2022 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Touring L on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler open to mergers, and PSA is looking for one

GENEVA — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) is open to pursuing alliances and merger opportunities if they make sense, but a sale of its luxury brand Maserati is not an option, Chief Executive Mike Manley said on Tuesday. "We have a strong independent future, but if there is a partnership, a relationship or a merger which strengthens that future, I will look at that," Manley told reporters at the Geneva Motor Show. Asked whether he would consider selling Maserati to China's Geely Automobile Holdings, as suggested by recent media reports, Manley said: "Maserati is one of our really beautiful brands and it has an incredibly bright future. ... No." FCA is often cited as a possible merger candidate. Bloomberg said this week that the Italian-American carmaker was attractive to France's PSA Group given its exposure to the U.S. market and its popular Jeep brand. The Detroit News' headline on the situation Friday read, "Fiat Chrysler CEO open to a deal as PSA circles" and stated that Manley's open-to-just-about-anything comments were aimed directly at PSA. Bloomberg said talks between the two were preliminary and said PSA chief Carlos Tavares has also contemplated mergers with General Motors or Jaguar Land Rover, which is losing money for Indian owner Tata. PSA has enjoyed a decade of turnaround and has $10.2 billion in net cash available. The maker of Peugeot, Citroen and DS, acquired Opel and Vauxhall in 2017 and made them almost instantly profitable. Manley, who took over after the death of Sergio Marchionne, said he currently had no news on possible deals. Manley also said the world's seventh-largest carmaker, which is lagging rivals in developing hybrid and electric vehicles, would take the least costly approach to comply with increasingly more stringent European emissions regulations. "There are three options. You can sell enough electrified vehicles to balance your fleet. Two: You can be part of a pooling scheme. Three is to pay the fines," he said. "I don't see a scenario when (carmakers) continue to subsidize technologies ... indefinitely." The carmaker had said last June it would invest 9 billion euros ($10.19 billion) over the next five years to introduce hybrid and electric cars across all regions to be fully compliant with emissions regulations. Asked about a 5-billion-euro investment plan for Italy FCA announced in November but then put under review, Manley said the plan had been confirmed as originally presented.

Henrik Fisker interview, and driving the Polestar 2 | Autoblog Podcast #643

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. They've been driving the updated 2021 Honda Odyssey, the 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 and the new Polestar 2 electric sedan. After reviewing those, they talk about how the Chrysler 300 appears to be withering on the vine. Next, they take time to talk to legendary automotive designer and eponymous Chairman & CEO of Fisker Inc., Mr. Henrik Fisker himself, about jeans, horses and, of course, electric cars. Finally, they help a listener pick a $100,000 supercar in the "Spend My Money" segment. Autoblog Podcast #643 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2021 Honda Odyssey 2020 Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 2020 Polestar 2 Chrysler 300 soldiers on for 2021 with pared-down range, higher price Henrik Fisker interview Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Chrysler Airflow being redesigned and renamed for production

The Chrysler Airflow concept is dead in name and form. Motor Trend spoke to Stellantis design chief Ralph Gilles, who said brand CEO Chris Feuell "wanted a statement that had literally zero to do with anything that you have seen today, even the Airflow concept car. It is evolving in a new direction." When MT spoke to Feuell about the name, she said, "There is a group of people who love the Airflow name and just as many who beg us not to use it." The magazine believes a new-to-the-brand name will get the nod, Chrysler perhaps hoping to perform a hard reset on buyer perceptions. The redesign is far enough along to have been previewed in Los Angeles earlier this year, Feuell saying reactions tell them "we have a hit on our hands," Gilles saying "It blew the doors off." We won't see it until next year, and no one at the brand has offered a clue about how it's changed from the Airflow concept now a couple of years old. We know Feuell is plotting a remake of the entire the Chrysler experience, from shopping its products online and at dealers to after-sales care. She's said before she wants Chrysler to become Stellantis' "startup brand," offering "clean mobility, seamless technology," and affordable pricing. Affordable doesn't mean what it used to mean, so we don't know where product planners intend to slot the coming vehicles. Tesla buyers have been mentioned as one of Feuell's targets, but we're clearly still in the early days of transformation when marketing Venn diagrams encompass aspirations and projections that will be whittled out as production nears. Even for all that, the Airflow didn't scream "Chrysler transformed!" save for its battery-electric powertrain. Chrysler's tracking like Jaguar at the moment, with a lean range for dealers until the EV revolution begins in 2025. And as with Jaguar, considering how long Chrysler's plateaued, putting it kindly, it's not surprising the boss wants a more compelling wrapper. When the Pentastar's two-row crossover debuts, it will sit on the STLA Large platform, offer 400- and 800-volt electrical architectures, and pack batteries that power up to 400 miles of range. More important, it will establish the baseline for the product overhaul leading to an entirely new portfolio by 2028. We'd love to see Chrysler get it right. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.