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For his last act, Marchionne will outline an EV/hybrid roadmap this week

MILAN/LONDON — Fiat Chrysler (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne is expected to outline new plans for electric and hybrid cars in a strategy presentation on Friday, aiming to ensure the world's seventh-largest carmaker remains in the race in the absence of a merger. The 65-year-old will present FCA's strategy to 2022, his final contribution to the company he turned around and multiplied in value through 14 years of canny dealmaking. After failing to secure a tie-up he said was necessary to manage the costs of producing cleaner vehicles, Marchionne needs to show the group can keep churning out profits on its own, even as emissions rules tighten, SUV competition intensifies and worries around his succession abound. Marchionne had long refused to jump on the electrification bandwagon, saying he would only do so if selling battery-powered cars could be done at a profit. He even urged customers not to buy FCA's Fiat 500e, its only battery-powered model, because he was losing money on each sold. But Tesla's success and the need to comply with tougher emissions rules have forced Marchionne to commit to what he calls "most painful" spending. "FCA is way behind rivals in terms of hybrid and electric vehicles and they need to hit the accelerator to convince investors they can close that gap," said Andrea Pastorelli, a fund manager at 8a+ Investimenti. Germany's Volkswagen, Daimler, BMW and U.S. rivals GM and Ford have committed to spending billions of euros each in coming years to try produce profitable cars powered by cleaner fuels. FCA needs to present a clear roadmap, just like Volvo Cars, which ditched diesel from its best-selling XC60 SUV, launched a new electric brand and pledged to shift all brands to hybrid by 2019, a banking source close to FCA said, noting: "The tech divide determines winners and losers in the industry." Marchionne has already said half of the wider FCA fleet will incorporate some elements of electrification by 2022, while luxury marque Maserati will spearhead FCA's electrification drive by making all new models due after 2019 electric. But its plans remain vaguer and less advanced than most big rivals and some investors wonder about the capital required to make vehicles compliant, and what share of spending can go to electrification given FCA's numerous demands.

2015 Dodge Charger shows off its new look in New York [w/videos]

With a new look inspired largely by the Dart compact, the 2015 Dodge Charger made its New York Auto Show debut today. Along with the interior and exterior changes, an eight-speed automatic becomes standard across the range.
What hasn't changed is the choice of engines under the Charger's long hood. A 3.7-liter V6 serves as the base mill, and can be had in both rear- and all-wheel-drive varieties, while the 5.7-liter V8 is an optional item and can be had in rear-drive only. Outputs are also carried over from last year, with 292 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque for the six-pot, while the Hemi V8 delivers 370 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque.
The new exterior treatment is a fairly large departure from the styling tone set by the Charger since its reintroduction to the US market in 2006. The blacked-out, crosshair grille and new headlamps are the biggest changes for 2015, though there are other, less immediately noticeable updates, such as the more rounded "Racetrack" taillamps that, like the front fascia, draw some inspiration from the Dart.

Dodge Demon exorcised by Rhys Millen in new video

When you call your car something like the Demon, it provides plenty of opportunity to play around with the name Í— especially when said car has 840 horsepower directed to the rear wheels. Pennzoil is doing just that in the above video, called "Exorcising the Demon." In it, Rhys Millen tears up the streets of Pittsburgh at night in a black and yellow Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, smoking tires, popping wheelies and breaking the rear end loose in massive drifts around corners. He even pulls a pretty hairy 360. It's certainly a lot different sort of driving from the straight-line drag-strip experience for which the Dodge Demon was purpose-built. At the end of the video, Millen parks the car below a gargoyle, whose eyes briefly glow a menacing red. Millen sends a text message saying "The Demon is back in its place." The response: "Das good. How are you in the Ring?" (Hmm.) Then the clip ends, and we're told the story will be continued. If you don't want to wait for more cinematic Demon action, you can check out Pennzoil's behind-the-scenes video, called, "Unleashing Unprecedented Power." In it, we get to see more angles of the stunt driving, hear about the production, and, of course, get a plug for Pennzoil: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Pennzoil also offers a few other Dodge Demon videos, one about the car's development, one about its performance, and a third focused on Pennzoil Synthetics. Earlier this year, Pennzoil also did a similar video series to bid farewell to the Dodge Viper. Related Video: News Source: Pennzoil Dodge Coupe Performance Videos dodge demon dodge challenger srt demon pennzoil