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Buy a real Popemobile: the Pontiff's Fiat 500L

Pope Francis has urged people to drive "humble" cars, and he practiced what he preached during last year's US visit by riding in a Fiat 500L rather than a more opulent vehicle. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia will offer the chance to feel a little closer to His Holiness on January 29 by auctioning at least one of the Fiats from the Pope's trip at the Philadelphia Auto Show Black Tie Tailgate. All of the auction's proceeds will follow Pope Francis' desire to help the less fortunate. Half of the money will go to the Catholic Charities Appeal, which aids those that struggle with homelessness and poverty. The other half will be split equally among Mercy Hospice, Casa Del Carmen, and the Schools of Special Education of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. "The Fiat is such an icon of Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia and the auction of this vehicle serves as an extraordinary final event to close this memorable chapter in the City's history," Donna Crilley Farrell, Executive Director of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015, said. FCA US let Pope Francis use two 500Ls while he was in Philadelphia, and the automaker then donated the cars to the Archdiocese, according to its director of communications Kenneth Gavin to Autoblog. The Archdiocese still hasn't decided whether to auction the other one at the Black Tie Tailgate, but the Fiat will be on display at the Philadelphia Auto Show from January 30 through February 7. It's difficult to put a price tag on these special vehicles, Gavin told Autoblog, but the Archdiocese hopes to get as much as possible for them to benefit the charities. FCA US and the US Secret Service have records of the cars' VINs from the trip, and the Archdiocese would show the winning bidder all the documentation to certify the vehicle's authenticity. Related Video: The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 Offer Opportunity for Bidders to Own a FIAT 500L Used by Pope Francis During Historic Philadelphia Visit at the Philadelphia Auto Show Black Tie Tailgate Held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on Friday, January 29, the auction will benefit the Catholic Charities Appeal, Catholic Social Services, Mercy Hospice, Casa Del Carmen, and the Archdiocesan Schools of Special Education.

Stellantis is official: FCA and PSA merger finally sealed

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler and PSA sealed their long-awaited merger on Saturday to create Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest auto group with deep enough pockets to fund the shift to electric driving and take on bigger rivals Toyota and Volkswagen. It took over a year for the Italian-American and French automakers to finalize the $52 billion deal, during which the global economy was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. They first announced plans to merge in October 2019, to create a group with annual sales of around 8.1 million vehicles. "The merger between Peugeot S.A. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. that will lead the path to the creation of Stellantis N.V. became effective today," the two automakers said in a statement. Shares in Stellantis, which will be headed by current PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, will start trading in Milan and Paris on Monday, and in New York on Tuesday. Now analysts and investors are turning their focus to how Tavares plans to address the huge challenges facing the group – from excess production capacity to a woeful performance in China. Tavares will hold his first press conference as Stellantis CEO on Tuesday, after ringing NYSE's bell with Chairman John Elkann. FCA and PSA have said Stellantis can cut annual costs by over 5 billion euros ($6.1 billion) without plant closures, and investors will be keen for more details on how it will do this. Marco Santino, a partner at consultants Oliver Wyman, said he expected Tavares to disclose the outlines of his action plan soon, but without divulging too many details at first. "He has proven to be the kind of person who prefers action to words, so I don't think he will make loud statements or try to over-sell targets," he said. Like all global automakers, Stellantis needs to invest billions in the years ahead to transform its vehicle range for the electric era. But other pressing tasks loom, including reviving the group's lagging fortunes in China, rationalizing its huge global empire and addressing massive overcapacity. "It will be a step by step process, also to allow the market to better appreciate every single move. I don't think we will have all the details before one year," Santino said.

Fiat talking with banks about buying rest of Chrysler

All that stands in the way of Fiat's total ownership of Chrysler is a 41.5-percent stake currently held by the United Auto Workers healthcare trust, but according to SFGate.com, Sergio Marchionne is currently trying to raise the capital to complete the acquisition. The article says that a deal could be completed in as soon as 12 months, and the estimate for the remaining stake could cost Fiat SpA around $2.98 billion.
With a goal of completing the deal by the end of 2014, Marchionne is said to be in talks with various banks to help finance some of the deal. According to the report, the banks have indicated a need for a stronger balance sheet, controlled debt and reserve cash.
Two things that don't seem to be on the table to get the deal completed include issuing new shares to raise the capital or selling a stake in Ferrari. Fiat started with a 20 percent share of Chrysler in June 2009, and it raised its stake up to 58.5 percent in January 2012.