2004 Chrysler Crossfire on 2040-cars

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Maserati's new North American CEO is Chrysler's dealer guru

There's been a bit of a shakeup among the executive ranks at Chrysler and Maserati, as the Italian sports car manufacturer has appointed Peter Grady as its new North American CEO. Grady, who we imagine is about to get a very nice upgrade to his company car, will retain his role as vice president of dealer network development for Chrysler and Chrysler Capital, and is replacing Bob Graczyk at Maserati.
"It is with pleasure and anticipation that I welcome Peter to Maserati. He brings to our company nearly 30 years of leadership and experience. His background and industry expertise will be a great basis for the continued expansion of Maserati in North America," said Maserati CEO Harald Wester in a statement.
Also joining the team at Maserati is Saad Chehab, who previously worked for the Chrysler and Lancia brands and will be the new head of marketing for the Italian brand. He'll be replaced by Al Gardner, the former boss of Chrysler's southeast business center, as the head of Chrysler brand, according to Automotive News.

Fiat stock rockets up after word of Chrysler deal

Now that Fiat has finalized a deal to purchase the outstanding shares of Chrysler owned by the United Auto Workers' VEBA retiree heathcare fund without having to file for an IPO, you can count the Italian automaker's stockholders among the happy. The Detroit News reports that Fiat stock closed Thursday with a 12-percent gain for the day on the Borsa Italiana, having been up by as much as 15.8 percent during the day's trading, at prices not seen since mid-2011. One trader reasoned the run was because Fiat "paid less than the market had expected and there will be no capital increase to fund this."
But there are some who worry, including bank analysts and unions. The final price of the stake will be $4.35 billion - $1.9 billion in cash from Chrysler, $1.75 billion from Fiat and extraordinary dividends in the amount of $700 million paid over three years. Adding that sum to its ledger will raise Fiat's debt level to roughly 10 billion euros ($13.8 billion), which Citibank says will make it the most indebted OEM in Europe.
Italian unions are also concerned about what the deal means for the future. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has had an at-times contentious relationship with both unions and the Italian government over the future of Italian manufacturing, a fact that makes headlines because Fiat is Italy's largest private employer. At least two left-leaning unions have publicly called on Fiat to give guarantees and to explain what the deal means for its Italian operations, while a centrist union argues this is "good news for Fiat workers, for the auto industry and for our country."

Chrysler recalling 630k Jeep models worldwide

Despite its refusal to recall 2.7 million Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty models this week over a gas tank fire risk, Chrysler will be recalling 630,000 Jeep Compass (pictured), Patriot and Wrangler vehicles around the globe for a pair of entirely different reasons.
The affected Compass and Patriot models are all from the 2010 to 2012 model years - 254,000 in the United States, 45,400 in Canada and 109,000 elsewhere in the world. In these models, a software error may result in the late deployment of the side airbags and seatbelt tensioners. In the event of a crash, failure of these systems could result in more serious injuries for the vehicle's occupants.
Jeep's go-anywhere Wrangler also faces a separate recall due to power steering fluid lines that can possibly wear a hole in the transmission oil cooler line. According to Chrysler, the vehicles could then leak fluid, possibly damaging the transmissions. Roughly 221,100 Wrangler models are being recalled because of this issue, all of which are fitted with Jeep's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine. In the US, 181,000 vehicles are affected, with an additional 18,400 in Canada and 21,700 additional units worldwide. A Chrysler spokesperson said that no crashes or injuries have been reported with either case, according to the Associated Press.