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Audi, Fiat squabbling over numbers and letters

There have been rumors and speculation and prognostications about a Nissan Juke- and Mini Cooper-fighting Audi Q2 since 2012. There have been the same for a performance-oriented Q4 since 2011, perhaps previewed by the TT Offroad concept shown last year at the Beijing Motor Show. Turns out that those two alphanumeric combos are the only ones missing from the series Q1 to Q9 in Audi's trademark stable, and the Ingolstadt company wants to get them to make its badge sequence and crossover lineup complete. But Fiat owns them, and rumor is, CEO Sergio Marchionne appears to have no interest in selling them. Fiat has used the Q2 and Q4 like trim badges, identifying whether a company product has two-wheel or all-wheel drive. They did it with the Alfa Romeo 159 sedan, and they do it now on the Maserati Quattroporte S and Ghibli S Q4 sedans. Car magazine says Marchionne "may not be categorically opposed to selling the rights," but he absolutely won't do it to any fiefdom in the Volkswagen empire, which would leave Audi a jilted suitor. Why is Sergio being so serious? VW Group CEO Ferdinand Piech first starting waving torches on the bridge between the two companies when he said Alfa Romeo could sell four times as many cars if Volkswagen owned it, then burned the bridge when it continued to publicize its desire to buy Alfa Romeo. VW followed that up by throwing salt on the land around the destroyed bridge with its aggressive pricing in Europe during the worst of the car sales slump there, which Marchionne said was causing a "bloodbath." VW's final flourish was to set the river itself on fire, when a press officer said Marchionne wasn't qualified to head the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (ACEA) and VW would quit the organization if he did take the top spot. That is why, putting it optimistically, Audi looks to have a grim chance of getting the Q2 and Q4 marques from the Italian. So long as he is in power, at least: Marchionne said he's walking away from the job in 2018. Audi might have a better chance bending the knee to, and generously rewarding, his successor. Featured Gallery Audi TT Offroad Concept: Beijing 2014 View 16 Photos News Source: CarImage Credit: Live images copyright 2015 Chris Paukert / AOL Government/Legal Audi Fiat Volkswagen Crossover Luxury Sergio Marchionne trademark volkswagen group

FCA recalls Fiat 500e to fix cruise control

Fiat is recalling almost 4,000 of its 500e electric vehicles because of a malfunction related to the model's cruise-control feature. The glitch causes the car's powertrain to be put into neutral under certain situations. It's the second recall on the 500e this year. Specifically, Chrysler-Fiat is recalling 3,975 cars. The issue is that the car's system can misread the motor's torque figures in cruise control, causing the sprightly EV to mistakenly shift into neutral in what was designed as a safety-precaution measure. The good news is that restarting the vehicle gets the car back to normal, but being dropped into neutral in highway mode is certainly no fun. Chrysler-Fiat said in a statement this week that it was "unaware" of injuries, accidents, or customer complaints caused by the issue. In April, the 500e was subject to a recall that impacted about 5,600 vehicles and stemmed from a March 2015 update. The update allowed the car to go into so-called "Limp Home Mode" to better extend range. The problem is that it inadvertently caused the car to stall. Range anxiety, indeed. Take a look at Chrysler-Fiat's press release on the most recent recall below. Related Video: Statement: Software Upgrade June 9, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 3,975 cars to upgrade cruise-control software. A review of warranty data led to an investigation by FCA US LLC engineers. The investigation discovered certain Fiat 500e hatchbacks were inadvertently equipped with software that may misread torque levels generated by their motors, causing them to shift into neutral – a prescribed failsafe mode. This condition may occur only while cruise-control is engaged and the driver attempts to override the feature with accelerator-pedal applications or rapid tapping of the accelerate/decelerate buttons. Restarting the vehicle restores normal function. The campaign is limited to certain model-year 2013-2015 vehicles. The Company is unaware of any related injuries, accidents or customer complaints. New software will be available when affected customers are advised of this action by FCA US. Service instructions are being sent to FCA US dealers today. Customers with questions may call the FCA US Customer Information Center at 1-800-853-1403.

Fiat gives outgoing Ferrari chairman $35M severance package

Luca di Montezemolo may not have wanted to leave Ferrari this way, but don't feel too bad for the departing chairman, because he'll be hitting the ground with a golden parachute so big that he'll never have to work again.
According to the latest reports, Fiat will pay Montezemolo 26.95 million euros (nearly $35 million) in severance pay. A little more than half of that will be paid in a lump sum of 13.71 million euros ($17.7M, equivalent to five times his annual salary) on January 31, 2015, with the rest to be paid within the next 20 years.
The payment is contingent on Montezemolo not going to work for a competitor, so don't expect to see him replacing Stephan Winkelmann at Lamborghini or Wolfgang Dürheimer at Bugatti any time soon. At least not until March 2017. Of course with that much cash on hand, the 67-year-old marquis need never work again, but considering how busy he's used to keeping himself, we'd be surprised if he didn't pop up again somewhere.