13 Cloth Cd Player Auxiliary Input Keyless Entry Power Windows Locks And Mirrors on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Fiat Chrysler posts record Q3 profit thanks to U.S. trucks and Jeep

MILAN — A rebound in car production in Fiat Chrysler on Wednesday reported record third-quarter earnings as production returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels. The Italian-American automaker, which is finalizing its full merger with French rival PSA Peugeot, reported a net profit in the three months ending Sept. 30 of $1.4 billion (1.2 billion euros). That compares with a loss of 179 million euros a year earlier. The carmaker reported adjusted earnings before tax and interest in North America of 2.5 billion euros. That offset deepening losses in Europe, Asia and at its Maserati luxury marquee. Latin America, the only other region to post a profit, saw it narrow by two-thirds to 46 million euros. “Our record results were driven by our teamÂ’s tremendous performance in North America,” CEO Mike Manley said in a statement. Overall, the carmaker said global earnings before tax and interest were a record 2.3 billion euros despite a 6% fall in revenues to 26 billion euros. Global shipments were down 3%, due largely to plant retooling in North American to produce the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer in the luxury SUV segment and the discontinuation of the Dodge Grand Caravan classic minivan. Fiat Chrysler announced earlier Wednesday that its merger with PSA Peugeot is on track to be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2021, as planned. To meet regulatory concerns, the French carmaker is selling a small stake in a components maker to get below 40% ownership. The new automaker, to be called Stellantis, will be the fourth biggest producer in the world. Earnings/Financials Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot

Dodge, Hyundai crowdsourced-funding sites deemed successes

What's not to love about crowdsourcing? This idea, after all, has given us Kickstarter as well Local Motors, but automakers are starting to use the social platform to sell more cars (or just drum up a little PR). Both Dodge and Hyundai have used "crowd-funding" recently, and while Automotive News is reporting that neither has racked up big sales with this gimmick, both automakers are pleased with the attention.
For Hyundai, it teamed up with website Motozuma.com to help customers crowdsource money for a down payment, and the automaker matched this amount up to $500. Last year, this helped Hyundai sell an extra 1,600 units, a fraction of its total 2012 sales. That figure is far larger than Dodge fared with the Dodge Dart Registry - it netted only two sales and a small number of individual options. This registry did help University of Southern California fraternity crowdsource $18,000 to buy a Dart for a local Meals on Wheels, however. Despite the low sales figures, Dodge and Hyundai are considering their crowdsourcing programs a success since it helped them connect with younger buyers.

Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question