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Fiat Chrysler U.S. sales chief Reid Bigland steps down after suing company

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler's head of U.S. sales is leaving the company after a bumpy career that saw him file a whistleblower lawsuit over a scheme to pay dealers to report fake sales numbers. The company says in a statement that Reid Bigland will leave Fiat Chrysler April 3 after 22 years with the company. He'll pursue other interests. Bigland also headed the Ram brand and Fiat Chrysler Canada. During his tenure the company saw big U.S. sales growth, mainly with the Jeep and Ram brands. But his career was marred by the sales scandal, which forced Fiat Chrysler to restate numbers and pay $40 million to settle a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Terms of BiglandÂ’s departure werenÂ’t announced, but the company said all legal matters with Bigland “have been resolved to the satisfaction of all parties involved.” FCA CEO Mike Manley thanked Bigland for his service in a company statement. “We all wish him every success in his future endeavors,” Manley said. Bigland said in the same statement that that itÂ’s been a privilege to work at FCA and with the companyÂ’s dealers. Last June, Bigland sued Fiat Chrysler alleging that it withheld 90% of his pay package because he testified in the SEC inquiry of sales reporting practices. He alleged that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles violated Michigan's Whistleblower Protection Act, retaliating against him because he testified in the probe of whether the company inflated sales and deceived stockholders. The company withheld Bigland's 2018 long-term incentive stock payout, special dividends and an annual bonus in retaliation for his testimony and because he sold some stock, according to the lawsuit. Documents say the dividends alone are worth about $1.8 million. In September Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay $40 million to settle an SEC complaint alleging that the company misled investors by overstating its monthly sales numbers over a five-year period. The company inflated sales by paying dealers to report fake numbers from 2012 to 2016, the SEC alleged in a complaint. Fiat Chrysler agreed to pay the civil penalty and to stop violating anti-fraud, reporting and internal accounting control regulations, the SEC said. The automaker did not admit or deny the agency's allegations. Fiat Chrysler said it has reviewed and refined its sales reporting procedures. The SEC said the automaker boasted about a streak of year-over-year sales increases into 2016, when the streak actually was broken in September of 2013.

2020 Chrysler Pacifica Red S Edition demands plenty of green

Chrysler has added a Red S Edition package to the Pacifica range for the 2020 model year. The equipment group is available on the gasoline-powered and hybrid variants of the minivan, and the package punts Chrysler's family-hauler into luxury-car territory. On sale now, the Pacifica Red S Edition commands a $3,995 premium over the Limited trim it's based on. In other words, buyers need to spend at least $49,935 once a mandatory $1,495 destination charge enters the equation, while selecting the hybrid powertrain likely pushes the bottom line beyond the $50,000 threshold (the package has not yet been priced for the hybrid model). This figure makes the Pacifica Red S Edition one of the most expensive minivans available in the United States. Chrysler rewards buyers willing to spend luxury-car money on one of its minivans with two-tone, Rodeo Red and black Nappa leather upholstery with Light Diesel Grey contrast stitching and piping (diesel fuel is not grey, if you're wondering), S logos stitched into the seat backs, and silver trim on the dashboard and the door panels. Outside, the Red S Edition builds on the S Appearance package with black and red emblems, a red S logo on the tailgate, and 20-inch alloy wheels finished in black, though note the Pacifica Hybrid settles for 18-inchers in the name of maximizing fuel economy. Buyers have six colors to choose from, including one called Ceramic Grey Clear Coat that joins the range for 2020. The Red S-spec Pacifica also comes standard with a Harman Kardon sound system that plays through 20 speakers, KeySense (which is essentially a teen driver key), and Advanced SafetyTec, which includes features such as a 360-degree-view camera, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, automatic high beams, park assist, and rain-sensing wipers, among other items. There are no mechanical changes to report, nor does the Pacifica Red S channel its inner Testarossa with a red valve cover. It carries on with Chrysler's venerable 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 rated at a stout 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. The six spins the front wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission.

Baby Jeep to join Renegade in FCA's plan for new Italian-built models

FCA is boosting its European production, introducing new models that will be built in currently under-utilized manufacturing facilities. Among the new models is a new small Jeep, smaller than the current Renegade, as Automotive News reports. FCA's Mike Manley mentioned the entry-level Jeep model earlier this year, also saying that the vehicle is targeted to European and possibly Latin American customers; in the summer, Autocar placed the launch date in 2022. The new "baby" Jeep would be made in the same factory in Pomigliano, Italy, as the small Fiat Panda, which is a top seller in Italy. The current generation Panda was introduced in 2011; if it gets a replacement in 2022, it could possibly share a platform with the Jeep model — or, the Jeep could be an eventual outright replacement for the Panda. One of Fiat's earlier core products, the Punto hatchback, was canned in August, and that production capacity will be used to make the Jeep Compass instead, at the Renegade-producing Melfi factory in southern Italy. The Compass has not previously been built in Europe. The Fiat model portfolio would be shrunk to just the 500 model family and the Panda — the 500 would also be FCA's key electric vehicle offered in Europe. It is not yet clear whether the electric 500 would be made in Turin, Italy, or in Poland; Turin might also get a Giardiniera-badged wagon version of the refreshed 500. As for the Alfa Romeo brand, it is set to gain an even bigger SUV model than the Stelvio, based on the Maserati Levante's platform. The Levante's sales have suffered recently in China, but Maserati does have light in the horizon: The Alfieri 2+2 grand tourer is still in the cards, with a launch expected for 2020 and both a convertible and an electrified version planned to follow. The Alfieri would be made in Modena, Italy, according to Automotive News' sources. None of these plans namedrop the storied Lancia brand, which has been shrunk to just the Ypsilon hatchback, based on the same platform as the current 500 and Panda. Despite that, the Ypsilon was again the second-bestselling car in Italy after the Panda in October. It is unlikely that FCA will be able to ignore this, but it is just as unlikely that any development money will be afforded to come up with a replacement for the Ypsilon, which is as similarly old as the Panda. Perhaps official announcements expected on Thursday will also clarify what will happen to Lancia.