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Swatch unleashes fleet of Fiats to sell MoonSwatches across the U.S.

The Omega Speedmaster is one of the most sought-after and iconic watches ever made, so it was no surprise when parent company Swatch got in on the action with a series of unique, entry-level quartz “MoonSwatch” collaboration watches. Buying the hot-selling bio-ceramic watches has been a chore, as Swatch only offers them in its limited number of stores. To help meet demand and promote the watches, the company is releasing a fleet of Fiat Cinquecentos to select locations where theyÂ’ll sell the timepieces on the streets. The MoonSwatch retails for $260, but their limited release pushed online resale “values” over $1,000 in some cases. The planet-themed watches arenÂ’t limited, but Swatch refuses to sell them online. The Fiat fleet will feature the same themes and visit cities around the country starting October 22. Swatch's “Mission to Mars” car will start its journey in Miami and hit other cities around Florida, while the “Mission to the Sun” Fiat will tour major metro areas in California. The blue “Mission to Neptune” car will visit locations in the Midwest. Though the tour began in July, the American portion doesnÂ’t start until this weekend. In all, eleven vehicles will travel the globe selling the watch. Swatch hasnÂ’t given out a set schedule and doesnÂ’t plan to, only saying that the cars will cover three regions in the United States. If you live in one of the regions listed, your best bet to snag a MoonSwatch is to keep your eyes peeled. Swatch also hasnÂ’t detailed which watch models each car will offer, so finding one doesnÂ’t guarantee youÂ’ll get the planet/color you want. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Weird Car News Fiat watch

Weekly Recap: Chrysler forges ahead with new name, same mission

Chrysler is history. Sort of. The 89-year-old automaker was absorbed into the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles conglomerate that officially launched this fall, and now the local operations will no longer use the Chrysler Group name. Instead, it's FCA US LLC. Catchy, eh? Here's what it means: The sign outside Chrysler's Auburn Hills, MI, headquarters says FCA (which it already did) and obviously, all official documents use the new name, rather than Chrysler. That's about it. The executives, brands and location of the headquarters aren't changing. You'll still be able to buy a Chrysler 200. It's just made by FCA US LLC. This reinforces that FCA is one company going forward – the seventh largest automaker in the world – not a Fiat-Chrysler dual kingdom. While the move is symbolic, it is a conflicting moment for Detroiters, though nothing is really changing. Chrysler has been owned by someone else (Daimler, Cerberus) for the better part of two decades, but it still seemed like it was Chrysler in the traditional sense: A Big 3 automaker in Detroit. Now, it's clearly the US division of a multinational industrial empire; that's good thing for its future stability, but bittersweet nonetheless. Undoubtedly, it's an emotion that's also being felt at Fiat's Turin, Italy, headquarters as the company will no longer officially be called Fiat there. Digest that for a moment. What began in 1899 as the Societa Anonima Fabbrica Italiana di Automobili Torino – or FIAT – is now FCA Italy SpA. In a statement, FCA said the move "is intended to emphasize the fact that all group companies worldwide are part of a single organization." The new names are the latest changes orchestrated by CEO Sergio Marchionne, who continues to makeover FCA as an international automaker that has ties to its heritage – but isn't tied down by it. Everything from the planned spinoff of Ferrari, a new FCA headquarters in London and the pending demise of the Dodge Grand Caravan in 2016 has shown that the company is willing to move quickly, even if it's controversial. While renaming the United States and Italian divisions were the moves most likely to spur controversy, FCA said other regions across the globe will undergo similar name changes this year. Despite the mixed emotions, it's worth noting: The name of the merged company that oversees all of these far-flung units is Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Obviously the Chrysler corporate name isn't completely history.

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.