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GM, Ford, Honda winners in 'Car Wars' study as industry growth continues

General Motors' plans to aggressively refresh its product lineup will pay off in the next four years with strong market share and sales, according to an influential report released Tuesday. Ford, Honda, and FCA are all poised to show similar gains as the auto industry is expected to remain healthy through the rest of the decade. The Bank of America Merrill Lynch study, called Car Wars, analyzes automakers' future product plans for the next four model years. By 2020, 88 percent of GM's sales will come from newly launched products, which puts it slightly ahead of Ford's 86-percent estimate. Honda (85 percent) and FCA (84 percent) follow. The industry average is 81 percent. Toyota checks in just below the industry average at 79 percent, with Nissan trailing at 76 percent. Car Wars' premise is: automakers that continually launch new products are in a better position to grow sales and market share, while companies that roll out lightly updated models are vulnerable to shifting consumer tastes. Though Detroit and Honda grade out well in the study, many major automakers are clumped together, which means large market-share swings are less likely in the coming years. Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts the industry will top out with 20 million sales in 2018 and then taper off, perhaps as much as 30 percent by 2026. Not surprisingly, trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers will be the key battlefield in the next few years, Car Wars says. FCA will launch a critical salvo in 2018 with a new Ram 1500, followed by new generations of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra in 2019, and then Ford's F-150 for 2020, according to the study. Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy said the GM trucks could be pulled ahead even earlier to 2018, prompting Ford to respond. "This focus on crossovers and trucks is a great thing for the industry," Murphy said. Cars Wars looks at Korean (76 percent replacement rate) and European companies more vaguely (70 percent), but argues their slower product cadence and lineups with fewer trucks puts them in weaker positions than their competitors through 2020. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2016 Chevrolet Silverado View 11 Photos Image Credit: Chevrolet Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Ford GM Honda Nissan Toyota study FCA

Fiat shareholders green-light Chrysler merger, end of an Italian era

Fiat has just taken a major step away from its Italian heritage, as shareholders officially approved the company's merger with Chrysler. That move will lead to the formation of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, a Dutch company based in Great Britain and listed on the New York Stock Exchange, according to Automotive News Europe.
The company captured the two-thirds majority at a special shareholders meeting, although there are still a few situations that could defeat the movement. According to ANE, roughly eight percent of shareholders opposed the merger, which is a group large enough to defeat the plan, should they all exercise their exit rights outlined in the merger conditions.
Meanwhile, Fiat Chairman John Elkann (pictured above, right, with CEO Sergio Marchionne and Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo), the great-great-grandson of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli, reaffirmed his family's commitment to the company beyond the merger. Exor, the Agnelli family's holding company, still maintains a 30-percent stake in Fiat.

2020 Fiat 124 Spider Abarth Review | Miata Arrabbiata

The Mazda MX-5 Miata is one of our favorite sports cars, and it’s hard to imagine how it could be improved – especially after Mazda added a revvier, more powerful engine for 2019. That presents a potential issue for its platform mate, the 2020 Fiat 124 Spider, which hasnÂ’t received a similar update. So we spent some time behind the wheel of an Abarth version on the road and on a track to see if thereÂ’s a reason to choose it over its new-and-improved twin. While itÂ’s unchanged for 2020, the 124 AbarthÂ’s engine does the lionÂ’s share of the work charming the driver. The 164-horsepower 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four is no longer more powerful than the MiataÂ’s 181-hp 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine, but the Abarth remains the torque king, packing 184 pound-feet to the MiataÂ’s 151 lb-ft. More importantly, the Abarth makes its power down low, feeling punchier at low rpm and taking far less work with the shifter to keep it in the power band. ThatÂ’s particularly nice around town when you might not want to push the car to redline repeatedly. The trade-off is that it feels much less exciting near redline, and the throttle response is lethargic compared with the snappy Mazda engine. And on a racetrack, that extra precision and power at the top end makes for a more rewarding experience. Besides user-friendly torque, what sets the 124 Spider Abarth from the Mazda is the sound. The Abarth is the only 124 available with the special Record Monza exhaust, and it makes the Fiat growl and snarl like only Italian cars can. And of course, itÂ’s all the better when you drop the top, expediting the sound to your ears. It makes the car feel more expensive and unusual than it is. Now, the Miata has its own more refined purr thatÂ’s lovely, too, but the FiatÂ’s soundtrack is giggle-inducing at every drop of the throttle. Capping off the powertrain is the FiatÂ’s transmission that I found to be just a bit better than the ND MiataÂ’s. It has heavier, more mechanical shifts that arenÂ’t as notchy as the MiataÂ’s. ThatÂ’s still a compliment to Mazda, though, as the FiatÂ’s transmission comes from the previous-generation NC Miata. It was chosen to handle the turbo engine's torque. The only complaint is the bizarrely shaped shift knob that never felt comfortable regardless of my grip. The AbarthÂ’s styling is another point of differentiation.