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Chinese automaker Great Wall wants to buy Jeep

As Chinese automakers look to break into the U.S. market, we've been hearing about how companies in China are courting FCA. After GM and Volkswagen each shut the possibility of a merger, an unnamed Chinese company stepped up to the table. Its offer to buy FCA was refused, but the suitors are still knocking. Now, Automotive News reports that Chinese automaker Great Wall is interested in making a deal specifically to purchase the Jeep brand. Great Wall President Wang Fengying told Automotive News in an email that her company is "connecting with FCA" to start the negotiation process. FCA, though, told the publication that it hasn't been approached by Great Wall. Great Wall's offer, if accepted, would separate Jeep Í— FCA's most valuable brand Í— from the rest of the FCA portfolio. It's not unthinkable that FCA would consider selling Jeep on its own. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne has said he'd consider spinning off Jeep and Ram. The company also said it could see making Maserati and Alfa Romeo into a separate company as well. Jeep, though, might be worth more on its own that the entirety of FCA with Jeep included, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. This complicates the matter for any potential buyer that owns FCA franchise dealerships, and for FCA, for which Jeep is an attractor for selling the company as a whole. Great Wall, which only generates $14.7 billion in annual revenue (compared to FCA's $131 billion), is confident it could raise the funds to buy Jeep. As Automotive News points out, though, there could be a bidding war brewing if Jeep can be bought separately from the rest of the brands. Still, As Great Wall spokesman Xu Hui said, the company has been following Jeep, and sees it as a key to achieving its goal of becoming "the world's largest SUV maker." Great Wall already has research and development facilities in Detroit and Los Angeles. The Chinese company is also considering building a factory in the U.S. rather than in Mexico. Whether or not Great Wall acquires Jeep, it wants to sell SUVs in the U.S., and having a factory in the States means it wouldn't have to worry about Trump renegotiating NAFTA. Jeep is currently expanding its market presence, and has new vehicles, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, on the way in 2019. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Weekly Recap: Matthew McConaughey's star shines brightly for Lincoln

The commercials were a little strange at first, but the ensuing spoofs were hilarious. And all jokes aside, Matthew McConaughey has made a difference for Lincoln. Advertisements starring the Oscar winner launched in September, and the results have been impressive. The number of customers clicking on Lincoln.com to check out the MKC – the crossover McConaughey pitched – has tripled since the ads began airing, a spokesman told Autoblog. They also generated 4.4 million views on YouTube and spawned parodies by Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O'Brien, South Park and Jim Carrey on Saturday Night Live, which racked up another 15 million views. Most importantly, Lincoln's sales have increased 15 percent through November, helped significantly by the strong launch of the MKC. Without the addition of the MKC, Lincoln's sales would have been essentially flat last year. The MKC has received solid reviews from consumers and the press, though it has had several recalls. "The overwhelming response to the MKC campaign sparked truly great awareness for Lincoln," Andrew Frick, Lincoln group marketing manager, said in a statement. Now Lincoln has launched another round of spots, which kicked off New Year's Day during college football bowl games. This time, McConaughey is hawking the MKZ sedan and its hybrid sibling. The spots, called Diner and Balance, use the same artistic formula as the earlier ads, with McConaughey intoning seriously about the cars in dramatic settings. They were shot over two days in Los Angeles and were directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, a Danish filmmaker who directed the 2011 move, Drive. The ads continue Lincoln's multiyear deal with McConaughey, who has said he's been long been interested in the brand. He starred in the 2011 thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer, as a defense attorney who worked out of a Town Car, though that was before his deal with Lincoln. In one of the earlier ads, McConaughey claims: "I've been driving a Lincoln since long before anybody paid me to drive one. I didn't do it to be cool. I didn't to it to make a statement. I just liked it." That sentiment appears to have worked for the MKC's launch, and with this new advertising blitz, Lincoln hopes it carries over to the MKZ. Other News And Notes Infiniti Q30 spied in winter testing Infiniti is continuing development work on the Q30 small crossover, and we've recently captured it during winter testing.

First Jeepster prototype spotted with final, boxy form

The long-awaited baby Jeep is getting closer to production, as evidenced by these spy photos. Previously, the only images of the so-called Jeepster saw it wearing a Fiat 500L body (see below), while this new batch of photos show hefty amounts of camouflage. How is that better? Well, it's very likely there's a production body hiding under all that cladding.
While picking out styling details is virtually impossible thanks to all the camo, as our spies point out, this gives us a very sound idea of the Jeepster's final size. It's small, although we'd argue that it's only slightly smaller than the current Jeep Patriot, based on the images of the newest Jeep sitting in front of an Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
As we reported previously, this little bambino will be built on a Fiat platform, but the styling should be uniquely Jeep - likely to include a somewhat vertical seven-slat grille and round headlights. We can expect to see a production Jeepster, if that ends up being the actual name (Latitude has been rumored, although as that's traditionally a trim level, we imagine there'd be some confusion), when it debuts at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.