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Fiat Chrysler CEO says final merger talks with Peugeot going well

BRUSSELS — Fiat Chrysler's chief executive Michael Manley said on Wednesday that merger talks with Peugeot owner PSA  to create the world's No. 4 carmaker are progressing well and he hopes to have a deal within 12-14 months. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an industry meeting, he said he doesn't expect any major obstacles that could delay a final agreement. "Talks are progressing really well," Manley said about negotiations with the French carmaker ahead of a briefing by the European automotive association (ACEA), of which he is president. His comments come a month after the two carmakers agreed to a binding deal worth about $50 billion to combine forces in response to a slowdown in global demand and mounting costs of making cleaner vehicles amid tighter emissions regulations. Manley's timeline for completing the deal by early 2021 is in line with a forecast made by the companies in December. Fiat and Peugeot are now getting into the details of how the merger will work, including choosing which vehicle platforms — the technological underpinnings of a vehicle — will fit which products in a combined company. Because customers in different locations still prefer vastly different cars, there is room for multiple platforms in a combined group, Manley said. "That global platform is an elusive beast," he added. "This concept of a massive global platform in my mind is almost a myth, but that doesnÂ’t mean to say weÂ’re not going to recruit significant volume." Related Video:    

Car that screams on the street of dreams: Cruising Woodward in a Hellcat | AutoblogVR

If you love cars, you've probably at least heard of the Woodward Dream Cruise. Millions of people make the pilgrimage to Woodward Avenue with thousands of cars every year. Obviously the Dream Cruise is amazing, but you don't need to wait for the official Cruise to experience Woodward. In this episode of AutoblogVR, join Greg Migliore as he drives up and down the street of Dreams in a Dodge Charger Hellcat. Greg starts the drive by talking about how epic his chariot is. The Dodge Charger Hellcat has a 0-60 time of 3.7 seconds and a price tag of only $65,945. Of course the Hellcat's true power couldn't be unleashed driving along the historic road, but that didn't dampen Greg's spirits. After all, driving on one of the first patches of paved road in America is a pretty great experience no matter how fast you're going. After giving a bit of a history lesson and explaining the significance of Woodward to the Hellcat specifically, we get to one of the best ways to experience Woodward - tracking down some of the best food! Greg pops in to his favorite pub and gives us a tour, but one pub is just the tip of the iceberg. With all of the culture along the 27-mile span, this road is a must-drive for any car enthusiast. But if you can't make it out, experiencing it in 360° VR is the next best thing. Each month, new episodes will launch on the AutoblogVR App. We'll be posting them here on Autoblog, but for the best experience, head over to the app, which you can download for free from the App store and Google Play. Be sure to try it with a cardboard viewer, too! Dodge Coupe Performance Videos VR Original Video

Guy trying to sell Challenger Hellcat for $89,000 because VIN ends in '666'

The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat is undoubtedly one of the baddest cars on the road today. With a 707-horsepower supercharged V8 snarling under the hood, the coupe can go down the road like a bat out of hell. There's not much that could make one of these muscle machines much more menacing, but a seller on Craigslist has one bizarre solution: offering a hellacious Hellcat with a VIN marking the Dodge as the beastly 666. What's the price for such unholy identification? That's a cool $89,000 – around $30,000 more than a brand new, less sacrilegious example. The seller claims that the Challenger's blasphemous number makes the vehicle "one of a kind," which is true only to the extent that VINs ending 665 and 667 would be similarly unique. The seller also says in the Craigslist ad, "This car is sure to become a collector's item and will only increase in value." There's no question that the Hellcat is a special machine, and the models just might be worth something decades into the future. Expecting that a future owner is going to care about the VIN seems pretty optimistic, though, unless this is either the first or last example, which it's not. To the credit of this superstitious seller, the Challenger appears completely untouched with all of the warning stickers, paperwork and even the plastic still covering the seats. So, the new owner is at least getting a practically untouched example. While we applaud audacity here, a roughly $30,000 premium for an unholy VIN seems a bit... devilish.