2006 Chrysler Crossfire Limited Convertible on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler pressing on with Magneti Marelli spinoff amid sale rumor

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) is pressing ahead with the spinoff of its parts maker Magneti Marelli, a spokesman confirmed in Wednesday after reports investment firm KKR was in talks to acquire the unit. "FCA is pursuing a plan to separate the Magneti Marelli business ... it will evaluate bona fide proposals for alternative transactions that may be in the best interest of the Company," the spokesman said in an emailed statement. The company would not comment on market rumors, the statement added. Earlier on Tuesday the Wall Street Journal reported that global investment house KKR was in talks to acquire the unit and that a potential sale price could exceed the 3.23 billion euros value at which some analysts valued it. In mid-July, FCA kicked off the process to register the business in the Netherlands and list it on the Milan stock exchange. Reporting by Stefano RebaudoRelated Video: Image Credit: Getty Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Parts and Accessories FCA magneti marelli

FCA-Renault merger talks: France wants job guarantees and Nissan on board

PARIS — France will seek protection of local jobs and other guarantees in exchange for supporting a merger between carmakers Renault and Fiat Chrysler, its finance minister said on Tuesday, underscoring the challenges facing the plan. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard arrived in Japan to discuss the proposed tie-up with the French company's existing partner Nissan — another potential obstacle to the $35 billion-plus merger of equals. Renault and Italian-American rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) are in talks to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes by creating the world's third-biggest automaker. Nissan found out about Renault's merger talks with Fiat Chrysler only days before they became public, four sources told Reuters, stoking fears at the Japanese carmaker that a deal could further weaken its position in a 20-year alliance with Renault. A deal between Renault and FCA would create a player ranked behind only Japan's Toyota and Germany's Volkswagen and target 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) a year in savings. Some analysts, however, say the companies face a challenge to win over powerful stakeholders ranging from the French and Italian governments to trade unions and Nissan. Patrick Pelata, a former Renault chief operating officer, also criticized the deal plan for undervaluing Renault and threatening to overstretch its engineering resources. By valuing Renault at its market price, the all-share offer attributes a negative 6 billion euro value to Renault operations after deduction of its 43.4% stake in Nissan and 3.1% Daimler holding, Pelata told BFM radio. "That's hardly reasonable," he said. "And I think that shareholders, including the French state, are bound to take issue with this sooner or later." Pelata added: "FCA has big problem because they haven't invested for the future — they have no electric vehicle platform and they've done nothing in autonomous cars." French finance minister Bruno Le Maire told RTL radio on Tuesday that the plan was a good opportunity for both Renault and the European car industry, which has been struggling for years with overcapacity and subdued demand. France sets conditions Le Maire also said the French government would seek four guarantees in exchange for backing a deal that would reduce its 15% stake in Renault to 7.5% of the combined entity. "The first: industrial jobs and industrial sites.

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Long-Term Update | Recall!

Our long-term 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid has been in the fleet for about six months now and is quickly accumulating more miles than most of our long-term vehicles do in a full year. Thanks to a couple of recent road trips, one to New England and one to Florida, our Ocean Blue Metallic minivan has racked up about 15,000 miles. I personally hope we can cross the 25,000-mile mark before we're finished. The Pacifica Hybrid has garnered near universal praise from the Autoblog staff, especially those of us who have kids or pets. While it's mostly been hiccup free, one recall had us a bit on edge. NHTSA campaign number 18V740000 was issued last fall, but we didn't get the notification until early this year. Blame the delay on the weird ownership situation of long-term vehicles. NHTSA's basic description is short. "After the vehicle has been operating in PHEV propulsion mode, the gas-fueled engine may not restart properly resulting in unburned fuel entering the exhaust catalyst." Basically, the engine may not restart correctly after running in EV mode, and the fuel being fed to the engine could make its way past the exhaust manifold to the catalytic converters and ignite, possibly starting a fire. Obviously, that's bad. We scheduled a visit to the dealer as soon as we got the news. Chrysler's fix is to update the computer, visually inspect the cats and replace them if needed. We hadn't noticed any issues with the Pacifica's powertrain, and the inspection came back clean, so our Pacifica was back in our hands in a few hours. The service sheet says the left and right cats were inspected by borescope and the powertrain control module was updated. All in, the Pacifica was out of our hands for about half a day. Related Video: