1968 Chrysler New Yorker on 2040-cars

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Chrysler 300 Glacier edition ready to chill with AWD

It seems that word is finally out on the redone Chrysler 300, as evidenced by the fact that the model's sales almost doubled last year compared to 2011 (when the distinctive sedan was a little slow out of the gates). One thing that's likely helping the car is a growing number of unique models like the 300S, 300 SRT8 and the new 300C John Varvatos Luxury Edition, and now one more trim has joined the lineup. Initially announced back in September, the 300 Glacier is on sale now with a starting price of $36,845 (*not including a $995 destination charge).
Designed with cold-weather climates in mind, the 300 Glacier is only available with all-wheel drive. Chrysler says the Glacier will run an additional $1,500 over the 300S AWD off which this car is based, but that extra money gets unique 19-inch aluminum wheels, an exclusive Glacier Blue Pearl Coat paint job and special interior treatments including piano black accents and fancier leather seats and stitching. Like the 300S, power from the Pentastar V6 has been bumped up to an even 300 horsepower (up from 292 hp) with the aid of a cold-air induction and freer-breathing exhaust. Naturally, the 363-hp Hemi V8 is still available, too.
For more information, scroll down to check out Chrysler's official press release.

Chrysler and Fiat offering $1,000 rebates to VW owners as Marchionne gets tough

The throw-down between Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and Volkswagen has heated up in earnest. According to Bloomberg, Fiat and Chrysler are now offering current Volkswagen owners in the US $1,000 rebates to trade in their ride. It's the latest in a series of shots Marchionne has taken at his German rival. As you may recall, the Fiat executive entered into a spat with Volkwagen board chairman Ferdinand Piëch and CEO Martin Winterkorn in October after the duo called for Marchionne's resignation from presidency of the European Automotive Manufacturers Association (AECA). At the time, the Volkswagen executives were quoted as saying Fiat would not survive the European economic downturn.
In response, Marchionne called the German executives "reprehensible," and accused Volkswagen of using a pricing strategy that has created created a "bloodbath" in the EU. Volkswagen has taken to steep discounting to carve out ever-larger slices of market share in Europe, but the company has a much smaller foothold in the US. Marchionne may be trying to hit Volkswagen where the manufacturer is weakest with the new Fiat new incentive program.
Late last week, the Fiat executive was voted to a second term as ACEA president.

Marchionne recruiting activist investors to prompt GM merger

Sergio Marchionne may have been rebuffed in his previous advances at General Motors, but he's not about to give up that easily. According to The Wall Street Journal, the Fiat Chrysler chief is now turning to activist investors to help coax GM into joining forces. Marchionne has been a staunch and ceaseless advocate of the need for consolidation, arguing that the industry needs to amalgamate into larger groups that will share resources and reduce overhead. Under his leadership, the Fiat group consolidated its own operations, and officially merged with Chrysler last year. But he's also been pursuing additional mergers with the likes of Volkswagen, Peugeot, Ford, and Opel (to name just a few). Now he's pursuing a merger with GM, which has not shown much enthusiasm towards the idea. For one thing, GM is a much larger company, and probably doesn't need FCA as much as FCA needs it. For another, it has a troubled past with Marchionne, who in 2005 dissolved an agreed merger (of sorts) with GM, yet still managed to get the General to pay Fiat some $2 billion in the process. However, Marchionne is evidently hoping that the intervention of activist investors could compel GM CEO Mary Barra and company to proceed with a merger anyway. For precedent, he's looking at the recent negotiation between GM and some of its stakeholders that prompted the company to buy back $5 billion of its own shares, demonstrating Barra's willingness to deal with investors. The more compelling precedent, however, may have been set in 2006, when activist investor Kirk Kerkorian locked arms with Carlos Ghosn to get GM to consider joining the alliance between Renault and Nissan. GM ultimately declined, and Ghosn turned instead of Daimler (which of course has its own history of having merged with Chrysler). Only time will tell if this initiative will prove more successful, but one thing's for sure, and that's that Marchionne isn't about to relent in his pursuit of a major merger partner.