2022 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Touring L on 2040-cars

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Chrysler names six new board directors

Executives may call the shots day-to-day at the world's leading automakers - much as they do at any other corporation - but the ultimate decision-making body remains the board of directors. And Chrysler has just named six new members to its board.
The appointments include Hermann Waldemer, the former CFO of Philip Morris International - the tobacco giant whose Marlboro brand has funneled untold billions into Ferrari as the Scuderia's title sponsor for decades, and on whose board Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sits. Waldemer replaces Doug Steenland, who came to the Chrysler board after Northwest Airlines (at which he served as CEO) merged with Delta, and whose term on the board expired just days ago.
In addition to the Waldemer appointment, Chrysler has expanded its board with five more seats, all filled by existing group executives. Among them are Reid Bigland (head of US and Canadian sales and of the Ram truck brand), Fiat general counsel Giorgio Fossati, human resources director Michael J. Keegan, Jeep CEO Michael Manley, and group CFO Richard Palmer.

Why Chrysler made the Pacifica Hybrid

There were a number of important details missing from Chrysler's debut of the Pacifica Hybrid yesterday. Pricing and availability, for example. We still don't know those specifics – Chrysler just says it will all be announced closer to launch – but we spent some time with Kevin Mets, the chief engineer for the Pacifica Hybrid, to learn more about the powertrain and why Chrysler decided to offer this vehicle at this time. "This could be a primary electric vehicle for someone." We started with the big question: why build a plug-in minivan at all? "It brings the ability that if you want an electric vehicle, a hybrid, you don't have to compromise size to get there," Mets said. "For instance just a few minutes ago I was talking to someone from Canada and they were saying in the US it's two vehicles per household is kind of the norm. In Canada it's not that way, it's more like a vehicle or even less than a vehicle. There's a lot of people that want an electrical vehicle in Canada but they can't make it their primary vehicle. This is a vehicle that could be a primary electric vehicle for someone in Canada, or anybody else for that matter, who wants a plug-in vehicle, an electric vehicle that doesn't have to compromise in size." So, was the development of the Pacifica PHEV influenced more by customers saying they wanted a plug-in hybrid minivan or was it driven more by green vehicle regulations? "That's a tough one to answer," Mets said. "Certainly you have to meet all the requirements. There's a little bit of everything there. You also can pick what vehicles you want to do it on. You pick which vehicle is the best opportunity and this is the one we chose. It's a little bit of both." As for when the Pacifica Hybrid will reach dealerships, all we know is, "late 2016." But Mets said that the minivan will at some point be available in all 50 states. Initial availability might be limited to places like California, but, "The idea is to sell it nationwide," he said. Chrysler decided on the "Pacifica Hybrid" name instead of the more-accurate "Pacifica Plug-In Hybrid" for simplicity. Anyone who might care that the minivan plugs in will find out that it, indeed, has a plug, the reasoning goes, but when Chrysler talks to the average mass market shopper, "hybrid" tells them everything they need to know. Under the hood (and the floorboards, where the batteries are) there are a lot of new bits.

Four-horse race opens up for next Chrysler-Fiat CEO

There are some companies that could change leadership overnight and still remain more or less the operations that they are. But some have built themselves up around one central figure. Just ask Carlos Tavares, who found he couldn't escape the long shadow of Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn. Tavares recently left to find his own limelight. But Ghosn isn't the only executive who presides over two disparate automakers on opposite ends of the globe.
Having built up Fiat and Chrysler around himself, we can hardly imagine either automaker getting along without Sergio Marchionne. But the day will come when the famously sweater-clad bigwig will step down. The pressing questions remain when when that day will come, and who will take his place. The only solid clues we have are in the statements made mostly by Marchionne himself, but those statements have been all over the place. When speaking to Automotive News in 2012, he said he would step down "no earlier than 2013, no later than 2015." But a year later, he had already seemingly changed his tune, indicating he could still be at the helm in 2016. Fiat chairman John Elkann seems to think Marchionne, 61, could and should stay on longer.