Anthony Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) http://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/mark-phelan/2016/02/20/marchionne-reshapes-fiat-chrysler-merger-sale/80520970/ Before Sergio reshaped and refocused FCAs product plan Jan. 27, the company consisted of a few strong products sitting atop a steaming heap of unprofitable brands and car lines. That changed when Marchionne announced he would stop building compact and midsize cars things FCA does not do well and focus on Chryslers strengths and Fiats potential assets. Bye-bye Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart. Hello Ram Power Wagon, Jeep Grand Wagoneer and more. The plan transformed FCA from a potential money pit into a plum many automakers could covet as a money maker and door to the U.S. market. Edited February 21, 2016 by Anthony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 The plan transformed FCA from a potential money pit into a plum many automakers could covet as a money maker and door to the U.S. market I call BS. Stopping compact and mid Sized cars and refocusing production on more utilities does not transform that "steaming heap" of brands and car lines into something attractive to other brands, there's still the problem of Fiat's debt burden on those North American operations, something Fiat will be hoping to bon voyage with any sale..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Its a very poorly written article...it completely misses the mark with Mazada being potential buyer, when they are more or less under the control of Toyota these days. The only someone buys them out whole is some Chinese manufacture that wants their foot in the US market or FCA gets parted out to the highest bidders/brands get killed and Marchonnie no longer has a job at any auto manufacture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atomcat68 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Here is the list of the companies in the article and my thoughts on it. PSA Peugeot Citroen- Doesn't have the cash to put air in the tires of its cars. They have a partnership with a Chinese company (Dongfeng... A name you can't make up) to stay afloat. Hyundai Kia- This one is the most likely as they expressed interest in buying Jeep before. They keep Ram and Jeep and let Dodge and Chrysler die. (Although I'd change the pickup bak to a Dodge Ram. Honda- Hahahahahaha!... No. Mahindra- They could try it to get a footprint in the USA which they clearly want. Mazda - Too small to try this. Chinese automakers - One of the most likely scenarios. Renault Nissan - Now that they developed their own Titian, unlikely. Volkswagen - They would wait for the eventual FCA bankruptcy and pick off Jeep and maybe Alpha, but the current financial woes would probably derail this and without Piech, the expansion at all cost fever is likely cooling off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) I am skeptical of any company that has nonunion auto plants in the U.S. taking on FCA with its union plants and risking its nonunion status. My bet is for a sale of brands. Besides, who would want the Fiat side of the business? Otherwise I'd bet on a Chinese or Indian company. Mahindra tried to sell a pickup here 6 years ago And Jeep was established in China 30 years ago. Edited February 22, 2016 by AlRozzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) I am skeptical of any company that has nonunion auto plants in the U.S. taking on FCA with its union plants and risking its nonunion status. Worked fine for Mercedes Benz. (from the standpoint of unionizing the U.S. MB plants) Edited February 22, 2016 by akirby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Worked fine for Mercedes Benz. (from the standpoint of unionizing the U.S. MB plants) Hello akirby... I'd quess Diamler figured they could get the pricing out of MB if needed. I just could not see a big Asian player risking it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 I don't think the workers in those plants really want to be unionized - at least not with the UAW. I think they've seen what happened in Detroit and are pretty happy with their current circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Chrysler and Dodge are down for the count and will go with Plymouth and Desoto soon. The Pacifica can be rebranded as Ram. But, the cars are goners, even the 300/Charger. No other company wants to bother trying to market them. Too bad Mopar gear-heads, but years of being "near death" finally coming to roost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Kill Dodge and Chrysler, rename Pacifica as RAM and spin off Jeep/RAM focusing on trucks, vans and utilities. Let Fiat fend for itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
92merc Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Funny. Title reads "Marchionne Reshapes...". With the exception or RAM/Jeep, this is the only shape I see the rest of FCA. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzcat Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) Here is the list of the companies in the article and my thoughts on it. PSA Peugeot Citroen- Doesn't have the cash to put air in the tires of its cars. They have a partnership with a Chinese company (Dongfeng... A name you can't make up) to stay afloat. Hyundai Kia- This one is the most likely as they expressed interest in buying Jeep before. They keep Ram and Jeep and let Dodge and Chrysler die. (Although I'd change the pickup bak to a Dodge Ram. Honda- Hahahahahaha!... No. Mahindra- They could try it to get a footprint in the USA which they clearly want. Mazda - Too small to try this. Chinese automakers - One of the most likely scenarios. Renault Nissan - Now that they developed their own Titian, unlikely. Volkswagen - They would wait for the eventual FCA bankruptcy and pick off Jeep and maybe Alpha, but the current financial woes would probably derail this and without Piech, the expansion at all cost fever is likely cooling off. Yes, pretty much all of this. PSA buying someone is just LOL funny. Dongfeng is the PSA's largest shareholder so Dongfeng will just buy FCA itself instead of letting their French minions screw up the deal. I mentioned in the other thread that the most likely buyer is Daimler, which would very much like to return to light truck market in the US. Ram pickup will complement Sprinter and Freightliner business more than any other "potential buyers" Freep identified. They wouldn't mind picking up Jeep either although they would not need Chrysler or Fiat assets so quite likely Daimler will team up with Renault to divide up FCA with each taking parts. Edited February 23, 2016 by bzcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Required reading on the growing use of non-GAAP numbers: http://www.wsj.com/articles/s-p-500-earnings-far-worse-than-advertised-1456344483 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBirdStangSkyliner Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I would put Ram back into Dodge as a century of brand heritage and recognition has value. Then, you would have a fairly complete brand with the trucks, Durango, Challenger, and Charger. Adding in a viable "C" class CUV would make it whole. Jeep just needs better quality manufacturing and a larger, three row SUV. Chrysler is the enigma as the new Pacifica is about the only product with any chance of volume. Perhaps, more upscale "C" and "D" class CUV's would help. The next generation 300 is supposedly well into developement and is shared with an Alfa model. If it's development cost is mostly incurred, I'd keep it going forward as there might be enough volume in America for it's last surviving large sedan (Taurus and Impala are rumored to be dead cars walking) and Alfa ain't going to cut the mustard on it's own. Fiat could then be all FWD cars, the Spider, the Ducato, and "A" and B" class CUV's. Any alliances for joint platform development should be pursued. Mullaly styled jettisoning of unprofitable plants and products should have long ago been implemented. This is nearly impossible, though, in Italy where labor protection and politics are cozy bedfellows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Required reading on the growing use of non-GAAP numbers: http://www.wsj.com/articles/s-p-500-earnings-far-worse-than-advertised-1456344483 Thanks for the link. This is why I am concerned that Fiat has now loaded so much debt onto Nth American operations, any company looking at buying RAM od JEEP will see a lot of red ink attached to those ledgers as Fiat attempts to sell off assets and debt in one hit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 any company looking at buying RAM od JEEP will see a lot of red ink attached to those ledgers Well, sensibly, they'll either pay extra and require FCA to hold the debt, or they'll pay less and assume it. That debt is going to stick with FCA one way or another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Required reading on the growing use of non-GAAP numbers: http://www.wsj.com/articles/s-p-500-earnings-far-worse-than-advertised-1456344483 Maybe these companies need Generally Accepted Accounting Personnel? On a serious note, I can't view the article w/o a subscription. What is the bottom line figure on the debt they are claiming Fiat put on Chrysler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I can't view the article w/o a subscription. Nifty trick: Copy the headline. Paste it into the search box at Google.com Click on the article. Voila! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Nifty trick: Copy the headline. Paste it into the search box at Google.com Click on the article. Voila! Didn't work...still getting prompted for a subscription Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Didn't work...still getting prompted for a subscription Clear your cookies for that site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banker55 Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Nifty trick: Copy the headline. Paste it into the search box at Google.com Click on the article. Voila! Worked for me...thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullynd Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 I usually just plug the URL into a google search (worked for this article as well). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
630land Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) The puff piece in Freep.com makes it sound like "any day now" some company will gladly take on Fiat's debt, and "let Sergio the Great take over". "Brilliant career" my SS@!! And love when the fan boys go "Someone American should save them!" Who? How much? And why are they on the ropes again? They got rot dating back to the 70's. Lots of excuses, but no one stepped up other than Fiat so beggars cant be choosers. On Autoextremist reader mail there's a fan who says "I'll put up $1000, whos with me?" Good luck, going to need more than that! Edited February 26, 2016 by 630land Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 If Sergio can find a pigeon in time, he will have to take whatever is offered. This is how you skin a player.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-150 Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Pre-Daimler Chrysler was successful. They made tons of money. The Neon was class leading in its day. They had some success with the PT Cruiser. So they had pick is, SUVS and small cars. I could be wrong, but everything went downhill with the Daimler buyout and they never recovered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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