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Fiat Chrysler Australia executive in trouble over misuse of company funds

While the merger to create FCA was coming together, its managing director for Australia, Clyde Campbell, was allegedly racking up 30 million Australian dollars ($23.1 million) in spending for himself, family, and friends. Now, the former boss is facing a court case from the automaker's legal team for the purported misappropriation. Among the more opulent expenses that Campbell allegedly put on Chrysler's tab included a 40-foot yacht worth the equivalent of $308,000 and lavish Christmas parties for workers, according to The Age. Despite being required to only travel in economy class and get permission for international travel, he also reportedly racked up the equivalent of over $413,000 travel expenses. "The more we dug, the more we found," said an unnamed source to The Age. Campbell came to power in Australia as a general manager for DaimlerChrysler, and became managing director in October 2010. He was reportedly a close friend with former Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Ernst Lieb. After Lieb lost his wrongful dismissal lawsuit, Campbell allegedly helped his friend's partnership in an Aussie auto dealer by using FCA funds for financial support totaling the equivalent of about $3 million. All of this came to light when Pat Dougherty came over from the US to be president and CEO of FCA Australia in December 2014. The staff spilled the full story on Dougherty's first day. "I walked into his office and let it all out. I don't think he knew what hit him," another source said to The Age. A team of forensic accountants was brought in to investigate. The reason that this took so long to discover was that no one was paying attention. First, sales in Australia were growing under Campbell. Also, "in my opinion, back in Michigan, head office didn't have its eyes on the road. They only had eyes on the Fiat deal," an insider said to The Age. That confluence essentially provided the perfect storm for this huge spending. News Source: The AgeImage Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP / Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat lawsuit FCA

New Barracuda, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk coming soon

As we write this, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is conducting a major dealership event in sunny Las Vegas. New vehicles are being announced, redesigned offerings are being teased, and promises are being made to the sprawling company's dealer body. And, as all these announcements are meant to be tip-top secret, they're leaking out left, right, and center. Naturally. FCA is telling its dealers all of the vehicles shown at the Vegas gala will be in showrooms within 12 to 24 months, and that the product offensive will include at least 30 new or significantly refreshed models. Some of those we've known about since FCA boss Sergio Marchionne unveiled his highly ambitious five-year plan in May 2014, while we're hearing about others for the very first time. We've reached out to our sources within FCA, and will update this post as we learn more. It should be noted that while we've tried to rely on concrete sources or corroborations from multiple sources, some of the news here comes from people claiming to have been in attendance and posting in forums like Allpar and Jalopnik's Opposite Lock. Unless corroborated by a mainstream source or confirmed by our own sources within FCA, we're listing each item that comes from a forum. Have those grains of salt at the ready. Chrysler Dodge Durango-sized SUV with stow-and-go was shown. A poster on Allpar Forums claims it had a Durango's interior. New Aspen? Town and Country PHEV confirmed (again). A plug-in minivan was originally announced as part of five-year plan. No news on 200 or 300. Dodge The redesigned Charger will use the Alfa Romeo Giulia's rear-drive platform and, according Automotive News, draw inspiration from 1999's Charger concept car. We're wagering the 24-month time frame specified to dealers will move the new sedan's arrival up from 2018 to mid-2017. Jalopnik's Opposite Lock claims two new Challenger models are coming. Challenger ADR (American Drag Racer) and T/A. ADR should appeal to bracket racers and is more powerful than the SRT Hellcat, while T/A is for track rats, just like Viper T/A. Automotive News claims the legendary Barracuda nameplate will be revived as a Dodge. The Barracuda will be smaller than Challenger, offered as both a coupe and a convertible. Allpar claims it will feature modern styling. A Dodge Durango SRT was announced with 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and rear-drive. Sources within FCA confirmed its arrival with Autoblog. Apparently, dealers were shown an example in B5 Blue.

Ferrari officially files SEC paperwork to register future IPO

Late last year FCA announced plans to spin off Ferrari into a separate company, and after a long wait that process has finally become official. The Prancing Horse has now filed the necessary prospectus and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to hold an initial public offering on The New York Stock Exchange. The paperwork doesn't mention a specific date for the Italian sportscar maker's IPO, but it's expected sometime in October. At this point, the documents also don't include some other vital data about the IPO. Ferrari lists neither the number of shares being offered nor their price. The company also doesn't have a stock symbol yet. UBS, BofA Merrill Lynch and Santander are acting as joint book runners for the deal. As part of the IPO, FCA initially intends to sell 10 percent of Ferrari's shares on the stock market. Another 10 percent of the company still belongs to Piero Ferrari. FCA is holding onto the remaining 80 percent in the short term for financial reasons but intends to distribute them to shareholders in early 2016. After the spin-off, about 24 percent of Ferrari would be owned by Exor, 10 percent by Piero Ferrari, and 66 percent by public shareholders, according to the SEC documents. FCA boss Sergio Marchionne believes that Ferrari could be worth over $11 billion. Although, his estimate might be slightly high. According to Reuters, Wall Street is actually putting the value somewhere between $5.5 billion and $11 billion. If you're thinking about investing in the company or just want to read the nitty-gritty about the brand's financial health, the entire SEC filing can be read here. Ferrari Files for Initial Public Offering LONDON, July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ("FCA") announced today that its subsidiary, New Business Netherlands N.V. (to be renamed Ferrari N.V.), has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") for a proposed initial public offering of common shares currently held by FCA. The number of common shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, although the proposed offering is not expected to exceed 10% of the outstanding common shares. In connection with the initial public offering, Ferrari intends to apply to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange.