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Fiat Chrysler’s Sergio Marchionne throws more cold water on Tesla, EVs

Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has once again sounded off on industry upstart Tesla and its wunderkind boss, Elon Musk. In the process, he doubled down on FCA's reluctance to follow its competitors headlong into electrifying its vehicle fleet, saying "we're not betting the bank on going fully electric in the next decade. It won't happen." Marchionne made his comments on Monday during remarks at the New York Stock Exchange, where he was marking the 70th anniversary of Ferrari. They come as Tesla struggles to ramp up production of its Model 3 sedan, its first mass-market offering, and the company continues to hemorrhage money. Here's what he said: "We still don't have a viable model for delivering an electric car. As much as I like Elon Musk, and he's a good friend, and actually he's done a phenomenal job of marketing Telsa, I remain unconvinced of a new economic viability of the model that he's pitching. So I think we need to be careful, because when we embrace electrification, and I made comments on the fact that we lose money on every Fiat 500, the electric that we sell in the U.S. Now that's reflective of the 2011-2010 costs in terms of components. Those costs have come down. If I were to do it again, I would certainly reduce the amount of the loss, but I would not make any money. And you can't run economic entities on losses. It doesn't happen. "So how do we find a convergence of technology bringing prices of components down and allows us to price accordingly — or we need to navigate through this process in a combined way between combustion and electrification to yield at least a minimum of economic returns that allows for our continuity? The last thing you want is me to be successful selling cars for 24 months and then go bust. That's not a good story. Especially in a place like this which rewards economic success. Let's not sit here and design our own future in the tank. Let's try and do it properly. We will do all the right things. We are investing without making a lot of noise on electrification. We will combine it with combustion to yield the right level of CO2. But we're not betting the bank on going fully electric in the next decade. It won't happen." It's not the first time Marchionne has publicly expressed doubts about Tesla's business plan.

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Chrysler Imperial Landau

The Chrysler Imperial (sold as a separate marque and called, simply, the Imperial for the 1955-83 model years) was at the top of the Chrysler pyramid for many decades. For most of that time, it was a great big opulent statuswagon, slathered with chrome and powered by some of the most potent engines in the Chrysler inventory. For the early 1990s, however, the Imperial became a member of the many-branched K-Car family tree. Here's a solid-looking '92, now in its final parking spot in a Denver self-service wrecking yard. The 1990-92 Imperial wasn't a bad car, but it also wasn't much like the Imperials of past decades. Under the hood, the Chrysler 3.8-liter pushrod V6, which went on to a distinguished three-decades-long career in Chrysler minivans and Jeep Wranglers. It made a not-too-shabby-for-the-time 150 horsepower in 1992. The padded vinyl landau roof was looking extremely dated by the 1990s, but some Imperial buyers still went for this option. The 1992 Imperial had leather upholstery, but opinions differ as to whether Chrysler still referred to it as Soft Corinthian Leather by this time. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Better than Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Rolls-Royce, and Jaguar, according to this ad. The base price of the '92 Imperial was $26,705 (about 46 grand in inflation-adjusted 2016 dollars). A new 1992 BMW 525i listed at $35,600, while a 1992 Lexus ES300 was $25,250. The $23,500 Mazda 929, with rear-wheel-drive and 190 horses, seems like the steal of 1992 for luxury-car shoppers. Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1992 Chrysler Imperial View 19 Photos Auto News Chrysler chrysler imperial

Chrysler museum to open one last time on June 8

Due to a lack of funding, Chrysler closed the doors to its Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI back in December, but it sounds like the facility will be open next month for one last hurrah. According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, the Chrysler Museum will be open to the public one last time on June 8 for the annual Chrysler Employee Motorsport Association car show.
While the car show will take place in the museum's parking lot from 9:00 AM until 4:00 PM on June 8 with a theme dedicated to muscle cars past and present, all attendees will be able to be among the last people to tour the museum - with free admission. The museum is known for housing some of the more important production and concept cars from Chrysler's history. Check out the car show's flyer for more information.