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Stellantis won't race to split electric vehicles from fossil fuel cars

MILAN - Stellantis is not considering splitting its electric vehicle (EV) business from its legacy combustion engine operation, its finance chief said on Thursday, as the carmaker presented above-expectation revenue data for the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer told analysts he did not see huge benefits in the kind of separations pursued by rivals such as France's Renault and U.S. Ford. "We need to manage the company and the assets we have through this transition," he said. "There are benefits to having the cash flow being generated by the internal combustion business for the investments we need to make." Palmer said the group, formed by a merger last year of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, was not averse to considering adjusting its structure "but we aren't anticipating any big changes." Palmer's comments came after the world's fourth largest carmaker said its net revenue rose 12% to 41.5 billion euros ($44.1 billion) in the January-March period, as strong pricing and the type of vehicles sold helped offset the impact of the semiconductor shortage on volumes. That topped analyst expectations of 36.9 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. Milan-listed shares were up 0.5% by 1415 GMT, in line with Italy's blue-chip index. The impact of the chip crunch was evident in the decline in shipment figures which fell 12% in the quarter to 1.374 million vehicles. It was a similar story for Germany's BMW which posted higher revenues on Thursday and a decline in car sales. Riding the Recovery Stellantis, whose brands also include Citroen, Jeep and Maserati, confirmed its 2022 forecasts for a double-digit adjusted operating income margin, after 11.8% last year, and a positive cash-flow despite supply and inflationary headwinds. Morgan Stanley analysts said after the results that Stellantis had better management than many peers and benefited from its significant exposure to a stronger U.S. economy and a European recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also said it was less affected by a slowing Chinese economy. Palmer said it was important for the group to maintain double-digit margins and keep delivering positive cash flows. "A 12% increase in revenue with a 12% decrease in volumes indicates a very strong performance on price and mix, which augurs well for our margin performance," he said. He said semiconductor supply problems were expected to ease this year with continued improvements in 2023.

Florida Highway Patrolman seen watching YouTube in traffic

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating allegations of a trooper watching YouTube videos on his official in-car laptop while driving. Lee County Florida resident James Peebles caught the alleged offender during his morning commute in early April, NBC2 reported. After exiting I-75, Peebles said that the FHP cruiser rolled up next to him at a stop light where he could clearly see the trooper inside watching a car race on Youtube on an official FHP laptop. Peebles put his car in park and snapped a picture of the cruiser before continuing to work. Later that day, he posted the photo to Facebook where it quickly went viral. "It blew my mind," Peebles told NBC2. "Everybody's human though, so I do know that we all make mistakes." NBC2 contacted the FHP for a statement after speaking to Peebles. An FHP spokesperson told the station that troopers are allowed to use their laptops while driving squad cars when carrying out official duties such as "simple inquiries" and "reviewing the nature of incoming messages". Other Florida motorists, like Jim Kosmerick who was interviewed by NBC2 for this story, don't consider watching an old race on YouTube to be official FHP business. "It's not official business, there's no way you can convince me otherwise," said Kosmerick. The FHP says that they are now aware of this fast moving viral image, and that they are taking the issue very seriously. They state that an investigation into the matter is underway, and that troopers are expected to abide by department policy and lead by example. Related Video News Source: NBC2 Government/Legal Weird Car News Dodge Driving Safety Police/Emergency Videos Sedan distracted driving Dodge Charger Pursuit

Dodge Viper to out-Hell the Hellcat with supercharged V10?

The Viper wouldn't be the Viper if it wasn't the most powerful model under the Chrysler umbrella. But with the arrival of the Hellcat engine in the Dodge Charger and Challenger, the Viper has fallen behind in the bragging rights department: where the new supercharged V8 produces 707 horsepower and 650 pound-feet of torque, the naturally aspirated V10 offers "only" 640 hp and 600 lb-ft - gargantuan output figures by almost any other standard, but crucially behind on the SRT power scale. Conner Avenue is going to have to do something about that.
Although the Hellcat's engine reportedly won't fit under the Viper's hood, SRT is now rumored to have another trick up its sleeve: supercharge the existing V10. According to the Pentastar performance enthusiasts at allpar.com, Chrysler has already taken delivery of the first such prototype engines so that it can begin the process of fitting it into an upgraded Viper.
The spooled ten-pot is tipped to produce around 800 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. More than that and the Viper's drivetrain, chassis and bodywork would have to be substantially reworked. Though beefier transmissions are available, fitting them would reportedly set off a domino-game of changes required to handle the added torque. Which may be something Chrysler would be prepared to do for the next-generation model, but in the meantime, 800 hp could prove enough to put the Viper back atop the Mopar performance ladder where it belongs, and give it an edge against the new Corvette Z06 to rekindle sales.