New Yorker on 2040-cars

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Hyundai-Kia claims 'greenest' title from Honda, Big Three still big losers

Let's start with the good news. On average, any new car you buy in the US today will be 43 percent cleaner than any average new car in 1998. Here's some more good news, for Korea anyway, Hyundai-Kia has been named the cleanest automaker in the latest study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which looked at 2013 model year vehicles sold between October 2012 and September 2013 from the top eight automakers (by volume). The bad news? The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The problem for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler lies in their trucks, which sell well but tend to have pretty bad fuel economy (compared to sedans, at least). The UCS calculates its list by averaging "the per-mile emissions for each light-duty vehicle sold by each automaker" and then factors in "the fuel economy, fuel type, and sales volume of each type of vehicle sold by each automaker" and "the upstream global warming emissions from producing and distributing the fuel used by each vehicle, as well as emissions from the vehicles themselves." That all means that, the more trucks you sell, the worse you're gonna do. Then again, the more trucks you sell with 18 mpg, the more you're helping drivers put CO2 into the air, so the UCS is doing a fair comparison of the things that this study is trying to track. More details on the methodology are available on page six of the study PDF. In case you were wondering (we were), UCS did make sure to use the revised mpg numbers for Hyundai and Kia models that were originally overstated. Hyundai has apologized for and fixed those figures and even with the new, corrected numbers, Hyundai's total emissions are dropping at a rate of about three percent a year, enough for it to take the greenest company title for the first time. In fact, this is the first time that an automaker other than Honda has come out on top in the UCS ranking, which has been released six times now, including the first one in 2000 (which looked at 1998 model year data). In 2010, Honda was almost knocked off the winner's perch by both Hyundai and Toyota, but managed to hold on. Chrysler, on the other hand, came in dead last (again) in the ranking of the top eight automakers, snagging the "dirtiest tailpipe" award once (again). Read the UCS' press release below.

Mopar boss promoted at FCA, still runs Mopar

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is appointing Pietro Gorlier as its new chief operating officer for components. The change in title is effective June 30 and means that he reports directly to Sergio Marchionne. He already runs Mopar globally. Gorlier is replacing Eugenio Razelli, who is leaving the automaker. Even with the new position, Gorlier continues to be the boss at Mopar and retains his seat on FCA's global executive council, which is the company's top decision-making group. This is essentially one more step up the ladder for the Turin-born executive. Gorlier became CEO of Mopar service, parts, and customer care for FCA US in 2009 and took over that role worldwide in 2011. FCA announces new appointment Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU / MI: FCA) announced today that effective June 30, 2015, Pietro Gorlier is appointed Chief Operating Officer Components reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne. Mr. Gorlier will also retain his current responsibilities as Head of Parts & Service (MOPAR) and member of the Group Executive Council. Mr. Gorlier will succeed Eugenio Razelli, who elected to leave the Group after several years of dedicated service. "We extend our sincere appreciation to Eugenio for his leadership and contribution to the organization" said Sergio Marchionne. Pietro Gorlier is Head of Parts & Service (MOPAR) and a member of the Group Executive Council (GEC) since September 1, 2011. He joined the Group in 1989 in Iveco and held various positions in Logistics, After Sales, and Customer Care before joining the automobile business in 2006 in Network Development. He holds a Master of Economics from the University of Turin. London, 18 May 2015 Related Video: News Source: FCA Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Fiat FCA fiat chrysler automobiles fca us

If Tesla Model 3 is successful, Sergio Marchionne will copy it

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn't hidden his disdain for electric vehicles, but he would copy the Tesla Model 3 if it is successful, according to Automotive News Europe. If Elon Musk "can show me that the car will be profitable at that price, I will copy the formula, add the Italian design flair and get it to the market within 12 months," Marchionne told Automotive News Europe during FCA's annual meeting in Amsterdam. In terms of pre-orders, the Model 3 is a success. Musk tweeted on April 7 that the company had over 325,000 reservations for the sedan, which he estimated were worth around $14 billion. The car will start at $35,000 before incentives. Marchionne, however, isn't optimistic Tesla can actually make the electric sedan work financially. "I'm am not surprised by the high number of reservations but you have then to build and deliver them and also be profitable," he told ANE. The FCA boss is a noted skeptic of EVs. In 2012, he said that the company only built the 500e because of California's zero-emissions vehicle mandate and to give engineers experience with the technology. He doubled-down in 2014 when he claimed FCA lost $14,000 on each 500e and said he would rather people didn't buy them. More recently, he infamously said "you'd have to shoot me first," before he'd allow a fully electric Ferrari. Related Video: