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Pete Grady retiring from Chrysler, Maserati

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is about to lose one of its top executives as the president of Maserati North America, Pete Grady, has announced his retirement. A lifelong automotive industry exec, Grady joined the American Motors Corporation back in 1984 after graduating from John Carroll University in his native Ohio. After AMC was bought out by Chrysler, Grady started rising through the ranks under the Pentastar as a sales manager. He was named vice president of network development and fleet operations in 2009 and was shortly thereafter put in charge of the Chrysler Group's dealer network. He continued to hold that position when he was named last year as the top man at Maserati North America. Grady will continue to hold responsibility for Chrysler's dealer network until his retirement takes effect on March 31, 2015. His position as head of Maserati's American office, however, will pass to the Trident marque's global sales chief Christian Gobber, who will hand off responsibility for the Chinese region to Mirko Bordiga but maintain his global portfolio. CHANGES AT THE TOP IN MASERATI NORTH AMERICA AND MASERATI CHINA Monday, 8 December 2014 – Effective January 1st, 2015, Christian Gobber will be assigned responsibility for Maserati North America, replacing Pete Grady, who has announced his intent to retire effective March 31st, 2015. Christian Gobber will maintain his responsibility for Maserati Global Sales. Effective January 1st, 2015, Mirko Bordiga will join Maserati and will be assigned responsibility for Maserati China, replacing Christian Gobber. Maserati further strengthens its sales and commercial structure in the two main markets for the Trident brand. Maserati CEO Harald Wester thanks Pete Grady for his dedication and achievements at the helm of Maserati in North America, and wishes all the best to Christian Gobber and Mirko Bordiga in their new positions. ### Chrysler Group's Grady to Retire December 5, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler Group today announced that Peter Grady has stated his intention to retire, effective March 31, 2015. In the interim, Grady will retain his current responsibilities as Vice President Dealer Network Development and continue as a member of the Company's NAFTA Leadership Team. In a move announced earlier, Christian Gobber will assume responsibility for leading Maserati North America, effective January 1, 2015.

Chrysler slows minivan production, hasn't built VW Routan this year

Chrysler has slowed production of its Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans this week, Automotive News reports. The Windsor, Ontario plant will cut its three shifts from eight hours each to four hours each in an effort "to align production with market demand," a Chrysler spokesperson told AN. Chrysler also builds the closely related Routan minivan for Volkswagen at its Ontario facility, but has not built a single example thus far in 2013.
Sales of Chrysler's minivans fell 15 percent for the first two months of 2013, and a large part of that has to do with the 26-percent drop of the Grand Caravan alone (the T&C was only down by one percent). According to Automotive News data, as of March 1, Chrysler had an unsold inventory of 24,713 Town and Country models and 18,547 Grand Caravans - a 69- and 43-day supply, respectively.
"No sense running full speed now, then have a lot of vehicles sitting around a few months down the line," Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson told AN. Full production is expected to resume again on March 18.

Autoblog Minute: New Civic, FCA UAW Agreement, Frankfurt

FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] FCA reaches a tentative agreement with the UAW, Honda reveals the all-new 2016 Civic, and the Frankfurt Motor Show dazzles us again. I'm senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. FCA reached a tentative labor agreement with UAW leadership. The major focus of the new deal reportedly includes: the eventual elimination of the two-tier pay scale [00:00:30] and pooling worker health care. Now that a leadership agreement is in place, the deal will be sent to FCA's rank-and-file. FCA has about 36,000 hourly employees. We got a first look at the interior and exterior of the 10th-generation Civic. Honda expects the new sedan to dominate the C-segment when it hits dealerships later this fall. Civic coupe, five-door hatchback, Si and Type R will all come later. The 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show is in the books and there was a lot of news to get excited about. [00:01:00] Porsche introduced a fully electric concept car in the Mission E. If they make this car, Porsche could give Tesla nightmares. We also saw SUVs from Jaguar and Bentley. There were two beautiful Italian convertibles from Ferrari and Lamborghini. Meanwhile, Mercedes introduced a concept of their own in the IAA - a vehicle that experiments with adaptable aerodynamics. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus we'll have some added insight on General Motors' deal to [00:01:30] avoid federal prosecution. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Frankfurt Motor Show Bentley Chrysler Ferrari Honda Jaguar Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Porsche Rolls-Royce Tesla Convertible SUV Concept Cars Electric Supercars Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video porsche mission e concept