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Fiat Chrysler plans to speed up its product development

Fiat Chrysler is streamlining its global product development process in a bid to bring new or updated models to showrooms more quickly, reflecting heightened consumer expectations but also massive technological upheavals brought by things like electric vehicles, self-driving cars and ever more strident safety regulations. FCA recently announced plans to flatten its corporate product development structure across its global properties to reduce complexity, speed decision making and get products to the market faster than the years it can take today. It's similar to what Jim Hackett has been trying to do across town at Ford. FCA Chief Technology Officer Harald Wester, who is also executive chairman of Maserati, will oversee the reorganized product development unit. The company says it has already committed ˆ9 billion — nearly $10 billion at current exchange rates — toward its five-year plan to launch 30 new electrified nameplates globally, with plug-in hybrid versions of the Jeep Compass, Renegade and Wrangler due up first along with a full-electric Fiat car and commercial van. Maserati has also received a ˆ1.6 billion investment to bring about hybrid and battery-electric powertrains, plus Level 3 autonomous capabilities. “The industry has never experienced technological change at the pace we are now seeing,” CEO Mike Manley said in a statement. “So, weÂ’re unleashing the creative energy of our engineers and technical experts for the benefit of our customers and stakeholders worldwide.” One of the biggest changes is integrating powertrain and vehicle engineering, previously separate units, in a global process involving more collaboration and better deployment of resources. Engineering will also be supported by five centers of technical competence, including groups that will develop electronic architectures and another focused on advanced technologies. FCA says product development has previously been served by several different organizations that operated as regional sub-groups or standalone units. Left unmentioned is whether the merger with PSA Group, which will reportedly result in nearly 70 percent of all models produced by the two brands moving to just two PSA platforms, is helping to push the timeline on these changes. FCA is also making greater use of the Alfa Romeo Giorgio platform, planning it for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Investors want answers about Marchionne’s final days

The mystery of Sergio Marchionne's surprise death last week continues, with investors now questioning the timeliness of disclosures by the company and family. Bloomberg reports that Italy's market regulator is making a routine check into how Fiat Chrysler handled communications regarding his illness. Fiat Chrysler's stock is down 12 percent in both Italy and on the New York Stock Exchange since the announcement of Marchionne's death. University Hospital Zurich last week issued a statement saying that Marchionne, who died July 25 while recovering from an unspecified should surgery, had been treated for more than a year for a serious illness that it didn't define. Marchionne's family told Reuters the companies hadn't been aware of his health conditions. The Italian business website Lettera 43 reported July 5, and FCA later confirmed, that Marchionne had undergone shoulder surgery in a Swiss hospital. But the company later denied a July 20 report by the website that Fiat Chairman John Elkann planned to meet with company leaders to divide Marchionne's responsibilities. Yet the FCA board indeed met on July 21 and chose Mike Manley, who had formerly overseen the Jeep and Ram brands, to succeed Marchionne as CEO. The company on July 25 published a brief statement acknowledging the former CEO's death. "Unfortunately, what we feared has come to pass. Sergio Marchionne, man and friend, is gone," Elkann said in the statement. Marchionne told no one outside his inner circle — reportedly not even Elkann — that he was seriously ill. His partner, Manuela Battezzato, who works in Fiat's press department, told Bloomberg that Marchionne's family didn't tell the company about his health condition. The famously hard-working CEO, who had quit smoking about a year ago, had also reportedly stopped responding to messages and calls from some advisors since the end of June. People close to him told Bloomberg that Marchionne died from complications following the shoulder surgery, including two cardiac arrests. Image Credit: Ferrari flags hang at half-staff at the Hungarian Grand Prix / Getty Chrysler Fiat Sergio Marchionne

Canada offloading hundreds of nearly new cars it bought for G7 Summit

Are you looking for a deal on a lightly used 2018 Chrysler 300C? Do you feel like purchasing several at a time? Do you feel like visiting Canada? If all of these apply, you might be able to catch a pretty decent bargain. The Canadian government is offloading Chryslers and hundreds of other cars it bought for the G7 Summit held in Quebec in the summer, and the cars can be had quite cheaply. Originally, over 600 brand new cars were bought to ferry summit guests around Quebec, some of them in motorcades, necessitating the choice of very official-looking black on black 300C models with tinted windows. The RCMP said it turned out to be more affordable to buy the vehicles than to rent or lease them, but it still didn't come cheap for Canada. The bulk purchase price of all the cars exceeded $23 million CAD, and just $6.3 million has been recouped so far through selling 167 vehicles, as narcity.com reports. And there are still a bunch of cars for sale, posted on the GCSurplus.ca website. Take a look at the aforementioned Chryslers that were put up for auction yesterday: There are multiple 300Cs on offer with the starting bid of $25,343 Canadian and barely over 1,000 miles on the clock; the purchase price of a new, Canadian-spec 300C without motorcade modifications is over $42,000. Chevrolet Suburbans are less cheap, as the minimum bid on them is $53,428, but they appear nicely loaded with similarly low mileage and 4WD. There are also bulk deals, like a five-car pack of police-specification Dodge Chargers for a combined $133,000 if you can get them for the minimum bid. Other, less interesting but unquestionably fully serviceable vehicles include Toyota Siennas (109 were originally bought), Ford Escapes, Mitsubishi Outlanders and Dodge Journeys. You can browse the cars here. Related Video: News Source: Narcity.comImage Credit: GCsurplus.ca Weird Car News Chrysler Dodge Car Buying SUV Sedan