stake in the company before the IPO happens.
Whereas the price Chrysler was willing to pay was once more than $1 billion under the UAW's asking price, the gap has closed to just $800 million of late. A recent valuation of the company at $10 billion - a valuation the UAW has disputed - means Fiat would be looking to pay about $4.2 billion instead of the $5 billion that the UAW seeks. But the UAW needs to hold out for the highest amount it can get because its pension obligations through the Voluntary Employee Benefit Association (VEBA) are $3.1 billion greater than the VEBA's assets, which include the Chrysler stake.
There's a clause in the agreement that Fiat can buy the VEBA shares for $6 billion, but Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that the UAW "should buy a ticket for the lottery" if they even want $5 billion. The UAW, though, has more time to wait; it's Fiat that wants access to Chrysler's $11.9-billion war chest and that would like to avoid the risk of paying the full $6 billion for the UAW share if the float really takes off. With other valuations of Chrysler as high as $19 billion, a hot IPO could make that $6 billion look like a bargain.

Chrysler recalling over 280k minivans because airbags may deploy on wrong side

Chrysler has issued a recall for some 2013 Town & Country, Dodge Grand Caravan and Ram C/V Tradesman vans built between May 10, 2012 and June 7, 2013. These vehicles may have a software error that would cause the wrong side (opposite side) airbags to deploy in a crash. With this defect, a left-side impact would cause the right-side airbag to deploy, etc.
The recall affects 281,500 vehicles in total: 224k in the US, 49,300 in Canada, 2,900 in Mexico and 5,300 in other locations. Chrysler will notify owners of effected vehicles, and reflash the offending occupant restraint control module to resolve the issue. Scroll down to read the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration press release.

2014 Chrysler 200 to set design tone for brand

Speaking with Wards Auto at this year's Detroit Auto Show, Chrysler design chief Ralph Gilles said that the next-generation Chrysler 200 will launch a whole new styling direction for the brand when it arrives for the 2014 model year. Gilles did not reveal any specific design cues or elements that will be found on the next 200, only saying that the new car "shares no surface language with any previous Chrysler we've ever seen."
Indeed, the current 200 isn't exactly setting the world on fire with any sort of clever, emotive design, but Gilles knows that. "The current Chryslers on the road today certainly don't reflect where we're headed," he told Wards Auto. Instead, Gilles said that "we are deviating from where we are today, completely. It's a very different feeling (and) look."
The launch of the new Chrysler 200 will officially mean the death of its Dodge Avenger counterpart, though Gilles says that the company is working on an all-new product to replace that vehicle down the road. Still, Chrysler will need a successful player in the popular midsize segment, and Gilles fully expects the new 200 to be up to the task. "I think it's going to be a beautiful and relevant vehicle."