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Ferrari raises $893M, valued at $12B

Ferrari's stock is moving as quickly on the New York Stock Exchange as the brand's iconic sports cars do on the road. The company's incredibly popular initial public offering has already raised $893.1 million by virtue of 17.18 million shares sold for $52 apiece. If the deal's underwriters buy in as well, the figure would grow to $982.4 million. Plus, even after shouldering some of FCA's debt, the automaker carries an enterprise value of $12 billion, Bloomberg reports. Just as the company starts trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the share price is already racing upward, too. As of this writing, Ferrari stock, which is listed under the symbol RACE, is priced at $57.59. At its high so far today, the value reached as high as $60.95. While Ferrari is looking strong, the big winner in this success looks to be FCA because the company should raise $4 billion in the spin-off, according to Bloomberg. With nine percent of the sports car maker on the NYSE and one percent for the underwriters, another 80 percent will be distributed to FCA investors in 2016. When that's through, Exor, the holding company for the Agnelli/Elkann family, should have the largest stake at about 30 percent. Piero Ferrari holds the remaining 10 percent and has no intention to sell it. Related Video: FCA Announces Pricing of Initial Public Offering of Ferrari N.V. Common Shares Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU/MI: FCA) ("FCA") and its subsidiary Ferrari N.V. ("Ferrari") announce today the pricing of Ferrari's initial public offering of 17,175,000 common shares at an offering price of $52 per share for a total offering size of $893.1 million ($982.4 million if the underwriters exercise the option described below in full). The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, October 21, 2015, under the symbol "RACE", and closing of the offering is expected to occur on October 26, 2015. In addition, the underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,717,150 common shares of Ferrari from FCA. The offering is intended to be part of a series of transactions to separate Ferrari from FCA. Following completion of this offering, FCA expects to distribute its remaining ownership interest in Ferrari to FCA shareholders at the beginning of 2016. UBS Investment Bank is acting as Global Coordinator for the offering.

Chrysler and Google launch virtual 200 factory tour [w/video]

Google is no stranger to showing off some of the most interesting automotive destinations in the world, like the museums for Lamborghini and Ducati, or even a Tesla showroom. However, it's taking that technology even further with a new, in-depth look of the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant where the Chrysler 200 is made. Unlike these earlier online excursions, the new Chrysler factory tour is a fully guided experience that includes several 360-degree videos explaining many parts of the production process.
"Just as we pioneered a completely new Chrysler 200, we are pioneering a new way for consumers to research a vehicle. The Factory Tour is an opportunity for us to prove to consumers that the all-new 2015 Chrysler 200 is not one ever built before," said Olivier Francois, Chrysler's chief marketing officer, in the company's release.
Chrysler was already pretty proud of its nearly $1 billion in recent updates to the Sterling Heights factory having released a look at the 200's assembly process earlier this year. However, the new Google tour goes far deeper by including 12 videos, and between highlighted stops, viewers can swing the camera all over to get a full view of the action. The whole thing is an intriguing way to show the way a modern car gets built.

FCA recalls 1.1 million vehicles worldwide due to confusing shifter

Fiat Chrysler is recalling 1.1 million vehicles worldwide to address the problematic shifter used on cars with eight-speed automatic transmissions. The issue is that the console-mounted shifter acts like a rocker switch and always returns to the middle position after moved. This has been deemed confusing to drivers – confusing enough to cause some to exit their vehicles without first selecting Park and leading to the car rolling away. FCA says 41 injuries are related to the shifter problem, and no evidence of equipment failure has been found. The company will enhance warning chimes and alter the shift strategy, meaning alert messages will be displayed in case the driver door is opened while the engine is running. With the door open, the transmission will prevent the car from moving even if Park is not selected. The affected vehicles are certain model-year 2012–2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans, as well as model-year 2014–2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, an estimated 811,586 US vehicles in total. The recall also affects 52,144 vehicles in Canada, 16,805 in Mexico, and 248,667 vehicles elsewhere. The shifter is used with ZF-designed and ZF-built eight-speed automatic; Audi uses a similar shifter setup in some of its vehicles, including the current-generation, which predated Chrysler's use of it. Chrysler uses a different, a rotating-dial-type shifter on eight-speed-equipped Rams. The company moved away from the problem shifter design in 2015 for the Charger and 300, and the Grand Cherokee's shift lever was modified for 2016. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified of the recall when service is available. Fiat Chrysler urges customers to follow the instructions in the vehicle's owner's manual in the meantime. Related Video: News Source: FCAImage Credit: AOL Recalls Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Ownership Safety SUV Sedan