Chrysler Adds Fiats, Dumps Dodge, Jeep Models

Sales actually up for 'original sport-utility vehicle' with WWII roots

(NEWSER) - With the Fiat-Chrysler alliance finalized, workers must get hopping to churn out more Jeep Wranglers, the military-vehicle-turned-adventure-ride that’s one of just three American cars whose sales are up this year. It’s “probably one of the main reasons why Chrysler is still here,” an auto analyst tells the Toledo Blade. And Chrysler has only a 30-day supply remaining. More»

(NEWSER) - The last time Fiat tried to make a go of it in the US market, its unreliable cars earned it the nickname Fix It Again Tony, reports the New York Times. That was 25 years and another world ago. After a renewed focus on quality under CEO Sergio Marchionne, the Italian automaker is now hoping to rescue bankrupt Chrysler—it will have a 20% stake and three seats on the new company's board—through its new and improved technology. More»

Marchionne has succeeded in fighting corporate bloat before

(NEWSER) - It may seem awfully cocky of Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne to assume that he can save Chrysler, generally written off in the industry as a lost cause. But there’s a reason Marchionne is optimistic, notes the Economist: He’s done it before. When he took over Fiat in 2004, the now-reborn company was bloated, in debt, overpowered by unions, and stuck with obsolete technology. “We tore it apart in 60 days,” says Marchionne. More»

Marchionne takes $0 home despite repayment of bailout loans

(NEWSER) - Chrysler made a $225 million profit last year but its CEO didn't get a penny of it, a regulatory filing reveals. Sergio Marchionne, widely credited with turning around the company's fortunes after its bankruptcy in 2009, declined a salary and bonus for the second year in a row last year, reports Reuters . But he won't be going hungry: Marchionne is also CEO of Italian automaker Fiat, which paid him $4.5 million in 2010. More»

Announcement coming tomorrow at Michigan plant

(NEWSER) - Chrysler will announce with some fanfare tomorrow the repayment of $7.5 billion in bailout loans from the US and Canadian governments. CEO Sergio Machionne will announce the milestone tomorrow alongside White House manufacturing adviser Ron Bloom at Chrysler’s Sterling Heights, Michigan, plant, the Wall Street Journal reports. Chrysler is repaying the government loans, which carry double-digit interest rates, with cheaper loans and bonds from private banks. The US and Canada will, however, remain minority shareholders in the company. More»