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Marchionne impressed by 'that kid' Elon Musk

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne has a reputation as an incredibly canny businessman. Some examples of his acumen include finishing Fiat's takeover of Chrysler from a beachside home and winning a challenge with Luca di Montezemolo for the reins of Ferrari. The Italian exec recently took a trip to California and lavished praise on Elon Musk after a meeting with the Tesla CEO. Although, the compliment did come off as a little patronizing. "I'm incredibly impressed with what that kid has done," Marchionne said to Reuters about his conversation with Musk. Unfortunately, the FCA exec didn't go into detail about what he and Tesla boss discussed. Although, calling the 43-year-old billionaire a "kid" does seem a little rude, especially given Musk's success with Paypal, in the auto industry and at SpaceX. While in the Golden State, Marchionne also had a talk with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Although, he was similarly cagey about what the men discussed. "He's interested in Apple's intervention in the car, that's his role," Marchionne said to Reuters about the conversation without divulging more. The two companies already have some small links thanks to Ferrari's use of the tech giant's products. As one additional highlight for Marchionne's California trip, he took a ride in the Google autonomous car. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Photo Green Chrysler Fiat Tesla Green Culture Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Sergio Marchionne FCA

Detroit Three autoworkers could get huge bonuses

For a long time, being a line worker for one of the Detroit Three has meant living with an uncertain future. With the health of American automakers on the rise, though, things are also starting to look up for the men and women building the cars. The latest sign that things aren't bad? Big profit-sharing checks.
According to The Detroit News, Ford, General Motors and Chrysler could end up paying over $800 million to 130,000 workers as part of a profit-sharing plan. According to The News, the economic impact of these profits in Michigan alone could exceed $400 million, besting the NFL's Super Bowl, MLB's All-Star Game and the NHL's Winter Classic for their economic impact.
This is the third straight year the Detroit Three have issued profit-sharing checks to UAW employees, and for many workers, the checks are as close as they'll get to a raise, due to the most recent contract between the union and the manufacturers. On average, employees at GM and Ford receive $1 for every $1 million in North American (not just the US) pre-tax profits. Chrysler, meanwhile, gets a similar deal, although the Auburn Hills-based company calculates profit sharing using 85 percent of the brand's global profits.

2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Long-Term Update | Nokian winter tires in a winter wonderland

Winter is technically over now, but the cold and snow are maintaining their grip here in Michigan. While much of the country is bouncing right along into a warm spring, we're happy to still be wearing our Nokian Hakkapeliitta winter tires on our long-term Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. You can't count out another massive blizzard even into late April here. That said, we're hoping the worst is over, so it's time to take stock of how the winter tires performed on the front-wheel-drive minivan. Nokian produced the first winter tire ever in 1934, so one could say that they've had awhile to figure this out. The tire model we were provided for our van is the Hakkapeliitta R3 SUV. The Pacifica is obviously no SUV, but at almost 5,000 pounds it's perfect for this flavor of tire. Nokian says they're designed for high performance SUVs and are made with Aramid sidewalls to resist punctures or cuts. Chrysler fits the Pacifica Hybrid with all-season tires from the factory, but we were determined to make it a proper seven passenger sleigh. We got a fair amount of snow this year in Michigan, but I encountered the worst conditions on a road trip to Buffalo, N.Y. I was actually sort of hoping a lake-effect blizzard might present itself as a challenge, and my snow prayers were answered with authority. Inches of snow don't usually pile up on highways here easily with the amount of plows and salt typically employed, but it did in this storm. The Pacifica hardly flinched from the deep tracks of powder on the road. Near-whiteout conditions forced slow driving, but the Pacifica never felt like it was going to slip and slide out of its lane as I tracked around highway bends with increasing speed. Braking was impressive, as the tires managed to find grip in the snow that all-season tires just can't match. Thankfully, I never needed 100 percent lock in any emergency situations, but I tried it out in some empty parking lots to see how well it does at hauling everything to a stop. The Nokians performed admirably here, too. With ABS firing away, the winter rubber finds grip in places all-seasons would just slide on by. Starting wasn't much of an issue, either. We tested the tires in anything from dustings to snow that was about six inches deep and largely untouched by other vehicles. The front tires would scrabble for grip initially with greater throttle inputs in the deep stuff, but they'd hook and pull the van forward with authority after a quick second.