1961 Chrysler Newport Sedan, Factory Three-speed Manual Transmission, Barn Find on 2040-cars

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China own a Detroit automaker? Would the U.S. let that happen?

The news that several Chinese automakers want to buy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and that one has even made an offer, elicits some mixed feelings. On one hand, as some have pointed out, it could be a win-win both for China and for FCA's American workers, ensuring the company's survival and opening new markets. On the other hand, this is China, whose trade relationship with the U.S. is the source of considerable scrutiny from the Trump administration — and whose not-a-friend, not-an-enemy status is particularly difficult to gauge right now during heightened tensions with its client state North Korea. So would such a deal pass regulatory muster? One reason that springs to mind for blocking any sale has to do with national security. Chrysler's role as a military supplier dates back to Dodge trucks used by Gen. Blackjack Pershing to chase Pancho Villa in Mexico, and shortly thereafter by American forces in World War I. The Detroit Three automakers were, of course, mainstays of the Arsenal of Democracy of World War II. Even before U.S. entry into the war in December 1941, America's industrial machinery went into overdrive, and Chrysler was one of the biggest cogs. It engineered and built the M3, Sherman and Pershing tanks and trucks for Gen. George Patton's Redball Express. It helped develop a radar-guided antiaircraft gun that knocked German bombers and V1 rockets out of the sky — on one day, shooting down 97 of 101 V1s headed for London. On D-Day, the radar system helped thwart Luftwaffe counterattacks on the beaches of Normandy, and it later helped Allied forces break out at the Battle of the Bulge. Chrysler redesigned the Wright Cyclone engines used by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the plane that firebombed Tokyo and dropped the atomic bombs that ended the war. Chrysler even played a secret role refining uranium in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that was used in the Hiroshima bomb and in the ensuing Cold War arms race. It worked on military missiles and was NASA's prime contractor for the Saturn V rocket that put men on the moon. More recently, Chrysler produced the M1 Abrams tank. And of course Chrysler is the keeper of the flame for Jeep, a 75-plus-years military legacy handed down from Bantam and Willys to Kaiser to AMC to Chrysler. The point of this history lesson is to note that in times of war or national emergency, America's industrial might has been called to serve, and may well be called on again.

Ford Mustang was almost 'Imported from Detroit'

The Ford Mustang achieved iconic status nearly the moment the sheet came off at the 1964 World's Fair. And if Henry Ford II wasn't getting divorced around that time, the pony car might have been called the Torino and been marketed as 'Imported from Detroit,' according to Automotive News. We'll explain. During research for the new book Once in a Great City: A Detroit Story, author David Maraniss found an interesting connection between Chrysler's (now FCA US) slogan and the Ford Mustang. Before the pony car even had a name, the Blue Oval's advertising agency had the idea to market it as a "brand new import ... from Detroit," according to Automotive News. The vehicle would be sold as "inspired by Italy's great road cars, but straight from Detroit." The name Torino was suggested, as well. However, the real world interfered in making the Mustang Detroit's first import. According to the author, Henry Ford II was getting a divorce, and his future wife was Italian. It was therefore thought to be a bad idea to sell the future pony car as being from Italy. Things clearly changed by the time the Torino hit the streets years later. Related Video:

Federal judge throws out GM's racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler

  DETROIT — A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a racketeering lawsuit General Motors had filed against smaller rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, saying the No. 1 U.S. automaker's alleged injuries were not caused by FCA's alleged violations. GM officials said in statement they "strongly disagree" with the order by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman, whom the automaker had sought to have removed from the case, and would appeal. "There is more than enough evidence from the guilty pleas of former FCA executives to conclude that the company engaged in racketeering, our complaint was timely and showed in detail how their multi-million dollar bribes caused direct harm to GM," GM said in a statement. The Detroit company added that Borman's decision "would let wrongdoers off the hook." GM filed the racketeering lawsuit against FCA last November, alleging its rival bribed United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages, costing GM billions of dollars. GM was seeking "substantial damages" that one analyst said could have totaled at least $6 billion. FCA had called the case meritless and asked Borman to dismiss it. On Wednesday, Borman dismissed the lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning GM cannot refile the complaint. "The direct victims of defendants' alleged bribery scheme are FCA's workers," Borman wrote of FCA. "GM's high labor costs were not an injury proximately caused by FCA's bribes, and any competitive injury that GM suffered as a result of FCA's advantage in labor costs is an indirect injury." "The dismissal of GM's complaint with prejudice earlier today vindicates our position," FCA said in a statement. On Monday, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied GM's petition to remove Borman from the case, but said the two automakers' chief executives didn't have to meet to try to settle the case as Borman had ordered. In calling for that, Borman had called the lawsuit "a waste of time and resources."   Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM