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Fiat 500 Beach Cruiser Concept Unveiled Ahead of SEMA Show Debut

About a month ago, the Chrysler Group announced plans to display more than 20 Mopar-prepped Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat and SRT brand concept vehicles and project cars at the 2012 SEMA aftermarket show, which takes place from October 30 through November 2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Today, we get our first glimpse of one of those models and in particular, the Fiat 500 Beach Cruiser that was revealed during a special event at Mopar’s Accessory and Performance Lab in Michigan.

It’s not the best of times to be a Chrysler-Fiat executive, never mind the group's CEO. Sales keep falling due to the European crisis, your Italian factories are operating at less than 50 percent of their capacity and you have postponed the long-awaited return of Alfa Romeo to the U.S. market more times than even you can recall.

At the same time, the local government and workers’ unions are, understandably, pressuring you to keep your factories operational.

Nevertheless, Sergio Marchionne isn’t willing to give up so easily. In fact, he has already met with the Italian PM and assured him that even though he won't implement the €20 billion (US$26 billion) investment plan that he announced last year, he won’t close any plants either.

September auto sales were up 13 percent compared to the same month in 2011, according to sales tracker Autodata. This is the best result in the last four years and exceeds even the most optimist analysts’ expectations.

It also raises the automotive industry sales’ Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) projection to 14.9 million. SAAR is determined by dividing the unadjusted annual rate for the month by its seasonality factor, resulting in an adjusted annual rate for the month.

September was the fourth consecutive month, and the seventh month this year, that the SAAR has exceeded 14 million.

After the U.S. market meltdown, which resulted in General Motors and Chrysler receiving a bailout, the two automakers along with Ford recovered quickly and are now posting near-record profits.

However, it seems that Detroit's Big Three have to face the fact that, even though their sales are blooming in most parts of the world, the European debt crisis will put their local operations in the red.

According to a report from the Detroit News, GM’s Opel/Vauxhall and its French partner PSA Peugeot Citroen, Ford of Europe and Fiat will lose a combined US$4 billion this year because sales in the Old Continent are slumping to their lowest levels since the mid-1990s.

There is no other better place in the world for Chrysler's official tuning arm Mopar to display its goods than the automotive aftermarket bonanza that is the annual SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

At this year's event, which runs from October 30 to November 2, the company plans to bring more than 20 new Moparized Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat and SRT vehicles.

Even before the SRT brand was formed as a separate entity, then Dodge boss Ralph Gilles was already thinking about how to revive the legendary Plymouth Barracuda.

At the 2010 SEMA show, Gilles had told reporters that “there’s a lot of pressure to bring the ‘Cuda back; the customers have been stomping their feet for it.”

Now, Car & Driver reports that the Barracuda will indeed make a comeback. It says Chrysler Group plans to replace the Challenger in 2015 and join the Viper in SRT’s expanding range.

As expected after last week’s announcement, on Saturday, Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti met with Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne and the company's Chairman and heir to the Agnelli family empire, John Elkann, to discuss the automaker’s future in the country.

The meeting was arranged after rumors surfaced that Fiat, which is expected to lose around €700 million (US$904.5 million) this year due to a sales slump in the European market, is considering closing some of its plants and moving production out of Italy.

The Chrysler Group has temporarily pulled the plug on its test fleet of advanced plug-in hybrid-electric vehicles (PHEVs) to fix a battery problem that occurred on a small number of models.

In particular, the Detroit-based carmaker said three of the fleet’s 109 pickups fitted with plug-in hybrid powertrains sustained damage when their prototype 12.9-kWh lithium-ion propulsion batteries overheated, adding that no injuries were reported with all incidents happening when the vehicles were unoccupied.

As the Chrysler Group's undisputed "halo" car, one would believe that the Detroit-based carmaker would want most of its U.S. dealers to be able to show and sell the new 2013 SRT Viper, but that's not the case.

An Autonews report back in July, quoted Ralph Gilles, CEO of the SRT brand, saying that around 15 to 20 percent (or roughly 340 to 460 showrooms) of Chrysler's more than 2,300 U.S. dealers will carry the V10-powered sports car, but according to USA Today, Gilles has now lowered that number even more to only about 100 to 150 shops or 4-6%.

Gilles told the newspaper that the No. 1 requirement, "Is first of all, to have the fire, the passion. That's the unofficial requirement -- that you have a love affair with the cars and you just love fast cars."

Negotiations between the Canadian Auto Workers’ union and Ford resulted in a tentative deal concerning the new four-year contract between the workers and the automaker, averting the proposed strike that would start on Monday midnight if a deal couldn't be reached.

Though the deal still needs to be ratified by the union members, it includes creating 600 new jobs, modifying the two-tier wage system, paying CAW members US$9,234 in bonuses over the life of the contract and eliminating guaranteed cost-of-living wage increases. Moreover, new hires will start at about US$21 an hour, but will receive full wages of about $35 an hour after 10, instead of six, years.

In a developing story, authorities say a Chrysler employee fatally stabbed a male co-worker at the Detroit company's Jefferson North assembly plant at around8 a.m. Thursday.

Detroit police Sgt. Alan Quinn told reporters that the suspect fled the factory and then committed suicide at the Belle Isle Park. The unnamed man is said to have died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Chrysler confirmed the incident in a short press statement:"Two employees were involved in an altercation inside the plant. One employee was stabbed and unfortunately pronounced dead at the scene. The Detroit Police Department is currently investigating."

On Tuesday, two days after two government ministers asked Fiat to clarify its plans, the Italian government announced Prime Minister Mario Monti would meet with Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne on Saturday, September 22, to talk about the company’s “strategic prospects”.

Given that the Fiat Group is the country’s biggest company, the rumors about shutting down some of its Italian plants have caused a lot of concern.

Three days before the expiration of the ultimatum that the Canadian Auto workers’ union (CAW) has issued to GM, Ford and Chrysler, the union has made some concessions over the new contract in order to avert a simultaneous strike at all three carmakers' Canadian plants as it has threatened.

The CAW is proposing a lower starting wage for newly hired workers and a longer time for them to reach the top of the pay scale. Moreover, unlike current workers, new employees will contribute to their pensions but will still be entitled to a defined-benefit, not a defined-contribution pension.

With only four days remaining until the end of the current contract between the Canadian Auto Workers’ union (CAW) and the Detroit's Big Three, the union announced on Wednesday that meetings between the two parties are becoming more frequent, yet they “have not yielded many results”, which is bringing the event of a triple strike even closer.

September 17 has been set as a deadline from CAW. Unless a deal is reached by midnight, then the union members have voted almost unanimously to strike at GM, Ford and Chrysler, all at the same time.

The love affair between Chrysler and Detroit-born fashion designer John Varvatos remains undimmed.

Following the release of a TV Spot and the creation of a one-off customized 300S sedan that went up for auction earlier this year, Varvatos has now worked together with Chrysler's designers for the creation of two special edition versions of the 300 that bear his name.

The Canadian Auto Workers’ union (CAW) is the largest private sector union in the country with over 200,000 members. On September 5, it announced that it would strike General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, if contract talks do not progress.

This is the first time in its history that the CAW threatens to strike all three Detroit carmakers at the same time. The last strike organized by CAW was in 1996 against GM.

The union announced that all of its members will go on strike, since 99 percent of Chrysler Canada, 98 percent of General Motors of Canada and 97 percent of Ford Canada have voted in favor of the move.

For the umpteenth time, Alfa Romeo’s planned reentry in the US market has been put on the table. In October, Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne will reveal a new schedule for Alfa’s upcoming models and the brands overseas expansion, which means yet another delay.

Last year, Marchionne revealed the company's new business plan and said that Alfa would return to the States in late 2012 with a small number of its 4C mid-engined coupe. The full-on assault in the US market would begin in mid-2013 with the launch of a compact crossover and at the end of the year, the new Giulia executive saloon.

Poltrona Frau, the Italian company renowned for its finely crafted leather interiors, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

To commemorate the event, Poltrona Frau teamed up with Lancia, with which it has cooperated since the early 1920s, to create a special edition version of the Flavia.

Customer satisfaction is something all carmakers strive to achieve. The way each one chooses to improve and thus gain customer loyalty as well as a good reputation, differs among them.

In 2009, when the US automotive industry was in turmoil, the Chrysler Group initiated the Dealer Standards program.

It was Chrysler's way to make dealers improve their facilities and their customer satisfaction index. Large dealerships could be awarded as much as US$200,000 per quarter if they met the Pentastar’s standards, and receive penalties for failing to do so.

Chrysler announced today that the union workers of its Dundee engine plant in Michigan rejected the carmaker’s proposed new contract. However, despite the spat with the employees, Chrysler spokesperson Jodi Tinson said that production will continue. Read more »

siesta passionevera

Fiat 500 Beach Cruiser Concept Unveiled Ahead of SEMA Show Debut

Fiat-Chrysler CEO to Announce 2013-2014 Sales Projection on October 30, Attacks VEBA

U.S. Car Sales Increase by 13 Percent in September, Market is on its Way to Reach 15 Million Units

Detroit's Big 3 to Record US$4 Billion Combined Losses this Year due to European Car Sales Slump

Chrysler Group Preparing More Than 20 Mopar Concepts for SEMA Show

Chrysler Group Rumored to Replace Challenger with Smaller and Lighter SRT Barracuda in 2015

Fiat Pledges to Keep Italian Plants, Shift Focus to Foreign Markets by Building Chrysler Models

Chrysler Group Halts Plug-in Hybrid Test Fleet after Discovering a Problem with the Batteries

Only About 5 Percent of all Chrysler U.S. Dealers to Sell New 2013 SRT Viper, Each will be Charged $25k

CAW Strikes a Deal with Ford, Gives GM and Chrysler More Time to Make Up Their Minds

Chrysler Employee Kills Co-Worker then Commits Suicide, Automaker Idles Down Jefferson North Plant

Fiat-Chrysler CEO to Meet with Italian PM Amid Fears About Automaker's Future in the Country

CAW Makes Some Concessions Over New Contract with Detroit 3, Carmakers Still Undecided

CAW-Detroit Big 3 Negotiations Continue but Still No Deal Reached, Triple Strike Looms

Chrysler Joins Forces with Designer John Varvatos to Create a Pair of Special Edition 300C Sedans

CAW Threatens to Strike Detroit's Big 3 Simultaneously if They Don’t Agree on New Contract

Alfa Romeo’s Return to the U.S. Postponed Again as Marrchione Changes Original Schedule

Lancia and Poltrona Frau Hit Venice Film Festival Red Carpet with Special Edition Flavia

Chrysler Cuts Incentives and Penalties Strategy, Dealers Will Have to Rely On Sales and Service

Chrysler’s Dundee Engine Plant Workers Reject New Contract, Production Not Affected

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