2004 Chrysler Pacifica Base Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Mike Manley named CEO of FCA amid Sergio Marchionne health crisis

Mike Manley has been immediately granted "all the powers of CEO" of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In a statement, FCA said its Board of Directors made this decision "in order to provide for his full authority and operational continuity for the company." Manley, who has been at the helm of Jeep since 2009 and Ram since 2015, is expected to be named an executive director for FCA after the next shareholder's meeting. In a similar statement, Ferrari said it had "named John Elkann as Chairman and will propose to Shareholders, at a meeting to be called in the coming days, that Louis C. Camilleri be named as CEO." CNH Industrial, a company that makes trucks, agricultural, and industrial equipment and which Marchionne also chairs, named Suzanna Heywood, as his replacement. Sergio Marchionne, who had served as CEO of both FCA and Ferrari, suffered "unexpected complications" as he was recovering from surgery performed earlier this month. FCA's statement adds that these complications "have worsened significantly in recent hours." Marchionne, credited with rescuing Fiat and Chrysler from bankruptcy since taking the wheel at the Italian carmaker in 2004, had been due to step down as the head of Fiat Chrysler next April. His internal successor had yet to be named. Marchionne had previously said he planned to stay on as Ferrari Chairman and CEO until 2021.Reuters contributed to this report.Related Video: Image Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Ferrari Fiat Sergio Marchionne

The problem with how automakers confront hacking threats

More than anyone, Chris Valasek and Charlie Miller are responsible for alerting Americans to the hacking perils awaiting them in their modern-day cars. In 2013, the pair of cyber-security researchers followed in the footsteps of academics at the University of Cal-San Diego and University of Washington, demonstrating it was possible to hack and control cars. Last summer, their research established which vehicles contained inherent security weaknesses. In recent weeks, their latest findings have underscored the far-reaching danger of automotive security breaches. From the comfort of his Pittsburgh home, Valasek exploited a flaw in the cellular connection of a Jeep Cherokee and commandeered control as Miller drove along a St. Louis highway. Remote access. No prior tampering with the vehicle. An industry's nightmare. As a result of their work, FCA US recalled 1.4 million cars, improving safety for millions of motorists. For now, Valasek and Miller are at the forefront of their profession. In a few months, they could be out of jobs. Rather than embrace the skills of software and security experts in confronting the unforeseen downside of connectivity in cars, automakers have been doing their best to stifle independent cyber-security research. Lost in the analysis of the Jeep Cherokee vulnerabilities is the possibility this could be the last study of its kind. In September or October, the U.S. Copyright Office will issue a key ruling that could prevent third-party researchers like Valasek and Miller from accessing the components they need to conduct experiments on vehicles. Researchers have asked for an exemption in the Digital Millennial Copyright Act that would preserve their right to analyze cars, but automakers have opposed that exemption, claiming the software that runs almost every conceivable vehicle function is proprietary. Further, their attorneys have argued the complexity of the software has evolved to a point where safety and security risks arise when third parties start monkeying with the code. Their message on cyber security is, as it has been for years, that they know their products better than anyone else and that it's dangerous for others to meddle with them. But in precise terms, the Jeep Cherokee problems show this is not the case. Valasek and Miller discovered the problem, a security hole in the Sprint cellular connection to the UConnect infotainment system, not industry insiders.

Chrysler Pacifica-based crossover SUV coming soon

Chrysler is finally going to get another vehicle to support its minuscule lineup. According to Motor Trend, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that the company has a three-row crossover based on Chrysler's Pacifica minivan ready to go in as little as 18 months. Moving past the irony that Chrysler repurposed the old Pacifica crossover's name for a minivan, only for that very van to yield a new crossover, this is a vital vehicle for Chrysler that offers some interesting possibilities. Firstly, as we just mentioned, Chrysler hardly has anything in its lineup right now. With the departure of the 200, it was left with the 300 and the Pacifica. Both are perfectly fine machines, and we especially like the Pacifica, but they didn't leave the brand with much breadth for people who wanted something that wasn't a large sedan or a minivan. Both of those segments are giving up market share to crossovers, so a Pacifica-based crossover, one with three rows, will be beneficial beyond just offering another model, but also offering one that is more broadly popular, especially as more companies including Subaru and Volkswagen expand into the large three-row segment. The Pacifica platform also offers some unique opportunities for this upcoming Chrysler crossover. Using such a space-efficient starting point could give this Chrysler class-leading passenger and cargo space. Most interesting to consider, though, is the possibility of a plug-in hybrid. With the heavy lifting done during the Pacifica's development, it shouldn't be too difficult to adapt the PHEV powertrain to the new crossover. Shockingly, plug-in crossovers have only been tried by luxury brands and Mitsubishi, the latter with the Outlander PHEV. So this Chrysler could be in a class of its own by offering a larger PHEV than Outlander, but at a better price than the luxury automakers. As such, we're quite interested to see how this crossover turns out. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.