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2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year finalists revealed

The finalists for the 2017 North American Car, Truck, and Utility Vehicle of the Year were announced Tuesday at AutoMobility LA ahead of the 2016 LA Auto Show. Approximately 60 judges, including Autoblog's editor-in-chief Mike Austin, evaluated over 40 vehicles and named three models as the finalists in each category. The award for the Utility Vehicle of the Year is new for 2017 and separates SUVs, crossovers, and minivans from pickup trucks. The finalists are: Car of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt Genesis G90 Volvo S90 Truck of the Year: Ford F-Series Super Duty Honda Ridgeline Nissan Titan Utility Vehicle of the Year Chrysler Pacifica Jaguar F-Pace Mazda CX-9 The winners for the 24th annual NACTOY awards will be named on January 9 at the Detroit Auto Show. Related Video: Chevrolet Chrysler Ford Honda Jaguar Mazda Nissan Truck Crossover Minivan/Van SUV Electric Luxury Sedan north american car of the year NACTOY

Merged PSA and Fiat would retain all brands, Tavares says

By Elisa Anzolin and Gilles Guillaume PARIS/TURIN, Italy (Reuters) - Peugeot maker PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler would retain all of their car brands if their planned $50 billion merger goes ahead, the would-be chief executive of the combined group said on Friday. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, seen as the architect of PSA's turnaround and in line to take the operational helm in the Fiat tie-up, said in a TV interview that the companies complemented each other well geographically and in terms of technology and brands. FCA derives 66% of its revenue from North America compared with only 5.7% for PSA, Refinitiv Eikon data shows. Europe remains the main revenue driver for PSA. "There's no doubt it's a very good deal for both parties. It's a win-win," Tavares told France's BFM Business, in his first interview since the French and Italian companies announced plans to create the world's fourth-largest auto maker last week. Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Chairman John Elkann, who would chair the combined group, said on Friday at an event in Turin that the 50-50 share merger would help the Italian carmaker "seize great opportunities." The deal, which would help the firms pool resources to meet tough new emissions rules and investments in electric and self-driving vehicles, as well as counter a broader downturn in car markers, is still at an early stage. PSA and Fiat have said they aim to reach a binding outline in the coming weeks, but still face questions over potential job losses, as well as scrutiny over whether the transaction favors one party more than the other. Tavares said the brands that would come under the combined group's umbrella — PSA's five passenger car nameplates include Citroen, Vauxhall and Opel, while FCA has nine, including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — were all likely to survive. "As of today, I don't see any need to scrap any of the brands if the deal came to pass. They all have their history and their strengths," Tavares said. Few carmakers have as large a portfolio, with German rival Volkswagen Group counting 10 passenger brands, if newer Chinese ones such as electric vehicle label Sihao are included. The merger will also require approval from anti-trust authorities. Tavares said he did not expect the companies to have to make major concessions to meet competition rules, but added they were ready to do so, without giving details.

Interested, then not: Marchionne not 'chasing' a VW merger

Update (March 15, 2017) : Automotive News reports that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, regarding the suggested VW and FCA merger, said in a press conference "I have no interest." He also said that he "will not call Matthias," the CEO of VW. He did add that he would be willing to entertain anything VW brings up, but he has "no intention of chasing him." Despite this, Marchionne still took a moment to reinforce his favorable stance concerning mergers and consolidation. Last week, Volkswagen's CEO Matthias Mueller effectively shut down Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne's idea of the two automakers merging. However, it seems Mueller has softened, if only just, to the idea. According to Reuters, the CEO said in a press conference he is "not ruling out a conversation." However, he did say that he would like Marchionne to discuss with him directly the possibility rather than to the media. Though this statement certainly doesn't mean such a merger is happening, it's far more open than when he said outright the company isn't in any talks with anyone at the moment. His new stance also indicates that there may be people (lawyers, accountants, etc.) behind the scenes working out possible ways a merger could work. And even though this new development makes the prospect of a merger between the two companies a bit less bleak, it's still a long way from the "will they, won't they" relationship between GM and FCA. FCA's pursuit of GM involved emailing CEO Mary Barra and the threats of a hostile takeover, the latter of which resulted in some awkward statements about hugs. Only time will tell if VW becomes open enough for Marchionne to talk about hugs again. Related Video: