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Dodge, Jeep and Ram could soon be owned by Chinese automakers

For the past several years, Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has made it widely known that the automaker he helms is up for grabs. First, he sent an email to GM CEO Mary Barra, who immediately refused to even discuss a merger. Later, Marchionne set his sights on Volkswagen. That too was swiftly rebuffed. It seemed like no global automaker was remotely interested in a partnership. Now, Automotive News reports that several Chinese automakers have come calling, only FCA isn't ready to answer. At least not yet. The news broke this morning that a major Chinese automaker had made an offer to purchase FCA for slightly above market value. FCA refused, saying the offer wasn't quite generous enough. It's unclear which automaker made the offer, but Automotive News says there's more than one interested party. FCA representatives have recently traveled to China to meet with Great Wall Motors, while Chinese representatives were seen at FCA corporate headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Chinese government has a lot of money invested in local automakers. It's putting pressure on these automakers to expand globally, including to the United States. As it stands, it's a matter of when a Chinese automaker will start selling cars here, not if. Purchasing an established automaker with a wide range of products and a huge dealer network would do wonders in giving the Chinese a foothold here. Sure, Geely owns Volvo, but a luxury automaker doesn't have nearly as much reach as a more mainstream company like FCA. This seems like the best case scenario for both a Chinese automaker looking to move into the U.S. and for FCA, at least from a business standpoint. The latter doesn't seem to have any other interested parties. It will be interesting to see how FCA would sell a deal like this to the public. We're not sure everyone will be happy with Dodge, Jeep and Ram falling under Chinese ownership. FCA didn't turn down the Chinese because they didn't like the idea. It turned down the offer because there wasn't enough money on the table. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Earnings/Financials Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM

Toyota, Lexus dominate KBB's Best Resale Value Awards

Toyota and Lexus stormed the 2014 Kelley Blue Book Best Resale Value Awards, winning a combined 18 categories including best brand and best luxury brand. This marks the third year in a row that both automakers have won the Brand and Luxury Brand resale value awards. In all, Toyota won 11 categories and Lexus won seven.
Honda made a good showing, as well, winning two segments (Accord Plug-In Hybrid and Civic Si) and putting one car on the top-10 Best Resale Value list (CR-V). Chevrolet did even better, winning two segments (with the V6 Camaro and the Corvette) and placing three cars on the top-10-overall list (again, the Camaro and Corvette, plus the Silverado 1500).
The other winners came from Jeep, Dodge, Infiniti, Subaru and Audi. To give you a clearer picture of the Toyota and Lexus domination, their 18 mentions represents more than half of the 34 awards (including the top-10-overall list).

Stellantis wants to trim 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs, UAW says

WASHINGTON — Chrysler-parent Stellantis NV wants to cut approximately 3,500 hourly U.S. jobs and is offering voluntary exit packages, according to a United Auto Workers union letter made public Tuesday. The automaker is looking to reduce its hourly workforce offering incentive packages that include $50,000 payments for workers hired before 2007, UAW Local 1264 said in a letter dated Monday posted on its Facebook page. Stellantis spokeswoman Jodi Tinson declined to comment. A person briefed on the matter said the figure might be lower than the figure cited in the UAW letter. In late February, Stellantis indefinitely halted operations at an assembly plant in Illinois, citing rising costs of electric vehicle production. The action impacted about 1,350 workers at the Belvidere, Illinois, plant that built the Jeep Cherokee SUV and resulted in indefinite layoffs. The automaker has warned it may not resume operations as it considers other options. The UAW letter said openings created by workers leaving would be filled by workers on indefinite layoff. Stellantis said in February that about 40,000 U.S. hourly workers were eligible for profit sharing. Last week, UAW President Shawn Fain said Stellantis' decision to idle the Illinois plant was "a flat-out violation" of the union's contract with the UAW and is unacceptable. The UAW will enter talks with the Detroit Three before labor contracts expire in mid-September. Earlier this month, General Motors said about 5,000 salaried workers accepted buyouts to leave the automaker. GM CEO Mary Barra said February job cuts of a few hundred jobs and the 5,000 buyouts "provided approximately $1 billion towards" a $2 billion cost cutting target. Ford Motor Co recently announced significant job cuts in Spain, Germany and other parts of Europe and in August said it would cut a total of 3,000 salaried and contract jobs, mostly in North America and India. Hirings/Firings/Layoffs UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Stellantis