Maserati Gran Turismo, Highly Optioned on 2040-cars

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Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot

2019 Maserati Levante Trofeo / GTS First Drive Review | Yes, you want the Ferrari V8

CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA, Calif. — The wine glasses are rapidly draining. It's getting late, and Maserati design chief Klaus Busse appears to be fighting a cold. Yet he can't resist sketching something on a menu to illustrate his point. The A6GCS quickly takes shape. One of the most celebrated Maseratis ever, Busse uses this beacon to reconcile the Italian marque's transition to crossovers. It's how he explains and rationalizes the Levante, a stylish SUV aimed directly at the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupe. The A6GCS, a rare, Pininfarina-built sports car, lives on in today's Maseratis, he argues. This includes the Levante, a handsome crossover aimed at suburban cruisers bored with the notion of German luxury. Can a brand with rich sporting heritage reconcile with evolving market trends? It must, even if the connection to a mythical 1950s racer is a bit tenuous. But a pair of Ferrari-powered V8 twins, the Levante GTS and Levante Trofeo, make that progression easier. Prodigious outputs of 550 and 590 horsepower help. They are the top-shelf Levantes. You buy them when the powerful twin-turbo V6 Levante and Levante S simply won't do. You're talking six-figure prices, decadent interiors and more than a bit of bling. Well-heeled professionals drive the Levante, which starts at $75,980 and packs 345 hp, or pony up $11,000 for the Levante S and its 424 horses. The V8 starts at $119,980 for the GTS, and the Trofeo comes in at a lofty $169,980. These buyers haven't just made it, they're likely set for life. "We're not in the boy racer clientele," Busse says. "There's a certain level of accomplishment that you feel in driving a Maserati." That's probably true. But should the Trofeo be associated with generational wealth? I'm pondering this as I pull a hard right, kick up some dirt and pull onto the Pacific Coast Highway. The ocean laps to my left as the eight cylinders unlimber and I find myself reaching 60 miles per hour with little effort. The quoted time is 3.7 seconds, which feels dead on. I cue up Corsa, the sportiest of the Levante's drive modes, one that's only available on the Trofeo. The road is winding. I fall into a rhythm as I make my way up the coast toward Big Sur. The car's selling point is the engine, but the Skyhook suspension with electronically controlled damping keeps this 4,784-pound SUV reasonably tied down and poised. The cabin is quiet, as expected for the segment, allowing for easy conversation.

Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.