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Chrysler UConnect wins AOL Autos Technology of the Year Award

The first annual AOL Autos Technology of the Year Award has been won by Chrysler's upgraded UConnect system.
Over 35 entries were considered and narrowed down to six finalists in three categories: Connectivity, Telematics and Active Safety. The judges, which included editors from AOL Autos, Autoblog and Engadget, as well as a number of other auto and tech journalists and luminaries, chose UConnect over the MyFord Mobile app, Audi Connect with Google Maps, Cadillac CUE, Honda's LaneWatch technology and Nissan's Tire Pressure Alert and Refill System. Even readers who were polled on which technology should win chose UConnect.
AOL Autos Editor in Chief David Kiley remarked that Chrysler's UConnect deserved the first Technology of the Year Award not because of what it does, but for how UConnect performs every time it's used. Kiley went on to say UConnect works the way it's supposed to, fills a need and puts a smile on your face. By meeting those requirements, UConnect very much deserved AOL Auto's first Tech of the Year award.

Fiat Chrysler's Marchionne is done talking about alliances

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne rowed back on his search for a merger on Friday, saying the car maker was not in a position to seek deals for now and would focus instead on following its business plan. Marchionne had repeatedly called for mergers in the car industry and a tie-up has long been seen as the ultimate aim of his relaunch of Fiat Chrysler, which he is due to leave in early 2019 after 15 years at the helm. He sought a merger with General Motors two years ago but was rebuffed. Only last month he said Volkswagen - the market leader in Europe - may agree to discuss a tie-up with FCA in reaction to rival PSA Group's acquisition of Opel. Marchionne told the annual general meeting in Amsterdam he still saw the need for car companies to merge to better shoulder the large investments needed, but said Fiat Chrysler was not talking to Volkswagen. "On the Volkswagen issue, on the question if there are ongoing discussions, the answer is no," he said. He added, without elaborating, that Fiat Chrysler was not at a stage where it could discuss any alliances. "The primary focus is the execution of the plan," he said. FCA has pledged to swing to a 5 billion euro net cash position by 2018, from net debt of 4.6 billion euros at the end of 2016 - an achievement that Marchionne has said would put it in a better position to strike a deal in the future. Volkswagen, which is still reeling from an emissions scandal that hurt its profits, initially spurned FCA's approach. However, CEO Matthias Mueller said last month the group had become more open on the issue of tie-ups and invited Marchionne to speak to him directly rather than with the press. Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann underlined the message that finding a merger partner was not a priority. "I'm not interested in a big merger deal," he said. "Historically, deals are struck at times of difficulty ... we don't want to be in trouble." Elkann is the scion of Fiat's founder and top shareholder the Agnelli family. He has said in the past he was prepared to have the Agnelli's stake severely diluted in exchange for a minority holding in a larger auto group. "I believe the priority for FCA is to press ahead with this ambitious (business) plan despite the difficult environment," he said. FCA pledged in January to nearly halve net debt this year, as part of the 2018 plan. Doubts remain about its exposure to a peaking U.S.

Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.