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2015 Chrysler 200 caught looking good after leaking out

We can't yet share all the details on the 2015 Chrysler 200 sedan, but we can direct your attention to the image above, which was published by the boys at Jalopnik after Chrysler reportedly let it out by accident. As you can see, the new 200 will be a nicely styled piece of machinery.
According to leaked documentation, the 2015 Chrysler 200 will come with the buyer's choice of a 2.4-liter Tiger Shark four-cylinder engine with 184 horsepower and 173 pound-feet of torque or a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 boasting 295 horses and 262 lb-ft. Those ponies will be routed through a nine-speed automatic with a rotary gear selector, sending power to the front wheels. Alternatively, a high-tech all-wheel-drive system will be available that can electronically disconnect the rear axle, saving fuel.
Speaking of fuel efficiency, the 2015 200 will be able to achieve up to 35 miles per gallon on the highway, which is an impressive figure for this class. An on-sale date has yet to be announced, but the next 200 will start at $21,700 (plus $995 for destination) when it does finally hit dealerships.

Fiat Chrysler global HQ lands in London's ultra-posh West End

It seems Fiat is bent on bolstering its image as a global automaker, as word has leaked out that the Italian/American conglomerate has chosen to locate its global headquarters in a rather swanky neighborhood in London. According to Bloomberg, the rental location on St. James Street in London's West End is a 10-minute walk from Buckingham Palace, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will fill up three complete floors of an office building that also houses The Economist magazine.
As a neutral location between Italy and the United States, the London-based headquarters makes sense, though, at $277 per square foot, this area is said to be the most expensive office space in the world. There's no mention of what FCA has actually agreed to pay for renting the space, but we're certain it isn't coming cheap.
Not surprisingly, Bloomberg also cites research indicating that the largest number of immigrants moving into London from January through August of this year hail from Italy, which makes sense considering the number of Italian executives and workers we'd expect would have to relocate to the UK in order to work at Fiat's new home. The company reportedly plans to be in place in London by the time it holds its next round of board meetings in October.

Sergio: Two-tier wage structure eliminated in FCA deal with UAW [w/video]

The two-tiered wage structure that governs the way domestic car companies pay their unionized employees – and rankles many of them in the process – could soon be a thing of the past. In a tentative deal seen as a bellwether for other ongoing negotiations, the United Auto Works and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract that would disband the two-tier structure, in which some workers earn higher hourly wages for performing the same job, over time. Officials who announced the tentative agreement late Tuesday in Detroit were short on details of its contents and union members still must ratify it. But FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said the two-tiered structure will disband by the end of the contract. "The team has crafted together a very thoughtful process, where the issue will go away, go away over time," he said. Further details weren't divulged. Union negotiations with Ford and General Motors are ongoing, so hammering together a deal that sheds the two-tier structure with Chrysler first could set a precedent followed by the other members of Detroit's Big Three automakers. Other key issues that emerged in negotiations with FCA included escalating health-care costs and rewarding workers for the health of the auto industry. But dealing with the two-tier structure, born as GM and Chrysler circled bankruptcy during the Great Recession, was something the UAW wanted to confront. "The UAW has a philosophy about the economic balance of this country and the inequality, and our mission is to bridge the gap in this country," UAW president Dennis Williams said. "It's gotten out of whack. ... We don't want to share anything, and I truly believe that corporations that have that set of mind have lost their way." The UAW's executive board was expected to review the tentative agreement this morning before a union membership vote is scheduled. For Marchionne, who skipped the Frankfurt Motor Show to shepherd the negotiations during their final hours, the tentative agreement means he can shift his concern back toward pushing an FCA merger with General Motors or another company and touting the idea of industry consolidation in general. "The other side of this is capital usage in this business, which is something that remains unsolved," he said. "It makes the labor side sort of pale in comparison, given the magnitude of the potential synergies and benefits we'd be deriving from an intelligent approach.