2004 Sebring Convertible on 2040-cars

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PSA shares rise following FCA's breakup with Renault

Shares in Groupe PSA, parent company of automakers Peugeot, Citroen and the DS brand, rose on Thursday as analysts considered the possibility that Fiat Chrysler could turn back to PSA after withdrawing its $35 billion merger offer for Renault. "Both parties have acknowledged the need for scale or [mergers and acquisitions] and may pursue other opportunities. If Nissan was an obstacle (to an FCA-Renault deal) PSA-FCA discussions could resume," wrote brokerage Jefferies. Back in March at the Geneva Motor Show, rumors started swirling that PSA was interested in a potential merger with FCA. Mike Manley, who took over at the helm of Fiat Chrysler following the death of Sergio Marchionne, had indicated a willingness to look into potential partnership options. Of course, that was all before FCA proposed a merger with Renault — with that deal now off the table, attention naturally turns back to PSA, which is also based in France. "We expect both shares to react negatively but see FCA having wider strategic options and Renault shares more downside risk near-term," said Jefferies. According to Reuters, PSA shares were up 1.5% at the time this was published, making it the top-performing stock on France's benchmark CAC-40 Index. Renault saw its shares slump 7%. Shares for FCA fell 3% in early trading on the Milan Stock Exchange. Considering that FCA said in its statement confirming the withdraw of its merger offer with Renault that "political conditions in France do not currently exist for such a combination to proceed successfully," we have to wonder how keen the company is to begin negotiations with another French automaker like PSA. Those thoughts were similarly voiced by Bernstein Research analyst Max Warburton, who said (via Forbes), "Expect PSA to rise on unrealistic hopes it may be FCA's next date." Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Mitsubishi Nissan Citroen Peugeot Renault FCA renault-nissan

Feds investigating FCA sales fraud focusing on strange code word

The US government is currently investigating Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) over the possibility of sales fraud, and according to The Wall Street Journal, the investigation has revealed a strange phrase about a nonexistent "unnatural acts department." People knowledgeable about the term told The Wall Street Journal that this phrase was a "rallying cry." Basically, if it looked like the company, region, or dealer wasn't going to hit sales targets, this was a sign that some outside-the-box sales solutions were needed. People told the news outlet those solutions could include selling cars at a loss or having the dealer buy a fleet of customer test-drive cars. However, this could also be evidence of some less savory ways to boost sales. In addition to the investigation, the company is already facing at least one lawsuit from a dealer group that alleges it would bribe dealers to pad monthly sales figures. FCA had an incentive to maintain sales numbers as well, considering that it was claiming a long streak of increasing sales. Under scrutiny recently, the company changed its sales reporting practices and numbers for previous years. Under the old reporting methods, it was possible for dealers to sell cars, report the sales, and then cancel or "unwind" the sales later. This wouldn't count as a lost sale, but the car also couldn't be recorded as another sale later. As a result, an unscrupulous dealer could have hypothetically used it to "sell" a car one month and "unwind" it the next. If FCA knew about this, it's also possible the company could have pushed dealers to use the system for false sales, something the Feds theorize may be related to the "unnatural acts department" phrase. It's still entirely possible this "unnatural acts department" was just a corporate term for thinking of creative ways to meet sales goals. And selling cars at a loss is definitely unnatural for businesses that are trying to make money. Whatever the phrase truly meant to dealers, it certainly is bizarre. Related Video: News Source: The Wall Street JournalImage Credit: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat FCA fiat chrysler automobiles fca us investigation

Chrysler, Nissan looking into claim that their cars are industry's most hackable

A pair of cyber security experts have awarded the ignominious title of most hackable vehicles on American roads to the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, 2014 Infiniti Q50 and 2015 Cadillac Escalade.
Charlie Miller and Chris Valasek are set to release a report at the Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, Automotive News reports. The two men found the Jeep, Caddy and Q50 were easiest to hack based not on actual tests with the vehicles, but a detailed analysis of systems like Bluetooth and wireless internet access - basically, anything that'd allow a hacker to remotely gain access to the vehicle's systems.
Considering this lack of hands-on testing, the pair acknowledge that "most hackable" could be a relative term - they point out that the vehicles may actually be quite secure.