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Fiat Chrysler Australia executive in trouble over misuse of company funds

While the merger to create FCA was coming together, its managing director for Australia, Clyde Campbell, was allegedly racking up 30 million Australian dollars ($23.1 million) in spending for himself, family, and friends. Now, the former boss is facing a court case from the automaker's legal team for the purported misappropriation. Among the more opulent expenses that Campbell allegedly put on Chrysler's tab included a 40-foot yacht worth the equivalent of $308,000 and lavish Christmas parties for workers, according to The Age. Despite being required to only travel in economy class and get permission for international travel, he also reportedly racked up the equivalent of over $413,000 travel expenses. "The more we dug, the more we found," said an unnamed source to The Age. Campbell came to power in Australia as a general manager for DaimlerChrysler, and became managing director in October 2010. He was reportedly a close friend with former Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Ernst Lieb. After Lieb lost his wrongful dismissal lawsuit, Campbell allegedly helped his friend's partnership in an Aussie auto dealer by using FCA funds for financial support totaling the equivalent of about $3 million. All of this came to light when Pat Dougherty came over from the US to be president and CEO of FCA Australia in December 2014. The staff spilled the full story on Dougherty's first day. "I walked into his office and let it all out. I don't think he knew what hit him," another source said to The Age. A team of forensic accountants was brought in to investigate. The reason that this took so long to discover was that no one was paying attention. First, sales in Australia were growing under Campbell. Also, "in my opinion, back in Michigan, head office didn't have its eyes on the road. They only had eyes on the Fiat deal," an insider said to The Age. That confluence essentially provided the perfect storm for this huge spending. News Source: The AgeImage Credit: Giuseppe Cacace / AFP / Getty Images Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat lawsuit FCA

Hyundai-Kia claims 'greenest' title from Honda, Big Three still big losers

Let's start with the good news. On average, any new car you buy in the US today will be 43 percent cleaner than any average new car in 1998. Here's some more good news, for Korea anyway, Hyundai-Kia has been named the cleanest automaker in the latest study by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), which looked at 2013 model year vehicles sold between October 2012 and September 2013 from the top eight automakers (by volume). The bad news? The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The big three Detroit automakers are, on average, still making the dirtiest cars in the showroom. The problem for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler lies in their trucks, which sell well but tend to have pretty bad fuel economy (compared to sedans, at least). The UCS calculates its list by averaging "the per-mile emissions for each light-duty vehicle sold by each automaker" and then factors in "the fuel economy, fuel type, and sales volume of each type of vehicle sold by each automaker" and "the upstream global warming emissions from producing and distributing the fuel used by each vehicle, as well as emissions from the vehicles themselves." That all means that, the more trucks you sell, the worse you're gonna do. Then again, the more trucks you sell with 18 mpg, the more you're helping drivers put CO2 into the air, so the UCS is doing a fair comparison of the things that this study is trying to track. More details on the methodology are available on page six of the study PDF. In case you were wondering (we were), UCS did make sure to use the revised mpg numbers for Hyundai and Kia models that were originally overstated. Hyundai has apologized for and fixed those figures and even with the new, corrected numbers, Hyundai's total emissions are dropping at a rate of about three percent a year, enough for it to take the greenest company title for the first time. In fact, this is the first time that an automaker other than Honda has come out on top in the UCS ranking, which has been released six times now, including the first one in 2000 (which looked at 1998 model year data). In 2010, Honda was almost knocked off the winner's perch by both Hyundai and Toyota, but managed to hold on. Chrysler, on the other hand, came in dead last (again) in the ranking of the top eight automakers, snagging the "dirtiest tailpipe" award once (again). Read the UCS' press release below.

NHTSA questions FCA's reaction to recalls, will hold public hearing

The US Department of Transportation and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are holding a public hearing on July 2 to investigate whether FCA US is failing to fix safety problems and issue necessary notices. The agencies also want detailed accounts of the handling of 20 recalls by June 1 as part of a special order. If the Feds determine that the automaker isn't living up to its legal requirements, the result could go as far as a "buy-back or replacement of affected vehicles." "Significant questions have been raised as to whether this company is meeting its obligations to protect the drivers from safety defects, and today we are launching a process to ensure that those obligations are met," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in the announcement of the hearing. The 20 recalls that the agencies are investigating date from between 2013 and 2015. Just some of these include the action to make the fuel tanks safer on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty; FCA US' Takata inflator repairs; inadvertently deploying airbags in the Liberty, Grand Cherokee and Dodge Viper; and the company's ignition switch fix for the Chrysler Town & Country, Grand Caravan and Journey. Failure to submit reports about all of these on time could result in a $7,000 per day fine. You can read the whole list in the PDF for the special order. In a statement to Autoblog, FCA US said, "The average completion rate for FCA US LLC recalls exceeds the industry average and all FCA US campaigns are conducted in consultation with NHTSA. The Company will cooperate fully." The government agencies claim that they have received complaints from customers alleging that they weren't notified of recalls; parts not being available; difficulty getting an appointment, and misinformation from dealers. During the hearing witnesses from FCA US, NHTSA and the public have the opportunity to present evidence on each campaign. U.S. DOT Announces Fiat Chrysler Public Hearing and Issues Special Order NHTSA has concerns about 20 recalls and sets public hearing date for July 2 WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that the Department's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will hold a public hearing to determine whether automaker Fiat Chrysler has failed to remedy safety defects and issue required notices in 20 recalls.