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Federal judge throws out GM's racketeering lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler

  DETROIT — A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a racketeering lawsuit General Motors had filed against smaller rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, saying the No. 1 U.S. automaker's alleged injuries were not caused by FCA's alleged violations. GM officials said in statement they "strongly disagree" with the order by U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman, whom the automaker had sought to have removed from the case, and would appeal. "There is more than enough evidence from the guilty pleas of former FCA executives to conclude that the company engaged in racketeering, our complaint was timely and showed in detail how their multi-million dollar bribes caused direct harm to GM," GM said in a statement. The Detroit company added that Borman's decision "would let wrongdoers off the hook." GM filed the racketeering lawsuit against FCA last November, alleging its rival bribed United Auto Workers (UAW) union officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages, costing GM billions of dollars. GM was seeking "substantial damages" that one analyst said could have totaled at least $6 billion. FCA had called the case meritless and asked Borman to dismiss it. On Wednesday, Borman dismissed the lawsuit "with prejudice," meaning GM cannot refile the complaint. "The direct victims of defendants' alleged bribery scheme are FCA's workers," Borman wrote of FCA. "GM's high labor costs were not an injury proximately caused by FCA's bribes, and any competitive injury that GM suffered as a result of FCA's advantage in labor costs is an indirect injury." "The dismissal of GM's complaint with prejudice earlier today vindicates our position," FCA said in a statement. On Monday, the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied GM's petition to remove Borman from the case, but said the two automakers' chief executives didn't have to meet to try to settle the case as Borman had ordered. In calling for that, Borman had called the lawsuit "a waste of time and resources."   Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat GM

Ex-Fiat exec: VW diesel scandal will hurt plug-in hybrids

It doesn't sound right at first blush, but former Fiat executive and noted diesel-powertrain expert Rinaldo Rinolfi thinks that plug-in hybrid sales may be more impacted by the VW diesel-emissions scandal than diesel sales. Rinolfi, who worked for Fiat for 40 years, told Automotive News Europe, said that the Euro 6 emissions rules that went into effect in 2015 have already increased diesel-engine production costs enough to raise prices and ultimately flatten demand. By the end of the decade, diesel-vehicle sales will settle in at a 40-percent market share of new European vehicles, and that was going to happen with or without the scandal. "Every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions." - Rinaldo Rinolfi Makers of plug-in hybrids have more to lose, though, because every PHEV maker has figured out a way to keep emissions figures artificially low, Rinolfi said. Under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) standards, PHEVs can be tested part of the time with the electric motor in action, meaning emissions get driven down to 30 percent to 40 percent less than real-world figures. With the VW scandal pushing regulators to use real-world figures, those PHEV emissions numbers are expected to rise substantially. To a lesser extent, hybrid emissions figures are also tested as artificially low. "Over the years, even without defeat devices, every carmaker has found ways to achieve fuel consumption and emissions results that have progressively diverged from the real driving conditions the customer experiences," Rinolfi said in the Automotive News Europe interview. Rinolfi is a little sunnier about compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, estimating that CNG emissions are as much as 25 percent lower compared to conventional vehicles. As for battery-electrics, he's not so optimistic, estimating that there needs to be at least a tenfold improvement in energy efficiency for EVs to be truly competitive with conventional vehicles. "I've been waiting for a true breakthrough for the past 25 years, but I've not seen it yet," Rinolfi said about EVs in the Automotive News Europe interview. Related Video: News Source: Automotive News Europe-sub.req.Image Credit: Arnd Wiegmann / Reuters Green Fiat Volkswagen Diesel Vehicles Electric Hybrid diesel emissions scandal nedc

2018 Fiat 500 minicar gets more expensive with the extra ponies

Fiat Chrysler is giving a big price increase to the 2018 Fiat 500 minicar, with its newly enhanced powertrain and other upgrades adding up to as much as a $1,500 premium over the outgoing versions. Taken together with a $250 boost to destination fees for most cars, SUVs and trucks in the FCA family, and it's going to cost quite a bit more to drive the Italian subcompact. CarsDirect reports that FCA bumped the starting price for the 2018 Fiat 500 Pop by $1,500 to $17,490 for the 5-speed manual and $18,485 for the six-speed automatic. The Fiat 500 Lounge will start at $20,990, which is also $1,500 more than last year, while the top-of-the-line 500 Abarth starts at $21,740, up $750. Those figures include the $250 higher destination fee, which FCA reportedly announced to dealers in March for most 2018 cars and trucks — for example, the destination fee on a Jeep Wrangler is now an eye-popping $1,445. The destination fee is what automakers charge to ship vehicles from the factory to dealers and isn't normally included in a vehicle's advertised price. The Fiat 500 destination fee is now $1,245, CarsDirect reports ( Autoblog sought confirmation and comment from FCA but hasn't received a response). Fiat, of course, is adding oomph to the 2018 version of the 500 via a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine that pushes horsepower up 33 percent to 135 ponies and 150 pound-feet of torque. It's also adding sportier suspension, brakes and exterior design, a sport-tuned exhaust and rearview camera, plus 16-inch aluminum wheels, fog lamps and a "Turbo" badge on the rear fascia. "It's important to note that we've added even more standard content in order to further enhance the fun-to-drive factor that our customers expect," spokesman Bryan Zvibleman tells Autoblog. The new price makes it more expensive than the 2019 Honda Fit, which starts at $17.085 including the $895 destination charge for a six-speed manual. It also follows a $2,000 cut in the base price of the 500 Pop for 2017. It will be interesting to see whether Fiat can hold steady on the new higher pricing without having to resort to discounts for the slow-selling minicar. FCA says overall U.S. sales of the Fiat brand fell 45 percent in April to 1,404 vehicles. According to CarSalesBase.com, the company has sold only 1,644 Fiat 500 coupes year to date, compared to 5,221 for the first four months of 2017, though the figures reflect the outdated 2017 model and don't include the five-door 500L.