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Wish you had a world-famous auto exec give your commencement speech? Watch this

We've seen some pretty great commencement speeches over the years. There was Steve Jobs' incredibly inspiring Stanford address in 2005, John Stewart's insightful speech to the graduating class of William and Mary in 2004 and Steven Colbert's hilarious 2011 address at Northwestern, but automotive executives aren't strangers to honorary degrees. Former General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner spoke at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011, and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne recently gave the keynote at Walsh College's 100th Commencement Ceremony. The executive knows a thing or two about success and following one's beliefs to fulfillment.
"I constantly encourage my co-workers at Fiat and Chrysler to go beyond the cliche and the conventional to try new approaches and change perspective each and every day," Marchionne said. "I exhort them not to repeat the same things, the same approaches, and I remind them they are indeed free. The freedom I am talking about is something inside you. It is determined by how open minded you remain, how receptive you are to the new and to the different, to the infinite possibilities that present themselves even if you don't go looking for them or could never have imagined. Being free means that you have the strength not to be conditioned by what others want you to do or by what may seem to be the easiest choice."
Amen to that. You can check out the brief press release on the address below as well as a video of a few highlights from the speech.

FCA posts $716m profit in 2014, has big plans for 2015

In practically every metric, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced growing worldwide earnings for 2014 in its latest financial release. The automaker sold 4.608 million vehicles globally for the year, a 6-percent jump, and total revenue grew 11 percent to 96.090 billion euros ($109 billion). Profits before taxes also increased by 161 million euros ($182 million) from last year to 1.176 billion euros ($1.3 billion). However, net profits did tumble by 1.319 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to a total of 632 million euros ($716 million). These figures put FCA slightly ahead of what some analysts expected. According to Automotive News, the company's adjusted earnings before taxes and interest of 3.651 billion euros ($4.1 billion) beat a forecast figure of 3.4 billion euros ($3.9 billion). Regionally, Europe is showing signs of a comeback. FCA lost 109 million euros ($123 million) there in 2014, but that was almost a triumph compared to the 506 million euro ($573 million) loss in 2013. According to Automotive News, North America played a major role in the company's success, accounting for 55 percent of its revenue. While these annual figures show growth, FCA is even more optimistic about its prospects in 2015. The company is forecasting shipments of between 4.8 and 5 million vehicles worldwide next year. It also estimates earnings before interest and taxes to reach 4.1 billion and 4.5 billion euros ($4.6 billion – $5.1 billion). You can read FCA's full results in PDF format, here. While this release focuses on worldwide figures, FCA US, previously known as Chrysler Group, announces its US results on February 3. News Source: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Automotive News - sub. req. Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat FCA fiat chrysler automobiles

Trump is pleased with FCA's investment in Michigan and Ohio, but it wasn't done for him

Fiat Chrysler announced yesterday that it would be spending $1 billion on vehicle production in both Michigan and Ohio. The company estimates that its investment will yield about 2,000 jobs between both states. In addition to attracting our attention, it caught the gaze of President-elect Donald Trump, who tweeted praise to both FCA and the Ford Motor Company. He praised the latter for the company's move to cancel a new factory in Mexico. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Trump's writing also seems to imply he deserves a certain amount of credit for these shifts to American production. However, as Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA, explained to the press in a conference today, Trump and his impending administration had nothing to do with the decision. He said the decision to invest in the plants in Michigan and Ohio were in place well before Trump was going to be the President of the United States. In addition, he said that FCA has not been in contact with Trump or any of his colleagues regarding the decision. Marchionne also stated that neither he nor the company was making any preemptive plans for manufacturing locations the light of the upcoming Trump presidency. Rather, he said that the company will change to address regulations that are actually passed, and the only way the company could change plans ahead of new laws or taxes would be with more information and clarity. We assume that a "big border tax" isn't specific enough. Still, the fact that automakers are going out of their way to make and clarify announcements about manufacturing illustrates the massive attention Trump brings with every Tweet. Related Video: Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing Detroit Auto Show Chrysler Fiat Sergio Marchionne FCA 2017 Detroit Auto Show