1990 Jeep Wrangler on 2040-cars

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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

Chrysler teases upcoming outlay of SEMA cars

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is hauling a multitude of modified models to the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas this November, and the company is releasing the first teasing sketches of many of them.
Unfortunately, FCA isn't giving many solid details on any of the concepts other than saying the vehicles from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat all benefit from tuning from its Mopar performance brand. The teaser photos include a sinister-looking Chrysler 200S, Fiat 500 Abarth with two-tone paint and a scorpion on the hood, a red and black 500L, seemingly two different takes on the Jeep Renegade, a green Dodge Challenger wearing the T/A badge, an orange and black Dart, a very neon Charger, just the outline of a red and black Viper, a Ram ProMaster in Mopar livery and a Ram pickup called the Outdoorsman.
Take a look through the gallery to see what you think of the sketches for these concepts, and scroll down for the full announcement from FCA.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is the all-wheel-drive Hellcat you've been waiting for

If the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT was the venerable SUV cranked to 10, the new Trackhawk goes to 11. Actually, make that 707, because the Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is a Hellcat by another name. Under the hood is the same 707-horsepower supercharged V8 from the sinister corporate cousins Charger and Challenger. The torque rating drops just a bit to 645 pound feet, versus the 650 of the Hellcats, but we don't think many people will be too upset. Especially since Jeep claims the Trackhawk is capable of a 3.5-second 0-60 mph run and a quarter-mile time of 11.6 seconds. The former is right in line with the Challenger Hellcat. View 24 Photos The Grand Cherokee Trackhawk also offers a unique difference to the Hellcats, and its not the SUV body style. The Trackhawk is all-wheel-drive. Power goes from the supercharged V8 to an 8-speed automatic and a single-speed transfer case. There's also an electronic limited slip differential at the back. Jeep beefed up the transfer case with a wider chain that features forged sprockets. The rear drive shaft and half shafts have been strengthened to handle the extra power. Power is split 40/60 front and rear in the default automatic setting, and becomes more rear biased in more aggressive driving modes. In the sportiest "Track" mode, power is split 30/70. In the least aggressive "Snow" mode, power is split 50/50. The sportier drive modes also firm up suspension and decreases shift times. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Helping manage all the power is a high-performance suspension with adaptive Bilstein shocks. The suspension lowers the SUV a full inch compared with normal Grand Cherokees. Wheels are 20 inches in diameter and 10 inches wide wrapped in 295-millimeter wide tires, either all-seasons or optional three-seasons. An optional forged set of wheels is available, too, which Jeep says will save 12 pounds of weight. The wheels are stopped by Brembo six-piston calipers and 15.75-inch rotors up front, and four-piston calipers and 13.73-inch rotors out back. Jeep says the front brakes are the largest ever fitted to one of its vehicles. Visually, you'll be hard-pressed to tell a Grand Cherokee Trackhawk from the current SRT variant. The bumpers and fender flares are roughly the same. But a tell-tale sign is the lack of fog lights.