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Autoblog Minute: Marchionne seems prepared to lead FCA in takeover of GM

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne wants industry consolidation but without any deal takers it seems as though he's ready to consider a hostile takeover. Autoblog's Chris McGraw reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute with commentary from Autoblog editor-in-chief Mike Austin. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] It's no secret that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne wants industry consolidation but without any deal takers it seems as though he's ready to consider a hostile takeover. I'm Chris McGraw and this is your Autoblog Minute. Marchionne is tired of waiting for the industry to get on board with his consolidation plan. In an interview with Automotive News Marchionne was quoted as saying, "it would be unconscionable not to force a partner." And when pushed further about the nature of any potential takeover plan the FCA chief had this to say: "Not hostile. There are varying degrees of hugs. I can hug you nicely, I can hug you tightly, I can hug you like a bear, I can really hug you. Everything starts with physical contact. Then it can degrade, but it starts with physical contact." Metaphor aside, Marchionne suggests his numbers for a GM-FCA merger are irrefutable, pointing to potential global earnings of a 30 billion dollars. Without a merger deal on the horizon we have to wonder if an FCA takeover of GM even possible. For more we go to Autoblog's Mike Austin: [Mike Austin Interview] Marchionne says GM won't take his phone calls, and while he admits a merger with GM would be a hard road to haul it's one he's still determined to travel. We'll continue to monitor the story as it develops. For Autoblog, I'm Chris McGraw. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video

Zombie cars: A dozen discontinued vehicles people still buy new

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

Lee Iacocca’s 10,000-square-foot Bel Air mansion hits the market

We’ve seen the auctioning off of much of the estate of the late, famed auto executive and former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca, who died last year at age 94, including his 1992 Dodge Viper and wood-sided 1986 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country Convertible. Now comes his former Southern California mansion, which has hit the market for a cool $26.9 million. The Tuscan-style mansion in the tony Bel Air section of Los Angeles is where Iacocca lived following his retirement from Chrysler and the automotive industry in 1992. According to the website TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, itÂ’s a 10,682 square-foot, five-bedroom, eight-bath palace on 1 acre near the Bel Air Country Club. It comes with four ensuite guest rooms, a separate staff apartment, formal living and dining rooms, a wood-paneled library and five (!) fireplaces. High ceilings, chandeliers and expensive wood trim and moulding work abound. ItÂ’s also tailor-made for entertaining, with big open-plan rooms opening to landscaped terraces, a chefÂ’s kitchen, a swimming pool, spa and tennis courts. And in fact, Iacocca was said to have entertained the likes of Bob and Delores Hope, Frank and Barbara Sinatra, Priscilla Presley and Betty White. Oddly, considering Iacocca was one of the first celebrity auto execs, thereÂ’s no information about the estateÂ’s garage; Autoblog has inquired about that with the listing agents and will update this if we hear back. In the overhead view in the gallery above, the driveway leads to the large wing on the left side of the house, so the garage is potentially pretty big, but it's hard to say what else might share space under that roof. Aside from his work developing the iconic Ford Mustang in the 1960s, Iacocca is perhaps best known to generations of Americans for his role rescuing Chrysler from collapse. He did so by securing a $1.2 billion federal loan from Congress, restructuring the company by cutting wages and closing plants introducing popular fuel-efficient cars like the K Car and introducing the minivan. After his retirement in 1992, Iacocca invested in casinos and a line of imported olive oil, and he was a member of several corporate boards.   Featured Gallery Lee Iacocca's Bel Air mansion View 11 Photos Celebrities Chrysler