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What's the right car for the 'Planes, Trains, and Automobiles' remake?

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches so, too, does the season in which many Americans will rewatch that holiday classic, "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." The Steve Martin and John Candy movie is a staple of holiday-season viewing. Soon, however, it will be joined by a new version. Paramount Pictures is doing a remake of "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," starring Will Smith and Kevin Hart. In the 1987 original, Martin and Candy rent a pea-soup green Chrysler LeBaron Town&Country convertible (well, sort of), which suffers a series of mishaps including catching fire yet still chugs along. It was a star turn for the wood-sided K-car droptop (though not the last), and that got us thinking: What should the Smith and Hart duo get stuck with at Marathon Rent-A-Car? Of course, it needs to be a convertible. Among the widely used rental-car convertibles, a Ford Mustang or a Chevy Camaro would be too sporty and cool. This trip is supposed to be miserable. A Buick Cascada or a Beetle convertible would be more appropriate. Of the two, a Beetle is probably better from a comedy standpoint.  But there is another car that stands out as the clear winner: the Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. Granted, the PT convertible went out of production in 2008, making it a bit old for a current rental lot — but not too old. And the PT Cruiser was even offered with a Woodie package, providing even greater alignment with the LeBaron of old. However, the Woodie package was only offered from 2002–2004, so it predated the convertible by one model year. We think that in this case, the filmmakers should put aside strict historical accuracy and apply the faux-wood appliques to the PT convertible for maximum continuity with the original movie. Besides, the original car wasn't technically a Chrysler LeBaron: it had a different name and badging, plus a non-factory color. It wasn't too different from the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from "Vacation" in that regard. So, what do you think? Is it time for the PT Cruiser to join the great pantheon of movie road-trip cars? Or would something else make for a better movie motors classic?

Ferrari officially files SEC paperwork to register future IPO

Late last year FCA announced plans to spin off Ferrari into a separate company, and after a long wait that process has finally become official. The Prancing Horse has now filed the necessary prospectus and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold an initial public offering on The New York Stock Exchange. The paperwork doesn't mention a specific date for the Italian sportscar maker's IPO, but it's expected sometime in October. At this point, the documents also don't include some other vital data about the IPO. Ferrari lists neither the number of shares being offered nor their price. The company also doesn't have a stock symbol yet. UBS, BofA Merrill Lynch and Santander are acting as joint book runners for the deal. As part of the IPO, FCA initially intends to sell 10 percent of Ferrari's shares on the stock market. Another 10 percent of the company still belongs to Piero Ferrari. FCA is holding onto the remaining 80 percent in the short term for financial reasons but intends to distribute them to shareholders in early 2016. After the spin-off, about 24 percent of Ferrari would be owned by Exor, 10 percent by Piero Ferrari, and 66 percent by public shareholders, according to the SEC documents. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne believes that Ferrari could be worth over $11 billion. Although, his estimate might be slightly high. According to Reuters, Wall Street is actually putting the value somewhere between $5.5 billion and $11 billion. If you're thinking about investing in the company or just want to read the nitty-gritty about the brand's financial health, the entire SEC filing can be read here. Ferrari Files for Initial Public Offering LONDON, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ("FCA") announced today that its subsidiary, New Business Netherlands N.V. (to be renamed Ferrari N.V.), has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for a proposed initial public offering of common shares currently held by FCA. The number of common shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, although the proposed offering is not expected to exceed 10% of the outstanding common shares. In connection with the initial public offering, Ferrari intends to apply to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Fiat Chrysler Australia executive in trouble over misuse of company funds

While the merger to create FCA was coming together, its managing director for Australia, Clyde Campbell, was allegedly racking up 30 million Australian dollars ($23.1 million) in spending for himself, family, and friends. Now, the former boss is facing a court case from the automaker's legal team for the purported misappropriation. Among the more opulent expenses that Campbell allegedly put on Chrysler's tab included a 40-foot yacht worth the equivalent of $308,000 and lavish Christmas parties for workers, according to The Age. Despite being required to only travel in economy class and get permission for international travel, he also reportedly racked up the equivalent of over $413,000 travel expenses. "The more we dug, the more we found," said an unnamed source to The Age. Campbell came to power in Australia as a general manager for DaimlerChrysler, and became managing director in October 2010. He was reportedly a close friend with former Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Ernst Lieb. After Lieb lost his wrongful dismissal lawsuit, Campbell allegedly helped his friend's partnership in an Aussie auto dealer by using FCA funds for financial support totaling the equivalent of about $3 million. All of this came to light when Pat Dougherty came over from the US to be president and CEO of FCA Australia in December 2014. The staff spilled the full story on Dougherty's first day. "I walked into his office and let it all out. I don't think he knew what hit him," another source said to The Age. A team of forensic accountants was brought in to investigate. The reason that this took so long to discover was that no one was paying attention. First, sales in Australia were growing under Campbell. Also, "in my opinion, back in Michigan, head office didn't have its eyes on the road. They only had eyes on the Fiat deal," an insider said to The Age. That confluence essentially provided the perfect storm for this huge spending. News Source: The AgeImage Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP / Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat lawsuit FCA