2003 Pt Cruiser on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Stellantis expects to hit emissions target without Tesla's help

Franco-Italian carmaker Stellantis expects to achieve its European carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions targets this year without environmental credits bought from Tesla, its CEO said in an interview published on Tuesday. Stellantis was formed through the merger of France's PSA and Italy's FCA, which spent about 2 billion euros ($2.40 billion) to buy European and U.S. CO2 credits from electric vehicle maker Tesla over the 2019-2021 period. "With the electrical technology that PSA brought to Stellantis, we will autonomously meet carbon dioxide emission regulations as early as this year," Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares said in the interview with French weekly Le Point. "Thus, we will not need to call on European CO2 credits and FCA will no longer have to pool with Tesla or anyone." California-based Tesla earns credits for exceeding emissions and fuel economy standards and sells them to other automakers that fall short. European regulations require all car manufacturers to reduce CO2 emissions for private vehicles to an average of 95 grams per kilometer this year. A Stellantis spokesman said the company is in discussions with Tesla about the financial implications of the decision to stop the pooling agreement. "As a result of the combination of Groupe PSA and FCA, Stellantis will be in a position to achieve CO2 targets in Europe for 2021 without open passenger car pooling arrangements with other automakers," he added. Tesla's sales of environmental credits to rival automakers helped it to announce slightly better than expected first-quarter revenue this week. The next tightening of European regulations will soon be the subject of proposals from the European Commission. The 2030 target could be lowered to less than 43 grams/km. Related Video: Government/Legal Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Tesla Citroen Peugeot Emissions Stellantis

Fiat brand chief reassigned then resigns amid flagging sales

Jason Stoicevich was replaced as head of the Fiat brand in North America just the other day. He was immediately reassigned to another job within Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. But according to Automotive News, Stoicevich quit the new job – and the company altogether – the very next day. The development comes amidst flagging sales for the Fiat brand in America. The introduction of the awkward-looking 500L multi-purpose vehicle has been largely regarded as a sales disaster in the US. Despite having just introduced the new 500X into the growing crossover market, and an overall upward trend across FCA group sales, the Fiat brand's figures have been dropping all year. While the Italian brand's volume has fluctuated from month to month compared to last year's sales, the number of cars its dealers sells on an average day has been firmly in decline. Fiat's downward trend reflects a general tendency in the market towards larger vehicles at the expense of smaller ones. However, the powers that be in Auburn Hills evidently felt that a change of leadership was in order, so it placed Dodge chief Tim Kuniskis in charge of all the company's mass-market passenger-car brands – namely Dodge, Chrysler, and Fiat – and moved Stoicevich to running the group's fleet and small-business operations. Stoicevich remained in charge of the company's California Business Center, but it seems as though he was as dissatisfied with the switch as his superiors were with the performance of the brand over which he presided, and so he apparently elected to step down and leave the company.

FCA's SEMA vans: A Ram ProMaster bar and a Mopar'd Pacifica

For this year's SEMA show, FCA created six machines that range from mild to wild, and what we have here are the two mildest examples: a custom Ram ProMaster and an accessorized Chrysler Pacifica. Of the two, the ProMaster is easily the more interesting. It's called the BrewMaster and it's a rolling bar. Get it? View 11 Photos The pub-themed interior has a variety of custom touches, including Mopar neon signs and beer taps with shift-knob handles. The outside gets some conceptual parts as well. The grille loses the crosshair design in favor of a large-font "RAM" badge in the center, similar to the one on the Ram Rebel. It also gets some custom 20-inch wheels and large fender flares to accommodate the wider rubber. The message here: Don't drink and drive, but definitely drive somewhere and drink. The Pacifica has far fewer custom goodies, and, sadly, no Hellcat powertrain, but that means what you see is something you could realistically replicate at a dealer. Called the Pacifica Cadence, this van is a rolling showcase of Mopar accessories. The newest piece is a running board that is designed to look like part of the sheetmetal, as opposed to a tacked-on aftermarket accessory. We'd say it's fairly successful if not super-exciting. View 7 Photos The Pacifica also features loads of other Mopar bits including the roof rack, dog kennel, all-weather floor mats, and wireless charging pad. Aside from the custom wrap and painted wheels, you could outfit your own Pacifica identically using a Mopar catalog. As for the BrewMaster, that might require a bit more custom work. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: FCA, Joel Stocksdale SEMA Show Chrysler RAM Minivan/Van Concept Cars chrysler pacifica ram promaster SEMA 2016