Car Throttle

If there is one thing in the automotive industry that has been speculated about for a long time, it has been the return of Alfa Romeo. Throughout the 2000's there was many reports about when the introduction would take place, and with what models. The Fiat-Chrysler partnership has made it a much more feasible proposition, as the brand will have access to Chrysler's extensive dealer network and support system. Now, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has given a date for Alfa Romeo's United States re-entry. Alfa Romeo is already here, if the 8C Competizione is to be considered, but we are talking about a mainstream re-introduction. Marchionne was quoted in Automotive News as saying: “I'm a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that

After the breathtaking series of events that have taken place in the economy and particularly the auto industry over the past year, it is good to get a break from it all. In particular though, the new Fiat-Chrysler partnership has been staying out of the news for the most part until recently. And, the recent news has been bad news. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said he was "surprised" at Chrysler's condition and about "how little had been done in the past 24 months." Well, no surprise - Chrysler's operations were basically shut down due to lack of cash. That puts Chrysler in a bad position while competitors Ford and General Motors release a slew of new product. As such, Marchionne is working on a new business plan

Is it just me, or are automakers on a no-common sense streak lately? Fiat has succeeded in it's goal of a partnership (really, takeover) of the Chrysler Group, LLC. The deal has given them access to the United States market in a way that would have taken Fiat years and billions of dollars to achieve. They didn't get Opel, Saab or GM Latin America but they did get Chrysler.  Now, what are they going to do with it? They've instituted some reforms that coupled with the leaner post-bankruptcy Chrysler, should have helped the two to be successful. Then I hear this idea and I think they don't really have any idea what they are talking about. Take Dodge, a brand that has suffered from mismanagement and lack

As you probably know, Chrysler (well the good parts anyway) have emerged out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and the partnership deal with Fiat has been completed. Pre-bankruptcy and during bankruptcy, Chrysler publicly stated that it was attempting to sell the Dodge Viper line to another company. It then emerged that the only official bidder was Devon Motor Works, with it's lowball $5.5 million bid for the brand. Apparently, that has been rejected. There has been a number of theories though as to why the Viper brand didn't get sold. Some say that Chrysler has indeed gotten offers for the Viper as high as $30 million, but Fiat was afraid of the Viper competing with Maserati and Ferrari and therefore was discouraging any offers. I'm not sure what exactly

Chrysler's streak of good news isn't stopping! Daimler giving up it's stake in the company, ratified cost-cutting contract with the CAW, tentative agreement with the UAW and now a new deal with the U.S Treasury and debt holders has been reached. The government is impressed with the speed of Chrysler's last-minute moves. Sources were saying the government was preparing the company for bankruptcy very soon, possibly in a week's time frame. While of course anything could happen, the bankruptcy option appears to be dimming while the very opposite thing is happening at General Motors. A senior adminstration official has this to say about Chrysler "The agreement from Chrysler's principal banks is an exceptional accomplishment in line with the President's firm commitment that all stakeholders sacrifice to make this

Ambitious? You have no idea! Fiat, led by it's deft CEO Sergio Marchionne is pursuing many different partnerships and potential deals to increase Fiat's global standing. Is it just posturing to scare Chrysler's debtors to move towards a deal or is there something to it? The deal with Chrysler is far from done and the two are still engaged in talks over the alliance. While Fiat of course could survive by itself, the Chrysler deal gives them access to the critical U.S market. That is what Fiat really wants for the future. The Chrysler deal has and will continue to take the upmost importance over any deal with Opel. That's not to say Fiat couldn't be looking into both, although that would mark a dramatic expansion and