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Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

Chrysler resolves recall issue with NHTSA, will inspect, upgrade affected Jeeps

Chrysler made big news earlier in the month by refusing a recall request from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the 1993-2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty. Last week, NHTSA boss David Strickland countered by defending his agency's request for the recall of 2.7 million Jeep SUVs. Today marked the deadline for Chrysler to formally respond to NHTSA, and it seems that both parties have met in the middle with Chrysler inspecting and upgrading some of the affected vehicles without using the word "recall," which would constitute the admission of a defect; instead, Chrysler said that it is conducting a "voluntary campaign."
At issue on these vehicles is the positioning of the fuel tank behind the rear axle that could get damaged during a rear-end collision. NHTSA has stated that at least 51 people have been killed in rear-end collisions involving these Jeeps after the vehicles caught fire, to which Chrysler countered by pointing out that both models "met and exceeded" the requirements for fuel-system integrity.
As a compromise on the situation, Chrysler says that it will inspect all pre-2004 Grand Cherokees and pre-2007 Liberty models and, "if necessary, provide an upgrade to the rear structure of the vehicle." According to Automotive News, this upgrade will consist of adding a trailer hitch that will presumably better protect the rear-mounted gas tank. Vehicles already equipped with a factory or Mopar hitch will not be modified. Chrysler's official statement on the matter is posted below, but no additional information has been released, such as when the campaign will begin and how many vehicles could be affected.

Inexperienced Jeep driver buries his Wrangler at sea

There's an old maxim in off-roading that states, "Four-wheel drive doesn't keep you from getting stuck, it just gets you stuck in worse places." The truth of this statement was perfectly illustrated recently in a YouTube video of a Jeep Wrangler digging its own grave at the beach. On May 11, a YouTuber named Dan M uploaded a video he titled, "Drunk guy doesn't know how to off-road and ruins nice Jeep." The video, shot at dusk on a rocky looking beach, shows a blue Wrangler driving out into the surf without a care in the world. Dan, providing commentary along with an unseen female companion, was impressed with the Jeep driver's dash at first. "Wow, he must do that a lot because he ain't scared of getting stuck or anything," said Dan. As the Wrangler got deeper into the water, the Dan's friend expressed her doubts that the Jeep driver would make it out, especially when the Jeep got snagged on a little spit of sand sticking out into the water. Dan wasn't worried, however. "No, he'll manage to get out of there, he'll make it out of there. He'll back out and get out," he said. Dan's confidence in the Jeep driver was sadly misplaced, unfortunately. The driver managed to get the Jeep stuck on the sand bar then made the rookiest of rookie mistakes–he just gunned it. "Oh man, he's done! He's done!" yelled Dan as the Jeep driver proceeded to dig a huge hole in the sand that sunk the Wrangler up to its frame just as the tide started coming in. With that kind of dunking, especially in salt water, that Wrangler was probably a total loss, much like the Grand Cherokee that got washed downriver last week somewhere in Europe. Related Video: News Source: YouTube Weird Car News Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles wrangler beach