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Marchionne may stay with FCA until 2020

We might get to see Sergio Marchionne and his vast array of sweaters in the auto industry for even longer than expected. The FCA CEO suggested last year that he would retire from the automaker when its current five-year plan was complete in 2018. Now, he has tentatively extended that point out to at least 2020. "I can do this for another five years if you push me, right? Beyond that, I ain't gonna do it, and I don't want to," he said to Automotive News. That would give Marchionne a 16-year career at the top from joining Fiat in 2004 to possibly leaving FCA in 2020. Although, take the CEO's statement with a grain of salt because he has made multiple statements about the timing for his retirement. In 2012, Marchionne said he would only remain in charge until 2015, which is, well, now. Those five years might also go quite quickly because Marchionne is a busy guy with the Ferrari IPO, the attempted merger with General Motors, implementing FCA's five-year plan, and many other projects. He's already considering the next CEO, though. "My purpose in life is to find the Kuniskises of the world, the Manleys, the Biglands, the Palmers," Marchionne said to Automotive News, referencing the heads at Dodge, Jeep, FCA North America, and the company's chief financial officer, respectively. "I told them, 'One of you is going to do what I do one day. I don't know who that is, but one of you is going to do it.'" News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Photo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Sergio Marchionne FCA fca us Mike Manley reid bigland tim kuniskis

Project Trail Force Jeep Wrangler goes to SEMA, then to a lucky winner

Extreme Terrain is an aftermarket parts company focused on the Jeep Wrangler. Partly just because it's a really cool thing to do, and probably having something to do with Jeep's upcoming 75th anniversary, Extreme Terrain found some dance partners to help work up a special 2015 Wrangler Rubicon that it will show off at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA, then at SEMA in November, where it will be given away. Extreme worked with Barricade Off-Road and Kevin Tetz from the Spike show Trucks! to build the Wrangler it calls Project Trail Force. There is more than $24,000 worth of aftermarket gear on it, starting with the Ripp centrifugal supercharger that pumps an additional 140 horsepower into the 3.6-liter V6. It's got a 3.5-inch lift kit from Rock Krawler, Dana 44 axles strung between 37-inch BFG tires, Barricade bumpers, a 9,500-pound winch, fender flares, rock sliders, a 50-inch LED light bar above the windshield, LED spotlights on the A-pillars, and seven-inch KC Hilites headlights. Rugged Ridge worked over the inside with upgrades like all-terrain floor and cargo liners, plus seat covers, and a new navigation system with a back-up camera. If you want to win it, you can enter the contest at Extreme Terrain once every week until Oct. 23. The winner gets flown to SEMA to have Kevin Tetz hand the keys over. If you just want to see it, you can head to PA for that heritage festival. The Project Trail Force will also lead a Jeep parade that could set a Guinness World Record. The press release below has a lot more info on the build. Good luck. EXTREMETERRAIN AND BARRICADE OFF-ROAD TO UNVEIL THEIR FULLY-BUILT 2015 JEEP WRANGLER AT BANTAM JEEP FESTIVAL ExtremeTerrain.com and Barricade Off-Road teamed up to build a $73,000+ 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon to be given away to a lucky winner at the 2015 SEMA Show • Giveaway Link: http://www.extremeterrain.com/jeep-wrangler-project-trailforce-giveaway.html • Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsO6fxVq6kI MALVERN, Pa. (June 12, 2015) – ExtremeTerrain, a leader in providing aftermarket Jeep Wrangler parts, along with rugged, enthusiast-driven Jeep Wrangler aftermarket armor and accessories manufacturer Barricade Off-Road, today unveiled a fully-built 2015 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon dubbed Project Trail Force at the Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival in Butler, PA.

Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk and a Final Four of automakers | Autoblog Podcast #723

In this episode of the Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski. We start out with news on the Lotus Eletre and Ferrari Purosangue. These two high-end crossovers are followed by discussions about the new inline-six engines from Stellantis and an overabundance of Hummer EV orders. Next we try something we've never tried before: ranking automaker blue bloods. We took inspiration from the current NCAA tournament, which features Duke, North Carolina, Villanova and Kansas — very much traditional blue-blood basketball programs — to name our Final Four automakers. Let us know if you agree or disagree with our picks and what your definition of a blue blood car brand is. We wrap up with a discussion about the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk that Jeremy's been driving all week. Send us your questions for the Mailbag and Spend My Money at: Podcast@Autoblog.com. Autoblog Podcast #723 Get The Podcast Apple Podcasts – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes Spotify – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast on Spotify RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Lotus Eletre Ferrari Purosangue Stellantis inline-six Hummer EV orders Cars we're driving Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts Autoblog is now live on your smart speakers and voice assistants with the audio Autoblog Daily Digest. Say “Hey Google, play the news from Autoblog” or "Alexa, open Autoblog" to get your favorite car website in audio form every day. A narrator will take you through the biggest stories or break down one of our comprehensive test drives. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Green Podcasts Ferrari Hummer Jeep Lotus Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance