1999 Chrysler 300 Series on 2040-cars

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China own a Detroit automaker? Would the U.S. let that happen?

The news that several Chinese automakers want to buy Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and that one has even made an offer, elicits some mixed feelings. On one hand, as some have pointed out, it could be a win-win both for China and for FCA's American workers, ensuring the company's survival and opening new markets. On the other hand, this is China, whose trade relationship with the U.S. is the source of considerable scrutiny from the Trump administration — and whose not-a-friend, not-an-enemy status is particularly difficult to gauge right now during heightened tensions with its client state North Korea. So would such a deal pass regulatory muster? One reason that springs to mind for blocking any sale has to do with national security. Chrysler's role as a military supplier dates back to Dodge trucks used by Gen. Blackjack Pershing to chase Pancho Villa in Mexico, and shortly thereafter by American forces in World War I. The Detroit Three automakers were, of course, mainstays of the Arsenal of Democracy of World War II. Even before U.S. entry into the war in December 1941, America's industrial machinery went into overdrive, and Chrysler was one of the biggest cogs. It engineered and built the M3, Sherman and Pershing tanks and trucks for Gen. George Patton's Redball Express. It helped develop a radar-guided antiaircraft gun that knocked German bombers and V1 rockets out of the sky — on one day, shooting down 97 of 101 V1s headed for London. On D-Day, the radar system helped thwart Luftwaffe counterattacks on the beaches of Normandy, and it later helped Allied forces break out at the Battle of the Bulge. Chrysler redesigned the Wright Cyclone engines used by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the plane that firebombed Tokyo and dropped the atomic bombs that ended the war. Chrysler even played a secret role refining uranium in Oak Ridge, Tenn., that was used in the Hiroshima bomb and in the ensuing Cold War arms race. It worked on military missiles and was NASA's prime contractor for the Saturn V rocket that put men on the moon. More recently, Chrysler produced the M1 Abrams tank. And of course Chrysler is the keeper of the flame for Jeep, a 75-plus-years military legacy handed down from Bantam and Willys to Kaiser to AMC to Chrysler. The point of this history lesson is to note that in times of war or national emergency, America's industrial might has been called to serve, and may well be called on again.

Fiat Chrysler to get $105M fine from NHTSA for recall woes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is about to send a powerful message to automakers doing business in the United States, assuming reports of an upcoming $105 million fine against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles comes to fruition. In addition to the record-setting monetary fine, according to The Wall Street Journal, FCA will have to accept an independent auditor that will monitor the company's recall and safety processes and will be forced to buy back certain recalled vehicles. In other cases, such as with Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty models with gas tanks that could potentially catch fire in certain types of accidents, FCA will offer financial encouragement for owners to get their recall work done or to trade those older vehicles in on new cars, according to the report. FCA could reportedly reduce its fines if it meets certain conditions, though those remain unclear at this time. These actions against FCA are being taken after NHTSA began a probe into the automaker over almost two dozen separate instances where the government claims FCA failed to follow proper procedures for recalls and safety defects. Included in those safety lapses are more than 11 million vehicles currently in customer hands. These penalties and fines are separate from the investigation over security problems with Chrysler's Uconnect system that allowed hackers to obtain remote access into key vehicle systems in 1.4 million vehicles. Related Video: Image Credit: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Recalls Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Safety fiat chrysler automobiles fine

Sergio Marchionne, the man who saved Fiat and Chrysler, dies at 66

MILAN — Sergio Marchionne, one of the auto industry's most demanding and tenacious chief executives, who rescued Fiat and Chrysler, two of its most storied brand, has died after complications from recent surgery. He was 66. The gruff chief executive spent 14 years at the wheel of Fiat Chrysler, the group he built. He was replaced as boss last weekend after his condition worsened. In Italy, where his turnaround of Fiat earned him legendary status, he was treated like a rock star. The former philosophy student and accountant almost never wore a tie and preferred casual sweaters, half-joking that it saved him time on dressing. A heavy smoker until giving up the habit a year ago, he was known for working extraordinarily long hours before falling ill. He demanded others keep a similarly grueling schedule, earning him a reputation from friends and foes alike for being stubborn and arrogant. "I feel like I live in a tunnel. He is not just demanding; he wants all your life devoted to him," said one banker who worked with Marchionne on various deals in recent years. Some could not keep up with his round-the-clock approach. Another banker who worked with Marchionne said he would receive emails from him at all hours, even in the middle of the night. In his last public appearance on June 26, wearing his signature sweater, Marchionne appeared fatigued and out of breath as he presented a Jeep Wrangler to Italy's paramilitary police, the Carabinieri, at a ceremony in Rome. Days later, he went to Switzerland to undergo what Fiat Chrysler (FCA) described as a shoulder operation. FCA has not said what happened after he left the operating theater, but according to media reports in Italy, the surgery was for an invasive sarcoma he had known about for some time but had not revealed to his boss, FCA Chairman John Elkann. The reports say he underwent a risky surgery in Switzerland but developed a cerebral embolism on the operating table that left him in a coma. In an emergency board meeting at the weekend, FCA chose the head of its Jeep division, Mike Manley, as his successor. On Wednesday, Elkann announced that the longtime CEO had passed away, saying: "Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone." Marchionne has done what many thought impossible, most notably his huge gamble just over a decade ago when he set in motion the marriage between the then-ailing Fiat with bankrupt U.S. rival Chrysler. It is now the world's seventh-largest carmaker and is debt-free.