Brought to the United States by President Obama a year ago to teach the planet-killers at Chrysler how to make fuel-efficient econoboxes like the ones that proper Europeans drive, [Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne] has fallen in love with big, money-making American SUVs. In an announcement that shook the auto world this week, Sergio announced that he wants Chrysler to help make . . . Alfa Romeo and Maserati SUVs.
Mama Mia! Just wait until Papa Obama gets back from Asia!
[…]
Sergio’s got religion all right. He announced November 8 that he wants Chrysler’s Detroit Assembly Plant — the very facility Obama visited last July to crow about his Detroit bailouts – to build SUV platforms for as many as four brands: Chrysler, Dodge, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati.
From age 14 until the nineties he lived in Canada.
Not a ‘car guy’ as defined by the auto industry, he got to where he is via finance.
If oil prices stabilize and then decline through Natural gas replacement and new tech decreasing finding and development costs, betting on SUVs could really pay off in the mid to long term.
I believe these are the cars Obama had in mind…http://microcarmuseum.com/
building vehicles people actually want. what a concept
An Alfa built by Chrysler?
Why would the company that gave the world the C8 Competizione do that do themselves?
Has a certain logic to it if the intended markets are mostly USA, Russia, China, and the Arab oil states. Once Obamugabe is paying American workers with Obamu-script, the USA will be a very competitive low cost producer. A bit of badge engineering and a lot of brothel decor interior touches and you have the new “Sultan” model from Maserati instead of a rough Jeep Grand Cherokee or Durango.
Euroweenies don’t drive micro-cars by CHOICE y’know. They drive them because
A) They are -poor- and can’t afford a proper car, and
B) Because the streets are too frickin’ small for an F-250 to fit down.
Other than that, they’ll take the Ford Excursion please.
In many ways, Europe is still stuck in the 15th century with their 3rd century Roman path-roads. It limits car size and speed traveled in a big way.
Tiny cars in Eurostan are the result of decades worth of deliberate punitive taxation strategy.
Car taxes based on engine displacement, road taxes on vehicle weight, license taxes, gas taxes, green taxes, etc.
Mcsquinty will try to copy these soon for his bankrupt Torontostan.
Sergio Marchionne was raised and educated in Canada (like Gord Turk said).
He is a car guy especially when compared to the Cerberus Financial Management Group (out of NY) who took over Chrysler and made it private and then milked it for all the money they could make. They de-emphasized new technologies and cars and basically bankrupted Chrysler.
Sergio saved Fiat and turned it into a business that is now very profitable. He invested a lot in new technologies and arguably they are the highest tech car company in the world. In Italy you cannot even compare a Ferrari to a Porsche. It was a good move to get Sergio to take over Chrysler.
Fiat actually only owns 20% of Chrysler. 55% is owned by the UAW to ensure that health care can be ensured for retirees of Chrysler. The US gov’t owns 8% and the Canadian gov’t owns 2%. The rest is controlled by the US gov’t. When Fiat repays it loans to the US and Canadian gov’ts, it will be allowed to take 35% control. It will then be allowed to buy the 8% and 2% owned by the US and Canadian gov’ts at fair market value.
The car business in Europe is pretty complex. Most people don’t realize that when you buy a Lamborgini or a Bugati you are buying a Volkswagen (just like when you buy an Audi – and Porsche now actually controls Volkswagen).
So Sergio has to make a buck. If Americans want SUVs then you have to develop that market. They will meet whatever the latest standard is in terms of safety and fuel economy. Fiat has the technology that Chrysler needs.
I think that Fiat will be successful and they will make Chrysler successful. I don’t care about someone like Gore but I do care about making sure that the US and Canada continue to make products and also be able to export them.
Should have said he got a taste of bailout money.
The Euros have tiny cars ’cause they have tiny roads and they have tiny roads because .. . well ask the Romans . . .
Compare the size of all of Europe with the size of Canada and the US – and the terrain. Tiny cars can’t handle the distances and the weather.
On another issue, here’s yet another debunking of ‘global warming’ as catastrophic.
C, Jaramillo. ‘Effects of Rapid Global Warming at the Paleocene-Eocene Boundary on Neotropical Vegetation. SCIENCE.
“In a study published today in Science, Jaramillo and his team studied pollen grains and other biological indicators of plant life embedded in rocks formed around 56m years ago, during an abrupt period of warming called the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. CO2 levels had doubled in 10,000 years and the world was warmer by 3C-5C for 200,000 years.
Contrary to expectations, he found that forests bloomed with diversity. New species of plants, including those from the passionflower and chocolate families, evolved quicker as others became extinct. The study also shows moisture levels did not decrease significantly during the warm period. “It was totally unexpected,” Jaramillo said of the findings.”
ET: I saw that article in the science section of the Daily Mail Online. Needless to say it will never see the light of day on CBC/CTV. Hello there Bob McDonald.
Hehehe….. So the Italian is going to build MORE large vehicles?
That’s sweetly ironic.
I’ll have another helping of schadenfreude please….
With no apologies to Joe Walsh:
My Maserati does 185,
It scales hills,
Now I can hide,
From greenie shills,
I don’t buy their jive,
Its a good time to still be alive.
Man, a Chrysler built Maserati. You would need to re-finance your house just to pay for the annual maintenance on that thing.
a lada SUV, finest scrap on wheels:-))))
I’m always a bit amused when people get hopped up on sanctimony and criticize the US for not having prevalent mass transit networks like they have in Western Europe. Have they never looked at a map before? Believe me, I would love to have something like Germany’s ICE with car carriers, allowing you take a long distance trip and bring your car with you, but that’s just it – “long distance” by European standards is close to a typical morning commute in North America :).
Fun fact – the military Humvee was designed to be just narrow enough to fit through the smallest rail tunnels in Europe.
The new Grand Cherokee gets 17 mpg?? My 1993 Grand Cherokee gets 21 mpg on the highway. The only problem I’ve had with it is finding parts as it seems BC auto wreckers don’t hang onto vehicles more than 10 years old. Hopefully I won’t have to sell it for that reason; sold my 1969 Dart because I was tired of driving to Oregon to find parts for it.
Is that the same factory where the employees chug beer over their lunch break?
Holy moly! I can’t wait to get me a Maserati SUV! Imagine driving through the bush at 200km/h!
Just to dispel the myth that Europeans have to drive small cars because of the roads, take a look at the Mercedes W126 series – they are full sized cars. Mine is a diesel and gets 33-36 mpg on the highway in comfort and safety – and yes I drove it and a predecessor with the same body style in Europe through all those “tiny” roads. The mobile shoeboxes from Europe are strictly due to the tax regime imposed by ideologues, not what the customer wants. If the customer has Euros, he goes big and in style. Jeep Cherokees are in big demand in Germany and you can sell one you have owned for six months to a German with no taxes (I’ve seen it done several times).
Kate, Chrysler and Fiat were very clear about why they were interested in a partnership from the start. The 2 companies merged not for money or management or debt consolidation. They merged in order to facilitate a technology exchange. Chrysler doesn’t have any viable small cars (remember the neon) and Fiat who’s never built a SUV was extremely interested in re-badging Chrysler SUVs under its luxury brands. Fiat wanted to quickly introduce them into the European and North American markets, after noticing the success of the Porsche Cayenne.
Mama mia mesericordia – an ALFA SUV……
So you go out in the bush , then how you gonna getta back home?
Take an Alfa mechanic and lots of spares EVERYWHERE with you.
– cconn at November 12, 2010 10:35 AM wrote:
“Porsche now actually controls Volkswagen”
It’s confusing to me, and I’m a pretty competent P&ID interpreter:
Automotive Family Tree
Make sure you read the instructions on how to enlarge the images before closing the page because everything is too small.
– slaw at November 12, 2010 1:23 PM wrote:
“Man, a Chrysler built Maserati”
Have you forgotten the TC?
OK, so maybe my TC example is the other way around.
You know why the British drink warm beer? Because their refrigerators are made by Lucas.
Now there’s a bit of esoteric car humor for you. Or should I say humour?
I appreciate the British humour KevinS
I had a TR3 and about an hour into a 3 hr evening trip my generator quit.
Turned the lites off to save battery and kept engine running on battery only – no service stations anyway.
It was a bright moon and I only turned the lites on to pass slower moving vehicles we caught up to.
heh
We finished the whole trip in one piece.
Didn’t actually keep that fine British car that long for some reason.
rockyt, if you’d have had a Volkswagen you could have fixed it with a rubber band. Hat tip to Bill Cosby.
I used to have that album (vinyl, those black disk things that got scratched by a pointy device).
You racist biggoted facists. You are lost souls.
There are lots of things that dont do well over here as opposed to Europe.A Brit bought a farm in our area and brought his favorite John Deere tractor with him.He didnt keep it.Tractors in Europe cant be equiped with dual wheels as they are used like trucks are used here and drive on those Roman roads hauling produce to market.
Congrats ok4ua,you put seven words together,complete with punctuation.They didnt make any sense or have anything to do with the topic.The last time that I witnessed the same was while visiting an old folks home and the poor soul had dementia.