Tag: FCA

Rare Rides: A 1971 Maserati Quattroporte Prototype, the King’s Sedan

<img data-attachment-id=”1774900″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan/1971-maserati-quattroporte-3/” data-orig-file=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1971-Maserati-Quattroporte-3.png” data-orig-size=”1920,1080″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”1971 Maserati Quattroporte 3″ data-image-description=”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJqTZPCsgQ

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-6.png” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan.png” class=”aligncenter wp-image-1774900 size-large” src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan.png” alt width=”610″ height=”343″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan.png 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-5.png 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-6.png 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-7.png 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-8.png 120w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-9.png 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>Today’s Rare Ride was one of just two finished examples of the ill-fated second generation Maserati Quattroporte. Maserati envisioned a promising future for their large luxury sedan, but the company’s corporate parentage at the time had other (worse) ideas.

And this very car was fit for a king.

Maserati produced its first-generation Quattroporte from 1963 to 1969, a very early example of a brand new class of car: the high-performance grand touring sedan. With a large engine at the front and lots of leather in the middle, it was one of three Sixties sedans from Europe able to meet a 200 kph (124 mph) top speed.

<img data-attachment-id=”1774898″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan/1971-maserati-quattroporte-4/” data-orig-file=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1971-Maserati-Quattroporte-4.png” data-orig-size=”1920,1080″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”1971 Maserati Quattroporte 4″ data-image-description=”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJqTZPCsgQ

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-11.png” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-1.png” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1774898″ src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-1.png” alt width=”610″ height=”343″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-1.png 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-10.png 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-11.png 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-12.png 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-13.png 120w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-14.png 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>By the end of the Sixties, the original Quattroporte styling was looking fairly dated. Karim Aga Khan wanted a fresher Quattroporte and ordered up a bespoke sedan. Maserati set to work and built a new four-door on the Indy’s platform. Exterior design was handed to Frua, as the first-gen model was penned by Pietro himself. The new Quattroporte used Maserati’s 4.9-liter V8, good for 296 horsepower. Said power traveled to the rear wheels via an unspecified automatic transmission.

<img data-attachment-id=”1774896″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan/1971-maserati-quattroporte-5/” data-orig-file=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1971-Maserati-Quattroporte-5.png” data-orig-size=”1920,1080″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”1971 Maserati Quattroporte 5″ data-image-description=”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJqTZPCsgQ

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-16.png” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-2.png” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1774896″ src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-2.png” alt width=”610″ height=”343″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-2.png 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-15.png 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-16.png 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-17.png 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-18.png 120w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-19.png 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>The car was production-ready by 1971 and was displayed that year at the Paris Motor Show. Maserati knew there was a market for the new Quattroporte, and sealed its production fate with a new chassis code: AM121. But Maserati’s product plans were no longer their own to dictate, as the company’s ownership had passed from the Orsi family to Citroën in 1968.

<img data-attachment-id=”1774904″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan/1971-maserati-quattroporte-2/” data-orig-file=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1971-Maserati-Quattroporte-2.png” data-orig-size=”1920,1080″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”1971 Maserati Quattroporte 2″ data-image-description=”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJqTZPCsgQ

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-21.png” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-3.png” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1774904″ src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-3.png” alt width=”610″ height=”343″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-3.png 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-20.png 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-21.png 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-22.png 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-23.png 120w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-24.png 800w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>Citroën took a look at the very Italian and ready-to-go AM121, and said “Mais non, you will not build this car.” The French brass pressed Maserati to move on in a different direction with Quattroporte – a front-drive direction. The basis for the newly-ordered Quattroporte II (AM123) would be Citroën’s own SM luxury coupe. That one was a big flop but we’ll discuss it in another Rare Rides.

<img data-attachment-id=”1774906″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan/1971-maserati-quattroporte/” data-orig-file=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/1971-Maserati-Quattroporte.png” data-orig-size=”1645,1013″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”1971 Maserati Quattroporte” data-image-description=”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zJqTZPCsgQ

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-26.png” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-4.png” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1774906″ src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-4.png” alt width=”610″ height=”376″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-4.png 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-25.png 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-26.png 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-27.png 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/rare-rides-a-1971-maserati-quattroporte-prototype-the-kings-sedan-28.png 120w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>In the end, only two examples of the AM121 Quattroporte were finished. Aga Khan received his (chassis number 004) in 1974. The other finished example was chassis number 002, completed in 1971 and retained by Frua. Frua sold it fairly quickly to the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. The king’s blue over tan AM121 goes to auction in November at Le Castellet, wherever that is.

Note: Images in this article are of the later 004 chassis, as they were the only ones publicly available for use.

[Images: YouTube]

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Daimler Getting Back Into Bed With Chrysler for Battery Biz

<img data-attachment-id=”1680728″ data-permalink=”https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2019/07/what-ever-happened-to-mercedes-dieselgate/shutterstock_1057775735/” data-orig-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-5.jpg” data-orig-size=”1000,667″ data-comments-opened=”1″ data-image-meta=”{“aperture”:”0″,”credit”:””,”camera”:””,”caption”:””,”created_timestamp”:”0″,”copyright”:””,”focal_length”:”0″,”iso”:”0″,”shutter_speed”:”0″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”1″}” data-image-title=”mercedes logo mercedes-benz hood ornament” data-image-description=”

Pixfly/Shutterstock

” data-medium-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-2.jpg” data-large-file=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz.jpg” class=”aligncenter size-large wp-image-1680728″ src=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz.jpg” alt width=”610″ height=”407″ srcset=”http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz.jpg 610w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-1.jpg 75w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-2.jpg 450w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-3.jpg 768w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-4.jpg 120w, http://greatoldtrucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/daimler-getting-back-into-bed-with-chrysler-for-battery-biz-5.jpg 1000w” sizes=”(max-width: 610px) 100vw, 610px”>

Daimler is getting cozy with Chrysler again, or at least the American side of Stellantis, so they can tackle battery development and production. Those in the know will recall that Chrysler has been passed around more than a bottle of booze at a middle school party. But its long history of partnerships also kept it in business and resulted in some of its better products.

Before the Amero-French merger that resulted in Stellantis, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles was an Italian-American company with facilities dotted around North America. Prior to that, it was known as DaimlerChrysler – resulting in the LX Platform, Pentastar V6, and a wider variety of Jeep Wranglers. Now, Chrysler’s alienated German wife has shown up on the doorstep with a wad of cash and news that she’ll be investing it into the new battery business. 

Daimler has purchased a 33 percent stake of Automotive Cells Company (AAC), which was established and uncreatively named by Stellantis and TotalEnergies, in a bid to ensure Europe parent isn’t left behind in the electric revolution.

“Mercedes-Benz pursues a very ambitious transformation plan and this investment marks a strategic milestone on our path to CO2 neutrality. Together with ACC, we will develop and efficiently produce battery cells and modules in Europe – tailor-made to the specific Mercedes-Benz requirements,” Ola Källenius, CEO of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, explained. “This new partnership allows us to secure supply, to take advantage of economies of scale, and to provide our customers with superior battery technology. On top of that we can help to ensure that Europe remains at the heart of the auto industry – even in an electric era: With Mercedes-Benz as a new partner, ACC aims to more than double capacity at its European sites to support Europe’s industrial competitiveness in the design and manufacturing of battery cells.”

From Daimler:

The entire ACC project will require an investment volume of more than seven billion euros – in a combination of equity, debt and subsidies – to reach a capacity of at least 120 Gigawatt hours in Europe by the end of the decade. Mercedes-Benz will invest a mid-three-digit-million euros amount next year. In total, the investments are expected to remain below one billion Euros. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including agreement on definitive documentation and regulatory approvals.

The German automaker would like to scale up the development and production of next-generation battery cells and modules so it can keep its promise of being an all-electric company by 2030. However, it said it needs a total battery production capacity of more than 200 Gigawatt hours by that time, requiring it to build at least eight facilities and engage in numerous partnerships.

Following Daimler’s formal investment, the company will have an even 33 percent equity stake in ACC – giving it two of the six Supervisory Board seats and equal footing with Total and Stellantis. It’s expected that hardware will begin manifesting within the next couple of years and be shared among the three companies. For now, Daimler will be providing its “technical and production know-how” to help spur development. But more direct involvement is anticipated when the automaker finishes its Drive Systems Campus finishes construction in 2023, with additional European facilities to be considered later.

[Image: Pixfly/Shutterstock]

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Stellantis Enjoys Warm Welcome from European Investors

Stellantis Chairman John Elkann is meeting with the media tomorrow to talk about the company’s future.

Not every merger involving an automaker these days involves a blank-check company. The newly minted tie-up between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A. was finalized over the weekend and the resulting company, Stellantis N.V., is enjoying a warm welcome.

At least on the stock market.

The new company’s stock trades on three exchanges and it finished the day on the Paris exchange up nearly 7%, closing at €13.14. It also jumped up 7.7% on the Milan exchange.

The New York Stock Exchange, the third exchange it’s traded on, was not open today due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

(Chrysler is no more as Stellantis comes to life.)

CEO Carlos Tavares has a lot on his corporate plate now that the merger is complete.

The $52 billion merger of near equals creates a massive enterprise with operations on six continents, employs about 400,000 people, sells – at least for the time being – 14 vehicle brands and sells 8.1 million vehicles annually, making it the fourth-largest automaker in the world behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

With all of those possibilities, it’s going to take a press conference Tuesday to start revealing what Stellantis will look like now that’s it’s a living, breathing entity. What brands will stay? How many workers will keep their jobs?

People are nervous because the CEO of the new enterprise, Carlos Tavares, has a history of being fearless when it comes to eliminating unprofitable operations and processes in the pursuit of corporate profit. One need only look at how what he did with former General Motors’ subsidiary Opel. A money-loser for a decade, he had it in the black in one year.

(FCA CEO Manley gets new assignment following Stellantis merger.)

“Stellantis faces a mixed outlook as U.S. stimulus plans may buoy Chrysler vs. a more uncertain outlook for Peugeot in Europe,” Michael Dean, BI automotive analyst told Bloomberg. “Former PSA CEO Carlos Tavares takes the helm and, similar to his handling of PSA’s takeover of Opel in 2017, we anticipate a new strategy in the first 100 days of his stewardship. All regions face a difficult 1H amid continued lockdowns.”

Quirky name aside, investors gave Stellantis a warm welcome when it began trading Monday.

The two companies have worked to allay fears of major cutbacks in France and Italy. While top managers have outlined plans to trim costs by $6 billion following the merger, they insist they will be able to do that without closing any plants. They have outlined 40% of those cost savings coming from purchasing, 40% from combining product development efforts, and 20% from marketing and other operations.

However, it’s unclear how Tavares plans to tackle other issues such as improving the company’s performance in China, the world’s largest automotive market, and bolstering its electrification efforts, especially in the aforementioned China as well as in the U.S. Just addressing those two issues are likely to require billions of dollars and euros. Some of plans for these things and more may get touched on Tuesday, Marco Santino, a partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman, told Reuters.

(Fiat Chrysler and PSA not exactly a “merger of equals.”)

“He has proven to be the kind of person who prefers action to words, so I don’t think he will make loud statements or try to over-sell targets,” he said.

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Chrysler is No More as Stellantis Comes to Life

 

Is this the last logo that will use the Chrysler name?

Chrysler is dead.

Perhaps a bit dramatic, but nevertheless, the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. and Peugeot S.A. became effective today, resulting in Stellantis N.V. Shares of the newly formed Stellantis begin trading on exchanges in France, Italy and the U.S. starting Monday. All will use the ticker symbol STLA.

The deal has been going through extensive regulatory approvals, twin shareholder votes and the necessary dottings of i’s and crossings of t’s for more than a year.

As of today, that means that for the first time since June 6, 1925, when it was founded by Walter P. Chrysler, the Chrysler name will no longer exist as a corporate entity.

(FCA CEO Manley gets new assignment following Stellantis merger.)

 

Stellantis is alive! The company’s stock begins trading on three exchanges Monday.

In many ways, the Chrysler name was a survivor. The company’s been through a variety of mergers, potential mergers and bankruptcies. It escaped the “merger of equals,” DaimlerChrysler from the late 1990s.

It was essentially spared its life when the late Sergio Marchionne swooped in and offered to keep it going if the U.S. government would help it through bankruptcy in 2009. The final deal got done with Chrysler Group LLC becoming part of FCA US LLC to follow

the naming convention of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. on Dec. 16, 2014.

Chrysler Corp. fought its way through several near misses when it came to mergers as potential deals with Japanese automaker Mitsubishi, China’s GAC and most recently an effort to merge with Peugeot’s French rival, Renault S.A., a deal that was reportedly scuttled after demands by the French government, which holds an ownership stake in Renault, were too much for then FCA CEO Mike Manley to accept.

(Fiat, PSA set to get EU go-ahead to complete Stellantis merger.)

Then there was the effort by the aforementioned Marchionne to find a partner for FCA, seemingly almost any partner would do. He approached General Motors and was promptly rebuffed. He reportedly got the same treatment from Volkswagen. There was even a rumored dalliance with EV behemoth Tesla, which would have bolstered FCA’s basically non-existent electric vehicle program.

 

The arrival of Stellantis means for the first time in 95 years the Chrysler name won’t be on a corporate marquee.

It also survived a previous bankruptcy in the late 1970s, paying off the loans early with its charismatic CEO Lee Iacocca, who came over from Ford, helping to lead the company’s charge back to prosperity. Chrysler did enjoy one major merger success when it acquired American Motors in 1987, including – and especially – the Jeep brand.

In fact, no one seems certain what the future holds for the Chrysler name period. Early in the process, officials said that all brands would be retained, but time and economics often change the equation and currently, the Chrysler brand offers just two products: the Chrysler Pacifica minivan and 300 sedan. Neither are in segments that are seeing sales gains.

To be fair, there’s been some speculation about the survival of the Fiat name in the same vein. Fiat’s been around even longer, founded in Turin, Italy in 1899. In the U.S., it’s only offering the 500X in 2021.

(Fiat Chrysler and PSA not exactly a “merger of equals.”)

The Chrysler name isn’t the only vestige of FCA seemingly taking a step back as its CEO Mike Manley is no longer in charge, that duty going to PSA’s Carlos Tavares nor will he be on the board of directors as John Elkann, FCA’s chairman, will take that spot as the chairman of the new Stellantis. Manley, 56, is now Head of the Americas.

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Down to Single Model in 2021, is Fiat Long for the U.S. Market?

 

Fiat’s only U.S. offering for the 2021 model-year will be the 500X, a moderately revised version of the Jeep Renegade.

Fans of the Fiat 124 Spider better be racing to showrooms if they want one of the little roadsters as there’ll be no more of them coming to the U.S. market for the 2021 model-year, the automaker has announced.

The subcompact Fiat 500L crossover also is being culled from the line-up for 2021, following the once iconic 500 microcar that vanished after the 2019 model-year. All three products were victims of slow and declining sales.

“For the 2021 model year, the Fiat lineup will feature the Fiat 500X small crossover, which offers unique and functional Italian design, standard all-wheel-drive capability, 9-speed automatic transmission, 30 mpg highway and best-in-class 210 lb-ft of torque,” the Italian brand said in a statement confirming long-standing rumors that, “The Fiat 124 Spider and the Fiat 500L will be discontinued after the 2020 model year.”

For those that follow the industry and, in particular, the Fiat brand, the news was anything but a surprise.

(While its future is uncertain, the Fiat brand is committing heavily to electric powertrains going forward.)

 

Unveiled for 2017, the Fiat 124 Spider brought back a once legendary name, but the roadster was part of a joint venture and shared underpinnings with the latest-generation Mazda Miata.

A decade ago, when Fiat came to the rescue of floundering Chrysler, securing a federal bailout with the merger creating Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, there were high hopes for the Italian brand. It had pulled out of the American market in 1983, a victim of poor quality and increasingly irrelevant products. But FCA’s CEO Sergio Marchionne laid out a grand plan to bring it back, while also building up the Italian company’s more upscale Alfa Romeo and Maserati marques.

But, for the Fiat brand, things went wrong right from the start. The launch of the original 500 model was seriously botched, far fewer dealers lined up than expected, for one thing. Laura Soaves, the executive running the revival was summarily dispatched less than a year later.

Not everything was her fault, however. Soaves had laid out an ambitious target backed by projections that small car sales in the U.S. would nearly double between 2011 and 2014, to around 1 million annually. While soaring fuel prices initially helped move things in the right direction, demand soon lost momentum as Americans by the million shifted from sedans, coupes and hatchbacks to SUVs and CUVs.

(The FCA/PSA deal is not exactly a “merger of equals.”)

Fiat responded with two new entries, the microvan-like 500L and the more utish 500X. While the X did generate some buzz, the L was largely dead on arrival.

 

The launch of the Fiat 500 was a disastrous mess and the addition of an all-electric 500e did little to salvage things.

The brand, as a whole, wasn’t doing much better. In 2012, Fiat’s first full calendar-year in the U.S. market, sales totaled 46,999. Rather than marking a starting point, it would prove to be the automaker’s all-time high. By 2018, sales slipped to 15,521 and tumbled below the five-digit market a year later, to a mere 9,204. So far, this year, demand has been averaging below 400 vehicles a month, sales showing little upward momentum as the overall market has begun recovering from the pandemic’s spring slump.

“Their sales are floundering,” writes analyst Timothy Cain in the automotive research site GoodCarBadCar. Demand has now reached “the lowest mark of the company since their reintroduction to the US market after a 25 year absence.”

During a splashy June 2018 event designed to outline the company’s next five-year strategic plan, CEO Marchionne took pains to say Fiat was here to stay, both in the U.S. and worldwide. But not everyone was convinced by the presentation – which was notably short on detailing future product plans. “There was enough doubt…about their future because they barely showed up in the presentations,” said Joe Phillippi, chief analyst with AutoTrends Consulting, after attending the event in Milan.

Little to nothing has been done since then to improve confidence in the Fiat brand, especially following Marchionne’s unexpected death a month later.

 

Even gussied up concept versions couldn’t do much to build interest in the Fiat 500L which also will vanish for 2021.

His successor, Mike Manley, hasn’t written off Fiat, at least not publicly, but he will have a diminished role come the first quarter of 2021. That’s when Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA expect to complete the merger that will create Stellantis. The combined company will become the world’s fourth-largest automaker by volume. And it will rival industry top dog Volkswagen Group in terms of its total brand count. The French company not only will bring in familiar Peugeot and Citroen but newer luxury brand DS, as well as the Opel and Vauxhall brands purchased from General Motors a few years back.

PSA’s current CEO Carlos Tavares will retain his role under Stellantis. Ironically, he’s also looking to bring back to the U.S. the French automaker’s flagship Peugeot, which has been out of the market for nearly three decades. Whether Tavares will have patience to rebuild Fiat, as well, is uncertain – though, as the new Stellantis head of the Americas, Manley could argue in its favor – if so inclined.

But there are plenty of observers – and more than a few within FCA – who think the merger will bring to an end the Fiat experiment. Indeed, its future is far from certain worldwide, though it does fare better in some global markets.

(Review: A week with the Fiat 500X.)

For now, the 2021 model-year will see Fiat’s U.S. showrooms selling just the one model, the Fiat 500X a slightly redesigned version of the more popular Jeep Renegade. That said, shoppers looking for bargains may also find steeply discounted leftovers of the 124 roadster and 500L crossover for some time to come.

Auto Workers in Canada Vote to Authorize Strike

Unifor President Jerry Dias said that hourly workers at all Detroit Three automakers approved a strike, if necessary.

Members of Unifor, the Canadian union representing blue-collar workers at General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, authorized strike at all three companies.

The union’s three bargaining committees will decide if a strike is necessary as the negotiations move forward. The deadline for settlement at one of the companies, which, as in bargaining in the United States, will set the pattern, is Sept. 21.

Traditionally, Unifor, the successor to the Canadian Auto Workers, follows a “no-extension” policy during bargaining.

(Unifor vows to fight FCA plan to cut third shift in Windsor.)

Dias said the strike target will be revealed during the Labor Day holiday.

“Our members voted overwhelmingly to support their bargaining committees and our bargaining priorities, including; job security, product commitments and economic gains for all members” said Unifor National President Jerry Dias.

“We will continue to push our agenda at the bargaining table, but remind government that they have an active role to play in securing our auto industry’s future. A future made in Canada,” Dias said.

Workers at General Motors voted 95.3% in favor, those at Ford voted 96.4% in favor and at FCA, voted 98.4% in favor of strike action in votes that took place over the weekend.

(General Motors, Unifor ink deal for Oshawa plant.)

On or around Labor Day, Unifor plans to announce the company designated as the strike target, and will continue negotiations with that company until reaching a settlement and no later than the strike deadline on Sept. 21 at 11:59 p.m.

Dias begins the current set of negations with Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler.

The union opened formal contract talks with the Detroit Three in Toronto on Aug. 12. Unifor’s theme for these talks is The Future is Made in Canada. The union will be looking to secure new products for the various plants, such as a replace for the Ford Edge, which is slated to be phased out in 2023.

Dias told CBC one of the companies is already standing out for him, but he wouldn’t specify which one. He said the union will make a decision on the target by Sept. 8 and hope that a settlement can be reached no later than the strike deadline Sept. 21.

(GM, Ford shutting down the “Arsenal of Health.”)

“It really is about the company that’s prepared and understands what our economic needs are … [and] understands strategically that it’s in their best interest to have a footprint here in Canada for the short and long term,” Dias said.

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U.S. New Car Sales Continue Rebounding – But the Industry Isn’t Yet Out of the Woods

Pickups like the Ford F-150 have been the industry’s heavy haulers during the pandemic lockdown.

Two months after much of the United States began entering lockdown there are clear signs of recovery by the U.S. auto industry – though the American market still could end 2020 down nearly 25% from last year’s levels.

Automakers hoping for a rebound have been flooding the market with hefty incentives, such as 84-month, no-interest loans. But the risk is that these profit-eating givebacks could become “the new normal,” warned a senior analyst with J.D. Power.

After hitting bottom at the end of March, the new car market has now posted five weeks in a row of improving sales, said Power analyst Tyson Jominy, In the latest in a series of weekly briefings on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. For the week ending May 10, sales were off 26%, said Jominy. By comparison, the market was off by nearly half for the full month of April.

“We absolutely could see a step back in the second half” of this year, warns J.D. Power.

As has been the case since most of the country went into lockdown in March, results varied widely from one market to another. Sales in Tampa were down a mere 1% from where they had been expected to come in pre-pandemic. Among major cities, New York remained one of the hardest hit – surprising few since it has been one of the pandemic’s epicenters. But while demand was off by 48% from original forecasts, that was still a big improvement from the week ending May 3, when sales were down 63%.

Detroit was another market in rebound, according to data Power collects directly from dealers using its PIN network. Another epicenter, the Motor City was off by 98% in mid-April but saw demand last week climb to “just” 29% below forecasts made before the pandemic struck.

Inventories are beginning to be stretched, especially for pickups. But manufacturers are only beginning to start production back up.

(Toyota production to be down a third through October.)

On the other hand, Dallas, which was virtually back to normal at the beginning of May saw sales slide to 10% below forecast last week – something that appears to reflect one of the industry’s big concerns, a mounting shortage of inventory, said Tyson, particularly in the segments of the new car market that remained relatively viable during the depths of pandemic downturn, full-size pickup trucks, in particular.

“Inventory will be a big concern,” Jominy warned, until automakers can get factories running anywhere near to normal.

By the end of March, the entire U.S. automotive manufacturing network was idled. Only a small handful of plants have now come back online, starting late last week with those run by Hyundai, Kia and Mercedes-Benz. Several more manufacturers, including Honda, Tesla and Toyota, fired up this week, and Detroit’s Big Three, General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, are planning to relaunch operations on the 18th.

(GM sees no COVID cases at plants worldwide, wants production back to normal by mid-June.)

But production schedules are expected to be limited for at least a month, in part, to get everyone used to the many steps taken to reduce the risk of new outbreaks of COVID-19 within those plants. So, if anything, “It’s going to be very disruptive” from an inventory standpoint, said Thomas King, Power’s chief data officer.

Inventory issues will vary by product segment and region of the country. Motorists in southern states, such as Texas, could find pickup pickings grow slim in the coming weeks. But there remains a glut of sedans and other passenger cars that were already selling slowly ahead of the pandemic.

Dealers have been racing to adapt to new ways of doing business, such as online sales, during the pandemic.

Expect to see manufacturers rethink some of the hefty incentives they began offering as the pandemic struck. They’re already trimming back the typical giveback by about $300, according to Power data, especially on big trucks. But buyers still will find some of the most lavish deals ever, incentives still averaging $4,700 a vehicle. By comparison, the figure was around $4,100 in January.

The industry has been expanding the availability of low and no-interest loans – and not just on new vehicles but also on “nearly new” Certified Pre-Owned models. During the most recent week, fully 17% of new vehicle buyers went with 84-month, zero-interest loans, double the rate at the beginning of the year.

The problem is that every $1,000 of incentives adds up to a $1 billion cut in industry profits, noted King who warned that, “The longer these programs remain in the market the greater the risk they become the new normal,” consumers holding back when these deals are withdrawn.

(Nissan looking at nearly $3B in spending cuts as its balance sheet crumbles.)

The industry may have no choice but to keep up the level of incentives. With so many variables and unknowns, Power officials warned that it is difficult to make clear forecasts for year ahead. At best, it will likely be mid to late summer before demand returns to pre-pandemic trend lines and the full year could see sales slip as low as 13 million, down from 17.1 million in 2019.

That doesn’t even account for the widely feared prospect of another major outbreak of the coronavirus late this year, or an even bigger slide in the economy. If any of a number of troubling scenarios play out, said King, “We absolutely could see a step back in the second half” of this year.