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Is a Jeep Renegade Hybrid coming soon?

We've known that Jeep is working on an updated Renegade. We've seen prototypes with updated front and rear fascias and with updated interiors. But it seems that the next Renegade will have more than just cosmetic updates. One of our spy photographers caught Jeep testing a Renegade Trailhawk that looks like a normal current one, but it has an electric shock warning sign in the window. Can we therefore assume it'll be a Jeep Renegade Hybrid? This sign seems to indicate that the Renegade will offer some sort of electrified powertrain. And its use on a lifted, off-road oriented Renegade Trailhawk seems to indicate that it'll be available throughout the trim level lineup. The question is, will it really be a hybrid or something like the Wrangler four-cylinder that features a 48-volt electrical system and a starter/generator for mild electrical assistance? This system is becoming more and more common as a way for car companies to eke out a few more mpg as well as adding some performance gains. Then again, we never saw this sign in any prototype Wranglers, so it could be possible this Renegade is using a more traditional hybrid system like you would find in a Prius or Ioniq. FCA certainly has experience with full hybrids, as evidenced by the Pacifica PHEV. The Wrangler will be getting a PHEV iteration, too. We probably don't have long to find out what sort of electrification the Renegade will receive. The visually updated prototypes we've seen aren't radically changed, so it likely won't take long to finish testing and release them. We're expecting to see the little SUV revealed by the end of the year, and probably on lots early in 2019. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery Jeep Renegade hybrid spy shots Image Credit: KGP Photography Green Spy Photos Jeep Crossover SUV Economy Cars Hybrid Off-Road Vehicles jeep renegade

Marchionne uses racial epithet to describe what must power future Alfa Romeo models

Sergio Marchionne and his Fiat empire have a lot riding on the US return of the Alfa Romeo brand. The endeavor has been in progress for what feels like a lifetime - certainly for as long as Fiat has had the Chrysler brand under its Italian wing.
It's not surprising that Fiat CEO Marchionne needs a perfect first Alfa to mark a return to America. And here's where things get dicey. Nobody would argue with Marchionne's insistence that Alfa Romeo's be powered by Italian engines - as Marchionne himself is quoted to have said at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, "There are some things that are well done in Italy."
If not what he said, then, it's how he said it that has eyebrows raised. "I cannot come up with a schlock product, I just won't. I won't put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine." Wait, what's that?

Hyundai reportedly eyeing a takeover of FCA

The CEO of Hyundai Motor Group plans to launch a takeover bid for Fiat Chrysler ahead of the planned retirement of FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne next spring, Asia Times reports, citing unnamed sources close the situation. CEO Chung Mong-koo will wait for an expected decline in the Italian-American automaker's shares to make his move. Hyundai isn't commenting on the rumors, unsurprisingly, but would presumably stand to benefit by gaining Chrysler's dealer network and the lucrative Jeep brand and probably Ram, too. An FCA spokeswoman in Auburn Hills told Autoblog the company had no comment. But like any story about a possible takeover, this one gets complicated with inside players — and President Trump's posturing on international trade issues. FCA has been the subject of takeover interest before, including by Hyundai, but Marchionne has denied a merger was likely, instead saying his company was in talks with the Korean automaker about a technical partnership. In 2015, Marchionne lobbied General Motors hard, but unsuccessfully, for a tie-up; he was also spurned by Volkswagen. Marchionne had repeatedly stressed the need for car companies to merge to decrease overcapacity and better afford the massive investments needed for things like autonomous and electric vehicles. In the case of Hyundai's reported interest, there is a cast of characters. One is Paul Singer, principal of the hedge fund Elliott Management, an activist shareholder with a $1 billion stake in Hyundai and a major owner of equities in Fiat's home turf of Italy. Then there is FCA Chairman John Elkann, who reportedly disagrees with Marchionne on a successor as CEO of Fiat Chrysler but has little interest in running the company himself and would prefer a merger. Compounding things is what the Trump administration would think of a further blending of Fiat Chrysler's international DNA, though a deal with a Korean automaker is thought to be more palatable to the president and members of Congress than by a Chinese conglomerate like Great Wall Motor, which has confirmed its interest in taking over all or parts of FCA. The full Asia Times piece is here. Related Video: News Source: Asia TimesImage Credit: REUTERS/Rebecca Cook Chrysler Fiat Hyundai Jeep RAM Sergio Marchionne FCA merger takeover