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Dodge Grand Caravan to live in fleets through 2017

After a hard-working career of hauling around families for decades, the Dodge Grand Caravan name was set to retire in 2016 under FCA's five-year plan for the US. The decision would have put all of the automaker's focus behind the next-generation Chrysler Town & Country, but that original strategy might have changed. Now, Dodge's minivan may have to work just a few more years before it can finally shuffle off. There are set to be 2016 and 2017 model year examples of the current Grand Caravan, according to an internal FCA production document obtained by Automotive News. This report suggests no changes in the minivan between those two years, and there's no mention of the company's intentions deeper into the future. "While we've announced the Grand Caravan will eventually be the minivan that goes away, we're not going into more detail at this time," a Dodge spokesperson said to AN. For the next Town & Country, production would start in Windsor, Ontario, in late February 2016. This document also suggests a brief run of 2016 Chrysler minivans based on the current model from August 2015 until February 2016. Automotive News speculates that the reprieve for the Grand Caravan could allow that model to focus on fleets and the Canadian market while the new Town and Country gets up and running. The latest generation T&C will reportedly debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show and will possibly carry a higher price to befit a vehicle with a more modern platform and improved tech.

Fiat Chrysler and Renault pursue $35-billion merger to combat car industry upheaval

MILAN/PARIS — Fiat Chrysler pitched a finely balanced merger of equals to Renault on Monday to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. If it goes ahead, the $35 billion-plus tie-up would alter the landscape for rivals including General Motors and Peugeot maker PSA Group, which recently held inconclusive talks with Fiat Chrysler (FCA), and could spur more deals. Renault said it was studying the proposal from Italian-American FCA with interest, and considered it friendly. Shares in both companies jumped more than 10 percent as investors welcomed the prospect of an enlarged business capable of producing more than 8.7 million vehicles a year and aiming for 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in annual savings. It would rank third in the global auto industry behind Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen. But analysts also warned of big complications, including Renault's existing alliance with Nissan, the French state's role as Renault's largest shareholder and potential opposition from politicians and workers to any cutbacks. "The market will be careful with these synergy numbers as much has been promised before and there isn't a single merger of equals that has ever succeeded in autos," Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said. With these sensitivities in mind, FCA proposed an all-share merger under a listed Dutch holding company. After a 2.5 billion euro dividend for existing FCA shareholders - giving a big upfront boost to the Agnelli family that controls 29% of FCA - investors in each firm would hold half of the new entity. The merged group would be chaired by Agnelli family scion John Elkann, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters, while Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard would likely become CEO. Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the proposed merger could be good news for Italy if it helped FCA to grow, but it was crucial to preserve jobs. He did not comment on the French government's 15% stake in Renault, but an influential lawmaker from the ruling League party said Rome may seek a stake in the combined group to balance France's holding. A deal could also have profound repercussions for Renault's 20-year-old alliance with Nissan, already weakened by the crisis surrounding the arrest and ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn late last year. The Japanese carmaker has yet to comment on FCA's proposal.

Fiat Chrysler UAW corruption had roots in federal bailout of Chrysler

The Detroit News continues its dogged coverage of the federal investigation into corruption at the United Auto Workers union and Fiat Chrysler in a lengthy in-depth report that ties the investigation together with Chrysler’s emergence from bankruptcy protection in 2009, a hefty federal bailout and former CEO Sergio MarchionneÂ’s push to force a merger with crosstown rival General Motors. ItÂ’s a staggering look at the brazen illegal payoffs, kickbacks and embezzlement in the top ranks of both Fiat Chrysler and the UAW, an investigation which has so far resulted in 11 criminal convictions — three of them former FCA employees, the rest former UAW leaders — with at least seven others implicated in wrongdoing to date, including former UAW President Gary Jones, who recently resigned. Prosecutors allege all of it was fueled by $12.5 billion in taxpayer-funded bailout funds within days of Chrysler LLCÂ’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2009. The News reports that former FCA Vice President Alphons Iacobelli, then its top labor negotiator, admitted to opening the spigot that same month. HeÂ’s now serving 66 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney Office in Detroit. All told, Iacobelli and FCA made more than $9 million in illegal payments over eight years to the UAW to cover salaries and benefits, many of them for "no-show" jobs at the joint UAW-FCA training center in Detroit, which is being dissolved. WhatÂ’s more, prosecutors say that Iacobelli answered on UAW matters solely to Marchionne, who died in a Swiss hospital in 2018. Marchionne was never charged with any wrongdoing, even though investigators reportedly caught him lying about providing gifts to UAW leaders during a meeting at the U.S. AttorneyÂ’s Office in Detroit in 2016. The story also details how prosecutors believe he tried to buy the support of UAW leaders for his repeated bids to get GM to agree to a merger, despite widespread belief that such a move would have led to massive job cuts and plant closures, given the two automakersÂ’ many overlapping products. The whole Detroit News story is highly worth a read. Find it here. Read This UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM Sergio Marchionne FCA