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It was a milestone month for FCA. For the first time ever, Chrysler has outsold Ford in US retail sales, reports Reuters. Retail sales refers to only cars sold directly to consumers, not counting sales of fleet vehicles to corporate customers. Including fleet sales, Ford moved 223,666 cars and Fiat Chrysler group sold 186,864. General Motors, meanwhile, saw sales slip slightly year over year and sold 265,825 cars. For the industry as a whole, it was another good month as car sales continue to go up. 2015 is expected to see even more growth in car sales, as the market...

Does anybody know where I can get a PDF wiring diagram for a 2005 dodge du?rango? And just out of curiosity, what is that plug under the battery box

State and local officials in Ohio are proposing to fund a new factory for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV in Toledo, an unusual incentive that would require hundreds of millions in financing, according to people familiar with the plans. The proposed plan is the latest attempt by public officials in the state to secure production of the iconic Jeep Wrangler, which has been built in Toledo for decades. Negotiations on the plan are continuing between officials and the auto maker, and other financing proposals are on the table, the people said. Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has said the next...

As the first day with Chrysler in bankruptcy dawns, let’s look at a mad car from an era when the automaker was set to conquer the very skies: the jet-powered Gilda coupé. There is something definitely wrong with the heat exchangers of Italian air conditioners. Granted, they have fans in them and machines with fans will never be silent but cooling a small building by Lake Como should not require a jet engine. There, I said it—and as if on cue, this orange-silver concoction from half a century ago rounds a bend and motorvates leisurely down a service road. The...

A number of well-known brands disappeared in the last year in large part due to economic forces. Many of them were in the retail industry, led by Circuit City. ATA and Aloha airlines are gone. Gateway Computers has effectively disappeared after being bought by Acer. It still has a website, but the brand is no longer marketed. As the recession deepens and stretches out quarter after quarter, more companies will close or will shut divisions. More brands will disappear because their parents firms fold or can no longer afford to support them. Other brands will be obliterated by mergers. 24/7...

As the recession deepens, economic forces continue to drive consolidation in the retail industry, debt comes due and increasingly discerning consumers buckle down on discretionary spending, an analysis by 24/7 Wall Street predicts that a number of well-known brands are likely to disappear before the end of 2010. To determine which brands are most likely at risk, 24/7 Wall Street examined 100 large brands it believes are in trouble and, for each, looked at public financial records, sales information, analyses from industry experts, the competitive landscape in each’s industry and the likelihood that a brand could be sold off in...

Chrysler Group LLC has changed its name to FCA US LLC. The change will be largely unnoticed by consumers, affecting mostly corporate and financial communications. Chrysler-branded cars will continue to bear the Chrysler badge, as those branded Fiat will bear the Fiat badge. …

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced Wednesday it will spin off sports car maker Ferrari into a separate company, a move to unlock the luxury brand’s value and distinguish it from its mass-market parent. The spinoff aims to raise money to support the newly-merged carmaker’s plans to invest €48 billion ($61 billion) over five years to compete with global giants Toyota and Volkswagen. Shares in Fiat Chrysler soared on the news. “I think we are doing the right thing by giving Ferrari a proper, unique place in the capital markets to be evaluated and valued as a luxury automaker,” Marchionne told an...

It's official. Chrysler has now wholly-merged with Italian auto maker, Fiat. It had taken a bit over five years for Fiat to gain total control of the bailed out, once-American Chrysler Corporation. Back in June of 2009, President Obama gifted (payment was made in the form of "technology") an initial 20% stake in Chrysler to Fiat as part of his orchestrated auto bailout process. Fiat parlayed that into full ownership and is now showing its gratitude to the American taxpayers who helped fund the deal by relocating Chrysler's headquarters to London ; a move which will lessen the company's...

The CEO for Fiat Chrysler (remember how an Italian company helped save Detroit?) is begging Americans to kill more polar bears, pollute the air, and continue to melt the polar ice caps… Or something. There’s also an outside chance that he’s just being a responsible CEO by trying to keep his company out of bankruptcy. Whatever the reason, Sergio Marchionne is asking consumers to steer clear of the company’s all electric Fiat.Under the direction of Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler is apparently taking a new approach to keeping the company solvent: Sell cars that people actually want to buy. And he is...

Fiat S.p.A. announced its second-quarter results from Turin this morning for what could be the last time, if shareholders approve the Fiat-Chrysler merger on Friday. Worldwide shipments rose 2%, to 1.2 million, in the second quarter as revenues rose 5% to $31.2 billion NAFTA region shipments grew 10% while Asia Pacific (APAC) region jumped 42%. This growth was partially offset by a 21% decline in Latin American (LATAM) markets. The European-Middle-East-Africa (EMEA) region shipments were essentially flat. Revenues were up 7% in the NAFTA region and 34% in APAC while EMEA revenues fell by 3% and LATAM revenues plunged 23%....

Fiat SpA’s deal to complete its purchase of Chrysler helped widen first-quarter losses, the Italian car maker reported Tuesday following a day-long presentation in Detroit of its new five-year business plan for the combined automakers. The Italian carmaker, based in the northern city of Turin, saw first-quarter losses widen to €334 million ($465 million) from €83 million last year, due to expenses related to the Chrysler deal logged in the first quarter. …

Several hundred Chrysler minivans are stuck indefinitely on a piece of prime Detroit real estate, unable to be transported across America. The reason? The fossil fuel boom in Canada and the United States is hogging much of the available rail capacity needed to transport the vans. Citing a report by the Associated Press, the Windsor Star reports that railway capacity – which is normally transport new vehicles – is being eaten up by deliveries of oil from both the Alberta Oil Sands and the Bakken shale formation in the United States. According to the AP, just 9,500 railway carloads of...

IMHO!    Some personal faves... 1970 Plymouth GTX More at Reaganite Republican...

This month marks the fifth anniversary of the Chrysler bankruptcy. President Obama will doubtless mark the occasion by talking about how his intervention saved the auto company. More noteworthy, however, is how the lawlessness of that intervention created tremendous uncertainty, which still chills the economy today. Todd Zywicki has written an excellent summary of President Obama’s actions in the Chrysler bailout. A shorter version goes like this. Starting under President Bush and continuing under President Obama, the federal government used TARP funds to keep Chrysler afloat. This gave the government effective control over Chrysler. As a result, the Obama administration...

Fiat and Chrysler announced plans Saturday to build three new Jeep models in China for that market, the biggest for the vehicles outside the United States, as they attempt to boost sales in a country where they lag behind their competitors. The automakers said they will expand their joint venture with China’s Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd., and increase the portfolio of Jeeps, which are currently imported to China. Production is expected to start in late 2015 in Guangzhou, the companies said in a statement, adding that they are considering a Jeep model “uniquely designed for China.” …

I'm liking what Fiat is doing with Chrysler more and more, even their choice of ad agency and marketing campaigns. This is a startling, hilarious and cool ad commemorating the 100th Anniversary of Dodge and announcing the 2015 Challenger.

Chrysler Group is recalling 18,092 Fiat 500L cars in the U.S. because the transmission shifter can be delayed or stop working. […] According to documents posted Saturday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cold temperatures can affect signals sent between the car’s main computer and the gear shifter. If that happens, the shifter may not shift out of park or the response may be delayed, increasing the risk of a crash. …

The original Dodge Viper revealed in 1992 was a beast of a machine — an attempt by then-Chrysler exec Bob Lutz to revive the spirit of the Shelby Cobra and give Chrysler a world-class sports car. Powered by a massive V-10 with 400 hp, the early Viper's brute force overwhelmed many drivers. Today, the power that made the Viper a legend appears to be at the heart of an order from Chrysler to dozens of trade schools, demanding the immediate destruction of some 93 early Vipers, including a preproduction model that could likely fetch a couple hundred thousand dollars at...

The original Dodge Viper revealed in 1992 was a beast of a machine — an attempt by then-Chrysler exec Bob Lutz to revive the spirit of the Shelby Cobra and give Chrysler a world-class sports car. Powered by a massive V-10 with 400 hp, the early Viper's brute force overwhelmed many drivers. Today, the power that made the Viper a legend appears to be at the heart of an order from Chrysler to dozens of trade schools, demanding the immediate destruction of some 93 early Vipers, including a preproduction model that could likely fetch a couple hundred thousand dollars at...