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Marchionne to take his sweater and go home after 2018

The end is in sight for Fiat Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne, who confirmed in an interview with Bloomberg that once FCA's sweeping five-year plan is completed, he'd be stepping down from his post to "undoubtedly" do something else that didn't involve turning around global corporations. That would mean he should finish up after 2018 if all goes according to plan.
"It's as important to walk away from the table as it is to sit down," Marchionne told Bloomberg.
Marchionne has been at Fiat since June of 2004 and is one of the chief architects behind the Italian company's acquisition of Chrysler. Despite his successes, he does sound quite ready to move beyond the auto industry, rhetorically asking his Bloomberg interviewers if there "are other things I like to do apart from this?"

At meeting with automakers, Trump launches new attack on NAFTA

WASHINGTON — Ten American and foreign automakers went to the White House on Friday to push for a weakening of U.S. fuel efficiency standards through 2025, while President Donald Trump used the occasion to launch a fresh attack on the North American Free Trade Agreement that has benefited the companies. A draft proposal circulated by the U.S. Transportation Department would freeze fuel efficiency requirements at 2020 levels through 2026, rather than allowing them to increase as previously planned. Trump's administration is expected to formally unveil the proposal later this month or in June. "We're working on CAFE standards, environmental controls," Trump told reporters at the top of the meeting, referring to the Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks in the United States. Trump said he wants automakers to build more vehicles in the United States and export more vehicles. But much of the hour-long meeting focused on NAFTA. Trump blasted the pact involving the United States, Canada and Mexico as "terrible" and noted that negotiations to make changes sought by his administration were ongoing. "NAFTA has been a horrible, horrible disaster for this country and we'll see if we can make it reasonable," Trump said. Automakers have called NAFTA a success, allowing them to integrate production throughout North America and make production competitive with Asia and Europe, and have noted the increase in auto production over the past two decades with the deal in place. They have warned that changing NAFTA too much could prompt some companies to move production out of the United States. The chief executives of General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co, Fiat Chrysler, along with senior U.S. executives from Toyota Motor Corp, Volkswagen AG, Hyundai Motor Co, Nissan Motor Co, Honda Motor Co , BMW AG and Daimler AG met with Trump, as did the chief executives of two auto trade groups. Major automakers reiterated this week they do not support freezing fuel efficiency requirements but said they want new flexibility and rule changes to address lower gasoline prices and the shift in U.S. consumer preferences to bigger, less fuel-efficient vehicles.

Fiat is hitting the reset button on the 500L Urbana

Fiat is refreshing something most people probably never even knew existed: the "Urbana" 500L. For 2019, the Urbana Edition offers a value-minded black-out appearance package in attempts to jazz up the less-than-jazzy XXL 500. Fiat first introduced the 500L Urbana Trekking style package in 2014 for the 2015 model year. Since its introduction, the included trimmings have slightly changed, but the idea remains the same: a style package that aggregates numerous add-ons for a discount price. On 2018 models, the $395 option offered 17-inch black wheels, a black roof, and black side mirrors. Now called the Urbana Edition, the package is still only available on the Trekking trim but now costs $595. It offers gloss black 17-inch wheels, Miron Black door handle accents, black side-body trim, black fog lamps, black side mirrors, and blacked-out fascias. The Urbana Edition is available in black Bronzo Metallizato, Bianco, Grigio Scuro, Verde Bosco, and a contrasting black roof remains optional. Inside, Fiat only added minor changes. Black leather seats have contrasting copper stitching, and the dashboard features a copper 500 logo to signify the special edition. The updated 2019 Fiat 500L Urbana Edition will be available starting this spring.