1967 Fiat Dino Spider on 2040-cars

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Ram and Jeep Wrangler drive Fiat Chrysler profits up 61 percent

MILAN — Italian American automaker Fiat Chrysler says fourth-quarter net profits rose by 61 percent, powered by North American sales of the all-new Ram 1500 and Jeep Wrangler. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Thursday reported quarterly net profits of 1.29 billion euros ($1.46 billion), compared with 804 million euros in 2017. Revenues rose 6 percent to 30.6 billion euros. North America profits grew by 19 percent to 6.2 billion euros, accounting for the lion's share of the automaker's global profits. The carmaker continued to have trouble in Asia, which swung to a loss due to market weakness in China and more competition in Fiat Chrysler's core SUV market. Europe also lost ground, with profits dipping 44 percent on lower shipments and weaker pricing, while Latin America more than doubled. Based on the company's earnings last year, 44,000 unionized U.S. auto workers will get $6,000 profit-sharing checks. That's $500 more than in 2017, but smaller than U.S. rivals Ford and General Motors. On Wednesday, GM announced that workers would get $10,750, while Ford workers will get $7,600.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Playboy's Playmate of the Year gets a Fiat 124 Spider

As Playboy's latest – and possibly last – Playmate of the Year, we have little doubt that Eugena Washington can get a ride in just about any car she wants. But for the next two years she'll be driving herself around in a 2017 Fiat 124 Spider – the model that FCA has fittingly positioned as the automotive equivalent of Viagra. A two-year lease on the Japanese-made, Italian-styled roadster is part of Washington's prize package for winning the magazine's top honor, along with $100,000 in cash. The actress and model has already made it to the top three in the seventh season of Tyra Banks' show America's Next Top Model and has appeared in advertising campaigns for Lexus, Target, and an array of cosmetics brands. Eugena is the publication's 57th Playmate of the Year, and the third black woman to receive the title (following 1990's Renee Tenison and Ida Ljungqvist in 2009). But she may also be the last as the magazine, in an historic move, transitions away from nudity in print and into the mainstream to compete with publications like GQ and Vanity Fair. Related Video: Eugena Washington, Playboy's 2016 Playmate of the Year, With All-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider May 12, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Eugena Washington, an accomplished model and actress from Palmdale, California, has been named Playboy's 2016 Playmate of the Year. Along with her title, Washington receives $100,000 in prize money and a two-year lease on the all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider. Reviving the storied nameplate, the all-new 2017 Fiat 124 Spider brings its classic Italian styling and performance to a new generation. Paying homage to the original 124 Spider nearly 50 years after its introduction, the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider delivers the ultimate Italian roadster experience with driving excitement, technology and safety combined with iconic Italian design. Washington is featured on the cover and a 10-page pictorial inside Playboy's June 2016 issue. Click here for more from the May 11 announcement. ### Playboy Names Eugena Washington Its 2016 Playmate Of The Year LOS ANGELES, May 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Eugena Washington, an accomplished model and actress from Palmdale, California, has been named Playboy's 2016 Playmate of the Year and will be formally introduced to press today at the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills, California.

New Stellantis layoffs mean over 3,000 jobs set to go in Italy

The gates of the Stellantis factory in Mirafiori, Turin, Italy. (Getty Images)   MILAN — Stellantis, the maker of Fiat cars, on Wednesday signed further deals with unions in Italy for voluntary layoffs, meaning the automaker could cut its workforce by a total of over 3,000 roles in the country. New deals were reached on Wednesday for over 1,000 layoffs at facilities in Italy, including Melfi, Pomigliano d'Arco and Termoli, both for line workers and other functions, the FIOM union said in a statement, although it has not itself signed the agreements. The cuts are being driven in part by the transition to cleaner energy in the industry. They add to similar deals announced on Tuesday for Stellantis operations in the city of Turin, with as many as over 1,500 voluntary layoffs, and for the engine making facility in Pratola Serra, with 100 additional jobs involved. A deal has not yet been signed for the Cassino plant, another large Stellantis assembly facility in Italy. The company has proposed 850 voluntary redundancies for that site, FIOM had said on Tuesday, but a final deal with unions is expected to settle on a lower figure. Another agreement is expected to cover the Atessa van making plant in central Italy. A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the new deals signed on Wednesday, under a framework agreed with unions last week. "They are part of the initiatives implemented by Stellantis to address the effects of the ongoing energy and technology transition process ... including on employment," the spokesman said. They are on a strictly voluntary basis and mostly aimed at employees close to retirement age or willing to take new professional opportunities, the spokesman reiterated. Stellantis employs about 43,000 people in Italy, including about 15,000 in the area of Turin, in Italy's northwest, the historic home of Fiat, which merged with Peugeot-maker PSA to create Stellantis. Voluntary redundancy packages have been the main tool used by Stellantis to cut its workforce in Italy, which amounted to around 55,000 people when the group was formed in early 2021. The carmaker, which on Wednesday reiterated Italy had a central role to play in its global operations, is in talks with the Italian government on conditions allowing it to boost its annual output in the country to 1 million vehicles, from about 750,000 last year.