2022 Ram 5500 Crew Cab 12' Contractor Bed Diesel 4x4 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Stellantis not looking for further mergers, including with Renault

MILAN — Stellantis Chairman John Elkann on Monday denied the carmaker was hatching merger plans, responding to press speculation about a possible French-led tie-up with rival Renault. Elkann said that the Peugeot owner, the world's third largest carmaker by sales, was focused on the execution of its long-term business plan. "There is no plan under consideration regarding merger operations with other manufacturers," said Elkann, who also heads Exor, the Agnelli family holding company that is the largest single shareholder in Stellantis. After abandoning the Russian market, at the time its second largest after France, and reducing the scope of its global cooperation with Nissan, Renault has been seen as a potential M&A target. Speculation intensified after an electric vehicle market slowdown forced it last week to cancel IPO plans for its EV and software unit Ampere. Its market cap remains stubbornly low at little over 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) despite a financial recovery over the past few years. Stellantis, the product of a 2021 merger between France's PSA and Fiat Chrysler and one of the most profitable groups in the industry, has a market cap of more than 85 billion euros when unlisted shares are factored in. It has a 14 brand portfolio also including Citroen, Jeep, Opel and Alfa Romeo. NEWSPAPER REPORT Italian daily Il Messaggero had said on Sunday that the French government, which is Renault's largest shareholder and also has a stake in Stellantis, was studying plans for a merger between the two groups. A spokeswoman for Renault said on Monday the group did not comment on rumors. France's Finance Ministry had declined to comment on Sunday. Stellantis has crossed swords with the Italian government, which has accused it of acting against the national interest on occasions. Industry Minister Adolfo Urso last week raised the prospect of the Italian government taking a stake in Stellantis to help to balance the French influence. Renault shares pared gains after Elkann's comments to stand 1.2% higher by 1220 GMT, having initially risen more than 4%. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, a Portuguese-national, last week said in an interview with Bloomberg that the group was "ready for any kind of consolidation" and that its job was to make sure that it would be "one of the winners". Analysts, however, question the rationale of a Stellantis-Renault merger, which would also expand the group's excess capacity in Europe.

The 2018 Ram Limited Tungsten Edition is rough-neck luxury

No one makes offshoots of offshoots quite like FCA. Ram and Jeep in particular seem to have limited edition versions of special edition trims. This week, Ram announced the new Limited Tungsten Edition, a special version of the top-level Limited trim. The packaged adds a number of niceties and is available on the Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 in a number of cab and bed configurations. The high-end truck market is expanding as customers drop luxury SUVs for kitted-out trucks. The Ram Limited Tungsten Edition adds a number of new features inside and out that make the truck more premium than ever. On the exterior, the 1500 model gets a vented sport hood, body-color bumpers, mirrors, door handles, and running boards, and the massive chrome R-A-M grille. The black headlights are pulled from the Sport model, and the wheels from the Limited trim have a unique satin paint. Ram boasts that the Limited Tungsten Edition has the first suede headliner in the pickup truck segment. Blue and indigo-colored accents are found on the instrument cluster, the steering, wheel, doors, and seats. The deep blue and tan interior is quite handsome and is well matched by the real wood trim. Special badging on the interior marks the model. The luxury truck goes on sale later in 2017, with a base price of $55,120 for the 1500 Limited Tungsten Edition model (compared to $54,270 starting for a 1500 Limited). Prices go up as cabs and bed lengths get longer. Related Video: Related Gallery 2018 Ram Limited Tungsten Edition View 9 Photos Image Credit: Ram Design/Style RAM Truck

FCA delays Grand Wagoneer and next-generation heavy-duty Ram trucks

The upcoming Jeep Grand Wagoneer has had a tumultuous gestation thus far. At one point it was essentially confirmed, but later it was rumored to have been cancelled. In that context, the latest report from Automotive News is something of a mixed blessing. According to the publication, the Grand Wagoneer has simply been delayed, as has the next-generation Ram heavy duty truck line. This does not seem to affect the fully redesigned Ram 1500, which was previously reported to have been pushed back slightly to 2019. Automotive News says the information came from unnamed sources at the company. Nothing was said about how long the vehicles would be delayed. The publication also conjectures that FCA is delaying the models to save some money to help cover the company's $7 billion of debt , since re-tooling both the heavy-duty truck plant and eventual Grand Wagoneer plant will be expensive. View 6 Photos We reached out to Chrysler for more information on the subject, but the company wouldn't comment on the report. Even so, we wouldn't be too surprised if FCA is indeed delaying these products. The company has delayed a number of vehicles in recent years. In fact nearly every major FCA truck and SUV, including the Grand Wagoneer and Ram line, were delayed about a year and a half ago. We certainly hope the company doesn't delay the Grand Wagoneer for too long, since it's possible it will have a price tag of over $130,000. The profit margins on an SUV with that kind of MSRP would go a long way to helping to pay down the company's debt. Related Video: