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FCA scion John Elkann tries to pull off a Marchionne-sized merger

MILAN, Italy — When John Elkann lost his ally last year with the sudden death of Sergio Marchionne, some questioned whether the softly-spoken scion of the Agnelli clan would be able to emerge from his shadow to ensure Fiat Chrysler's future. But New York-born Elkann, who became Fiat chairman in 2010, acted decisively to fill the vacuum left by the larger-than-life Marchionne and get closer to the big merger deal the legendary executive was unable to deliver. At just 28, Elkann was thrust into the role of Fiat vice chairman after the deaths of his grandfather and great-uncle "because there was really nobody else" to take the wheel. For Elkann, who got his first taste of the car industry as an intern at a factory producing headlights in Birmingham, England, the first 18 months with responsibility for the family-owned carmaker and its long heritage were "terrible." But from that low point, Elkann, 43, is now trying to merge Fiat Chrysler (FCA) with French rival Renault to form the world's third largest carmaker and tackle new challenges facing the industry. Elkann will become chairman of the merged FCA-Renault if the deal goes ahead, ensuring the Agnelli dynasty plays a central role in the next chapter of automotive history. At an event in Milan on Monday, the usually-shy Elkann looked happy and confident. His first big break came with an instrumental role in persuading Marchionne, who was running one of the businesses owned by the Agnelli family, to become chief executive in 2004 and give Fiat "a new start," Elkann said in a "Masters of Scale" podcast last year. Fiat was at the time almost on the brink of collapse. This involved a "very long night ... and many grappas" but proved to be a turning point in the fortunes of the Italian company founded by Elkann's great-great-grandfather Giovanni Agnelli, which built its first car in 1899. In 2005, Elkann backed Marchionne in negotiating the breakup of an alliance Fiat had entered into with General Motors in 2000, receiving $2 billion from GM in return for canceling a deal that could have required GM to buy the remainder of Fiat Auto. Marchionne then used GM's money to fund a turnaround at Fiat, which involved taking the Italian carmaker into a transformation alliance and then full-blown merger with U.S. automaker Chrysler as Elkann agreed to the Agnellis loosening their grip.

2017-2020 Fiat 124 Spider: Future Classic

The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider held the promise of melding two automotive cultures: the romance of the Italians and the focused finesse of the Japanese. In simple terms, the Fiata, as it came to be called by aficionados, was in fact part Fiat, part Mazda, and all character. Unfortunately, the Miata MX-5 ND ruled the roost in this limited market. Mainstream consumers by this time were already convinced that the future was the SUV; a little two-seater with a stick shift and a rumbling ride wasn’t on too many wish lists. Of course, the Miata, constantly updated through the years, survives today. The Fiata closed up shop in 2020 after only four years. FiatÂ’s questionable reputation for reliability and build quality throughout the previous decades in America didnÂ’t help to push the sporty Spider up the sales charts. Why is the Fiat 124 Spider a future classic? The affordable roadster (which is not to be confused with the original Fiat Spider that launched in the 1960s) landed on US shores in three trim levels: Classica, Lusso and the performance-oriented Abarth, with starting prices that ranged from $25,990 to $28,195. It was built alongside the Miata at Mazda's Hiroshima plant in Japan. Comparisons of the two cars were expected, and voluminous: The Fiat used the same chassis, many of the same interior parts and even the same key fob as the Mazda. But the Spider had different tuning for its steering and suspension, and a different engine under the hood. Of course, both were convertibles. Weight was an issue. The SpiderÂ’s 1.4-liter, turbocharged inline-four was good for 160 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque, but that made it 130 pounds heavier than its Japanese near-twin. Then there was turbo lag. One review said that the Fiata Classica's best launch from 0 to 60 mph required 6.5 seconds, not as quick as the 5.8-second start recorded in a Miata Club. Fiat engineers were able to tame the roll of the Miata, but in doing so robbed the 124 of one of its more enviable traits: its tossability. The FiatÂ’s manual tranny received high marks, the automatic not so much. Wind noise with the FiatÂ’s soft top down was horrible, which was sad because the 124 was otherwise superb in highway driving. It had a more compliant suspension that the MX-5, and more sound-deadening padding. Nonetheless, tall/big people werenÂ’t particularly happy in either carÂ’s interiors; “cramped” was a polite way to describe head and shoulder room.

Who are Mike Manley, Louis Camilleri, and Suzanne Heywood?

MILAN – Fiat Chrysler aid on Saturday that boss Sergio Marchionne, 66, would not be returning to work because he was gravely ill. In addition to being FCA chief executive, Marchionne was also CEO and chairman of luxury sports car brand Ferrari and chairman of truck and tractor maker CNH Industrial, which were spun off from FCA in recent years. Following is a brief summary on the executives who have been appointed to replace him in the various roles: MIKE MANLEY The 54-year-old Briton picked to become the FCA's new CEO has been leading the group's top brand Jeep since 2009, first as Jeep President and CEO at Chrysler and then as FCA's Jeep head. In 2015 he was also appointed head of the Ram brand. Under his tenure, Jeep turned into a global brand becoming, together with Ram, FCA's profit engine. Jeep sold nearly 1.4 million cars last year compared with less than 338,000 in 2009. Manley had worked as DaimlerChrysler's head of network development in Britain since 2000, having earlier worked for several years in car dealership. At Chrysler, he headed product planning and all sales activities outside of North America and then became the group's chief operating officer for Asia and the lead executive for the international activities outside of NAFTA. LOUIS CAMILLERI The new Ferrari CEO was already a board member at the luxury sportscar maker before his latest appointment. He is also the chairman of Philip Morris International, where he also held the job of CEO from 2008 to 2013. Born in 1955, Camilleri had joined Altria Group, which controls Philip Morris, in 1978 holding various positions until he became chief financial officer in 1996 and then CEO in 2002. Camilleri was also chairman of Kraft Foods from 2002 to 2007. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat wished Camilleri luck on Twitter saying he was proud to have "a bit of Malta in Ferrari" thanks to the new CEO, who was born in Egypt to Maltese parents. SUZANNE HEYWOOD The new, British-born chairwoman of CNH Industrial has been since 2016 the managing director of EXOR, the holding company through which the Agnelli family controls FCA. Heywood, 49, started her career at the British Treasury and then joined McKinsey in 1997, leading for many years the consultancy firm's global service line on organization design. She eventually became a senior partner there. Heywood sits on the board of The Economist, which is controlled by EXOR, and the board of the Royal Opera House, where she is also deputy chair.