Chrysler group mulls how to make most of Fiat's technology

Chrysler group mulls how to make most of Fiat's technology

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

The Chrysler Group LLC board met in Auburn Hills on Friday to figure out how best to use Fiat engineering and technology to make future products such as midsize sedans -- and where.

The nine-member board is to provide a report to the U.S. auto task force next week.

A person familiar with the board's agenda said it included addressing the struggling sales of Chrysler's midsize sedans -- a key segment because of its volume -- and the development of replacement vehicles that will be built from Fiat engineering and components. The midsize Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger, combined, have been outsold by almost 200,000 Toyota Camrys so far this year.--More

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Chrysler refines product, business plan

Alisa Priddle / The Detroit News

The board of Chrysler Group LLC will meet in Auburn Hills today to go over details of the five-year product and business plan that will be presented to the U.S. government next week and made public in mid-November.

It is a plan that has had Chrysler employees at all levels working long days and weekends to refine since the new Chrysler Group was formed June 10 in partnership with Fiat SpA. The automaker has kept most of the strategy secret as the new management team under Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has worked to identify areas where Chrysler and Fiat engineering and technologies can be shared. Chrysler is counting on its minivans, Dodge Ram pickups, Jeep lineup and the Dodge Journey cross utility vehicle as the foundation of sales in North America while increasing sales internationally with Fiat's help.

New vehicles include the small Fiat 500 for North America at the end of next year and new versions of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chrysler 300.....More

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Chrysler prepares to rehire some employees

After 35,000 job cuts in the past two years and a bankruptcy that shifted control to Italy's Fiat SpA, Chrysler Group is preparing to rehire an unspecified number of salaried workers and ask current workers to put in overtime to get new models to market by mid-2011, according to people familiar with the company's plans.
Chrysler and Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne is to present a five-year plan to the company's board of directors Friday. If the board approves, he will submit the plan to President Barack Obama's auto task force next week, said company insiders....More

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GM rehiring 2,400 workers as production ramps up

General Motors Co. is rehiring 2,400 workers at three plants that are boosting production and absorbing work lost in an unprecedented round of closings announced before the automaker's bankruptcy filing....More

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Chrysler exec Jim Press owes IRS, credit union more than $1.4M

Deputy Chief Executive Jim Press owns more than $18 million worth of real estate in some of the country's priciest ZIP codes, but he has financial problems more commonly found on the factory floor, not the boardroom.---More

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GM dealers clamor for more vehicles

In an internal report, obtained by The Detroit News, General Motors Co. officials were surprised to find dealers wanted far greater numbers than the company had projected.---...More

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American Axle deal reached

Detroit-based American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. has avoided bankruptcy with a new agreement with its lenders and a cash infusion from its largest customer, General Motors Co.---...More

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Dealers indicate Penske close to buying Saturn

Saturn dealers nationwide have received new sales and service agreements from Roger Penske, a sign the auto icon is close to finalizing a deal for the castoff General Motors Co. brand.--...More

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Automakers can top fuel rules, energy chief says

Washington -- U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Thursday automakers are capable of going beyond the 34.1 miles per gallon fleetwide fuel efficiency standards proposed by the Obama administration for the 2016 model year.---...More

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Ford F150 Uses Tires Made In China-Tire tariff jolts Ford supplier

Tire tariff jolts Ford supplier

Korean firm with factories in China weighs options to keep outfitting F-series trucks
Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

Few things scream "American" louder than Ford Motor Co.'s F-series pickup, but some models of the best-selling vehicle in the United States sport tires made in China.

And that means Chinese tire makers are not the only ones scrambling in the wake of President Barack Obama's new tariffs.

Hankook Tire supplies the base tires for the Ford F-150. It is not a Chinese company, but a Korean manufacturer with factories in China.

That still means that tires produced at those facilities, including those for the F-150, will be subject to the 35 percent tariff that goes into effect on Sept 26....More

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Chrysler to start leasing; dealers await sales boost

The Chrysler Group said Wednesday that it will start leasing again, a move that dealers hailed as holding the potential to improve sales.
Through August, Chrysler's U.S. sales are down 39% compared with a year ago. At the Frankfurt auto show Wednesday, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne warned of a further decline. "We are going to see harsh reality in September, it is going to drop," he told the Associated Press....More

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Fiat can hit sales target with Chrysler alone

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Italy's Fiat (FIA.MI) can reach its target of selling between 5.5 and 6 million vehicles with Chrysler alone but the group still considers renewal of Italy's car sale incentives as vital.
If the Italian government did not renew car incentives in 2010 "it would have a disastrous impact," Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne told reporters at the Frankfurt motor show.....More

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