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Fiat Chrysler cuts 2018 outlook, shares tumble on weaker quarterly profit

MILAN — The news of former Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne's death arrived Wednesday moments before the group reported a surprisingly heavy drop in profit. The death of one of the auto industry's most tenacious and respected CEOs overshadowed a big selloff in Fiat Chrysler shares. FCA's scheduled second-quarter earnings presentation, led by Marchionne's successor and former lieutenant Mike Manley, began on Wednesday afternoon with a moment of silence. As eulogies flooded in, FCA shares fell as much as 10 percent as investors digested an unexpected 35 percent fall in net profit, well below market forecasts. Marchionne rescued Fiat and Chrysler from bankruptcy after taking the wheel of the Italian carmaker in 2004 and he multiplied Fiat's value 11 times through 14 years of canny dealmaking. He was due to step down at FCA in April next year. "The best way to honor his memory is to build on the legacy he left us, continuing to develop the human values of responsibility and openness of which he was the most ardent champion," Chairman John Elkann added. On Saturday, FCA named Jeep division head Mike Manley, 54, as head of the world's seventh-largest carmaker, saying the Briton would execute a strategy that Marchionne had outlined in June. FCA has said Manley will work to ensure a "strong and independent" future for the group. Underlining the task facing Manley, FCA cut its full-year earnings outlook after the weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings. Having to deliver the bad news four days into his new job, Manley blamed the result on a weaker performance in China, a market that represents one of new CEO's immediate headaches. "The biggest challenges we face and frankly we're going to continue to face ... are all focused in China," Manley said. FCA has yet to make any significant inroads in China. In Marchionne's June plan, FCA pledged to boost production of sport utility vehicles and invest in electric and hybrid cars to double operating profit by 2022. It unveiled bold targets for Jeep, FCA's profit engine. FCA said adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the April-June period fell 11 percent to 1.7 billion euros ($1.99 billion), compared with 2 billion euros in a Reuters poll of analysts. Chinese demand slumped in the quarter ahead of a July cut in import duties, resulting in higher incentive spending and an increase in unsold vehicle stocks that "particularly affected Maserati," Manley said.

FCA recalls 1.25M trucks for software error in fatal crash

WASHINGTON - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Friday it would recall more than 1.25 million pickup trucks worldwide to address a software error linked to reports of one crash death and two injuries. The error code could temporarily disable the side air bag and seat belt pretensioner deployment during a vehicle rollover spurred by a significant underbody impact, such as striking onroad debris or driving off-road, the Italian-American automaker said. The company will reprogram computer modules in the affected vehicles to address this error. The recall covers 1.02 million 2013-16 Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups, and 2014-2016 Ram 3500 pickups in the United States, 216,007 vehicles in Canada; 21,668 in Mexico; and 21,530 outside North America, the automaker said. Fiat Chrysler said the recall would begin in late June. In the event of the software error code, the problem could temporarily be addressed by turning the vehicle off and then on, the company said. The automaker told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it began investigating the issue in December after it received notice of a suit involving a 2014 Ram 1500 in which the airbag failed to deploy in a rollover crash.Reporting by David ShepardsonRelated Video: Recalls Chrysler Fiat Truck FCA airbag fiat chrysler automobiles

Junkyard Gem: 2006 Chrysler Sebring Touring Convertible

Quick, what was the cheapest new convertible Americans could buy in 2006? If you guessed "Chrysler PT Cruiser" ($19,890 MSRP) you're right, but the Pontiac Solstice cost just 25 additional bucks. After that came the likes of the Miata, Mustang, New Beetle, and so forth, all priced below $25,000 in their most affordable ragtop versions that year. The Chrysler Sebring was the cheapest midsize convertible in 2006, with a price starting at just $26,115 (about $39,005 in 2022 dollars), edging out the Toyota Camry Solara SE by 825 bucks. Here's one of those roomy-yet-reasonably-priced Chrysler convertibles, now absolutely used up and residing in a Colorado self-service wrecking yard. Chrysler sold Sebrings from the 1995 through 2010 model years, in three generations. The convertible version appeared early on, starting in 1996; it started out on the same platform as the now-long-forgotten "Cloud Cars" (Chrysler Cirrus, Plymouth Breeze, Dodge Stratus), then moved in 2007 to a Mitsubishi/DaimlerChrysler-developed platform that went under everything from Outlanders to Avengers. That makes today's Junkyard Gem one of the newest American members of the Cloud Car family tree, though GAZ built Sebring-derived Volga Sibers in Russia for a few more years. By the time it got to this place, it had become a total hooptie. Rattle-can paint, duct-tape trim repair, the works. Just 16 years old, but it's done. The baling-wire repair to the torn convertible top shows ingenuity on the part of a former owner. Plywood appears to be keeping the roof from collapsing. Because so many Sebrings were invisible fleet cars, it's easy to forget that a convertible even existed. In fact, the Sebring was the best-selling new convertible in America in the middle 2000s. When the 24 Hours of Lemons race series first went to Sebring International Raceway in 2014, I used my vast powers as Chief Justice of the Lemons Supreme Court to get entry fees waived for Chrysler Sebring race cars. We got two Sebrings that year, both convertibles. The base Sebrings for 2006 got the 2.4-liter straight-four out of the just-discontinued Neon, while the Touring, GTC, and Limited trim levels got this 200-horsepower DOHC V6 (originally developed for the Chrysler LH cars) displacing 2.7 liters. Early U.S.-market Sebrings could be purchased with five-speed manual transmissions, but a four-speed automatic was mandatory by the time this car was built.