2014 Chrysler 300 Base on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Feds accuse Fiat Chrysler, UAW of conspiring to break labor laws

DETROIT — Top officials of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the United Auto Workers union conspired to violate U.S. labor laws, federal prosecutors alleged in a court document, saying a former executive at the automaker knew bribes paid to union leaders were designed to "grease the skids" in labor negotiations. U.S. Justice Department officials for the first time called the company and the union "co-conspirators" in a document related to a guilty plea agreed by former Fiat Chrysler director of employee relations Michael Brown. The document was filed with the U.S. District Court in Detroit on May 25. Its contents were reported by the Detroit News on Wednesday. Brown pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a felony. The plea agreement stated that he knew Fiat Chrysler executives authorized $1.5 million in improper payments and travel, liquor, cigars and other goods for UAW officials who served on the union's negotiating committee. Prosecutors say FCA executives paid UAW representatives to influence union business. including collective bargaining on contracts ratified in 2011 and 2015. The government contends money was run through the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, via false charitable donations and training center credit cards. Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has said in the past that the misconduct "had nothing whatsoever to do with the collective bargaining process" and the "egregious acts were neither known to nor sanctioned" by the company. Fiat Chrysler had no further comment Monday. Outgoing UAW President Dennis Williams told union leaders at a conference in Detroit on Monday "our leadership team had no knowledge of the misconduct — which involved former union members and former auto executives — until it was brought to our attention by the government." Brown pleaded guilty on May 25, according to court documents, and will be sentenced on Sept. 20. Five other people have pleaded guilty in the government's ongoing investigation into the UAW and Fiat Chrysler, including the wife of a late UAW official, two other former UAW employees, former Fiat Chrysler vice president Alphons Iacobelli and another former Fiat Chrysler employee. Reporting By David Shepardson and Nick CareyRelated Video: Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM FCA

Merged PSA and Fiat would retain all brands, Tavares says

By Elisa Anzolin and Gilles Guillaume PARIS/TURIN, Italy (Reuters) - Peugeot maker PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler would retain all of their car brands if their planned $50 billion merger goes ahead, the would-be chief executive of the combined group said on Friday. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, seen as the architect of PSA's turnaround and in line to take the operational helm in the Fiat tie-up, said in a TV interview that the companies complemented each other well geographically and in terms of technology and brands. FCA derives 66% of its revenue from North America compared with only 5.7% for PSA, Refinitiv Eikon data shows. Europe remains the main revenue driver for PSA. "There's no doubt it's a very good deal for both parties. It's a win-win," Tavares told France's BFM Business, in his first interview since the French and Italian companies announced plans to create the world's fourth-largest auto maker last week. Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Chairman John Elkann, who would chair the combined group, said on Friday at an event in Turin that the 50-50 share merger would help the Italian carmaker "seize great opportunities." The deal, which would help the firms pool resources to meet tough new emissions rules and investments in electric and self-driving vehicles, as well as counter a broader downturn in car markers, is still at an early stage. PSA and Fiat have said they aim to reach a binding outline in the coming weeks, but still face questions over potential job losses, as well as scrutiny over whether the transaction favors one party more than the other. Tavares said the brands that would come under the combined group's umbrella — PSA's five passenger car nameplates include Citroen, Vauxhall and Opel, while FCA has nine, including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep — were all likely to survive. "As of today, I don't see any need to scrap any of the brands if the deal came to pass. They all have their history and their strengths," Tavares said. Few carmakers have as large a portfolio, with German rival Volkswagen Group counting 10 passenger brands, if newer Chinese ones such as electric vehicle label Sihao are included. The merger will also require approval from anti-trust authorities. Tavares said he did not expect the companies to have to make major concessions to meet competition rules, but added they were ready to do so, without giving details.

Autoblog Podcast #380

Episode #380 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert and Seyth Miersma talk about the Fiat-Chrysler five-year plan, the seeming demise of the Nissan Cube, and proposed legislation to require speed limiters with a 68-mph maximum on America's tractor trailers. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #380: Topics: Fiat-Chrysler five-year plan Nissan Cube on the way out? Big rig speed limiters coming? In the Autoblog Garage: 2015 Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG 2014 Chevrolet Sonic RS Sedan 2014 Honda Odyssey Touring Elite Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Seyth Miersma Runtime: 01:44:17 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Fiat Chrysler Plan - 29:40 Nissan Cube - 01:07:33 Semi Speed Limiters - 01:17:33 Q&A - 01:27:35 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Earnings/Financials Plants/Manufacturing Podcasts Rumormill Chevrolet Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Nissan nissan cube speed limiters