GM Files State Lawsuits Against FCA Over Racketeering Claims

General Motors refuses to let the dismissal of its federal racketeering case against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles stand in the way of getting what it believes is true justice. On Monday, the automaker filed its latest claim with Wayne County Circuit Court in Michigan. These are separate from the New Jersey lawsuit it has targeting former board member and ex-UAW vice president Joe Ashton, who GM has accused of being a hired mole. However, Ashton was named in the trio of new court filings, along with Alphons Iacobelli — the man who pled guilty to embezzling union funds and kicked off a gigantic federal corruption investigation into the UAW.

The automaker also named some of the banks it claimed were involved in the union scandal and continues to allege that FCA “provided millions of dollars to co-conspirators via numerous undisclosed offshore bank accounts and utilized such accounts to purchase the support and silence of numerous high-level UAW officers and FCA executives.” Fiat Chrysler’s assumed goal? Forcing General Motors into a merger or destroy it if the merger failed by negotiating favorable terms with the union and encouraging leadership into adopting positions that would harm GM.

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FCA-PSA Merger Terms Tweaked

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group announced a few revisions to their planned merger on Monday. Unfortunately, ditching the Stellantis moniker when they become the world’s fourth-largest automaker wasn’t among the changes listed. Because it still sounds like a medication for people with arthritis.

Ask your doctor is Stellantis is right for you. Don’t take Stellantis if you’re pregnant or nursing.

As the duo wants to maintain a 50/50 split, they need to address “the liquidity impact on the automotive industry of the COVID-19 pandemic while preserving the economic value” of their original agreement. That has left PSA maintaining control of French parts supplier Faurecia. A special dividend to be distributed among its shareholders before closing is set at 2.9 billion euros (which was previously listed as €5.5 billion) while PSA’s 46 [percent] stake in Faurecia will be distributed to all Stellantis shareholders following the newly formed board’s approval.

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Halo Hero: Maserati Reveals MC20

Thanks to a particularly slow news week, everyone has had extra time to gawk at the 2021 Maserati MC20 — a vehicle that serves to set right all that is wrong with the Italian nameplate and will be the first new vehicle the company has built in almost five years.

Despite being most famous for its racing vehicles from the 20th century, the brand has been passed around more than a basketball and has been forced to evolve its identity. Under Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Maserati has remained fixated on luxury and had straddled the line between premium mainstream cars and hyper exclusivity. With a base price of around $200,000, it’s pretty clear what side of the line the MC20 is on. But it’s hard to criticize something that’s biggest problem is being a supercar — especially when it’s part of a larger effort to rebuild the brand’s racing pedigree and garner extra attention from the sort of people that are serious about cars and have money to waste on sleek, flame-belching baubles.

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Ford Chosen by Unifor as Canadian Bargaining Target

Unifor has selected the Ford Motor Company as its target for collective bargaining. Once negotiations conclude, the union will be using the terms established with the automaker to lay the groundwork for pattern deals with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

While the talks have not yet begun, we already know Unifor wants to cement production commitments in Oakville, Ontario, where Ford is rumored to be ending Edge assembly. It would also like to secure deals for FCA plants in Brampton and Windsor. Naturally, the union will also be demanding wage increases — though this is sometimes the most contentious issue. Contract talks from 2016 became stuck in the mud over higher pay until Ford insisted employees remain subject to a 10-year wage grow-in that union members had been split on. It’s unclear if that will remain the case in 2020 but we genuinely haven’t had high hopes for the Union pulling out anything that resembles a major victory.

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A Darker Shade of Night: Ram Once Again Expands Trim Choice

If Fiat Chrysler handed a dime to auto scribes every time it introduced a new trim or special edition Ram, there’d be quite a few additional millionaires roaming the streets.

Today they’d be 10 cents richer.

Yes, there’s more choice to be had in the Ram lineup for 2021, both in the light- and heavy-duty camps. Because Night editions already exist in the Ram lineup, the truck maker was forced to think long and hard for this one.

Introducing the Limited Night:

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Name Your Price: Two Huge Jeeps, One of Them Topping Six Figures

It should come as no shock that the loftiest Jeep Grand Wagoneer will crest the six-figure mark; the automaker said as much when it announced its intention to resurrect the bygone range-topper. It’s not like Cadillac and Lincoln aren’t nudging that barrier (or breaking through it) already.

But getting into a full-size Jeep next year doesn’t have to carry such a high cost. On the same day it revealed its damn-near-production-ready Grand Wagoneer Concept, the automaker talked price.

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America's Hottest Sedan Reveals Its Price

Beneath the Dodge Charger, you’ll find evidence of America’s oldest sedan, but it’s what’s up front that counts. Traditionally stuffed with as much muscle as Fiat Chrysler (and its predecessors) can muster, the aging Charger gets a testosterone injection for 2021 with the SRT Hellcat Redeye.

Familiar to Challenger aficionados, Redeye guise takes the already overly potent Hellcat and dials up the output — and also the price. If you can be swayed away from the “power dollars” offered on remaining 2020 models, the most powerful of these LX-platform sedans has what it takes to win shallow bragging rights for the buyer.

FCA thanks them for their contribution.

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Look at the Glass on That: Your Regularly Scheduled Jeep Grand Wagoneer Update Arrives

It’s a day of the week, which means it’s time for another installment in Jeep’s ongoing teaser campaign for its upcoming full-size SUVs. Thankfully, the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, or at least the latter model, will see the light of day on September 3rd.

The images released by Jeep on Friday show additional glitter and acres of roof glass, but the vehicle itself might not be exactly what greets buyers next year.

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Farewell, Fiat: Stellantis Will Tap France for Small Car Platforms

Hopefully you’re all familiar with Stellantis — the chosen name for the sprawling automaker birthed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and France’s PSA Group. With the merger expected to wrap up in the first quarter of 2021, Stellantis is all about capitalizing on the respective partners’ strengths in the name of efficiency.

And, because of this strategy, FCA has reportedly issued a stop-work order on any development of future small or subcompact cars. The future of FCA small cars is now French.

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Hellcat-powered Dodge Durango Will Cost You, but You Figured That Already

For 2021, five Fiat Chrysler models will boast available Hellcat power. But only for 2021.

The recently unveiled Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat, with its supercharged 6.2-liter V8, can only legally exist for one year before new EPA emissions rules come into effect for 2022. The constrained lifespan means the Durango Hellcat is destined to be a relatively rare ride for all time. And getting into one will carry a steep premium over the previous top-dog model, the SRT 392.

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Plug-in Jeep Wrangler Gets an Arrival Date

Overshadowed lately by a brace of upcoming full-size SUV stablemates, to say nothing of its reborn Ford Bronco rival, the plug-in Jeep Wrangler remains the next big introduction for the off-road brand.

Teased on and off throughout the year, the Wrangler plug-in hybrid, known officially as the Wrangler 4xe (a moniker greeting all hybridized Jeeps), has appeared with an arrival date in tow. Best to get this introduction out of the way before a busy 2021.

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10 Days Until Jeep Ends the Grand Wagoneer Teasing

Worried there’ll be legit flying cars by the time Jeep gets around to showing off its latest and largest? Don’t be. The busy teaser campaign Jeep’s marketing team has on the go will end on September 3rd.

On that day, the reveal of Jeep’s reborn Grand Wagoneer, the clock starts ticking down to second-quarter 2021 production.

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Rare Rides: The 1995 Eagle Vision - End of the Line

It’s unofficially been Chrysler Time around the Rare Rides pages lately, and another Chrysler product follows up the New Yorker and Conquest. It was much more important product than either of those two, however, and it signified the end of one of Chrysler’s divisions.

Picture it: 1995, Eagle Vision.

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Playing Slots: First Images of the Actual Jeep Grand Wagoneer Arrive

Jeep’s playing the long game with its Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer PR efforts, which comes as something of an annoyance, given the length of time it took Jeep to pull the trigger on this blindingly obvious product idea.

On Friday, the off-road brand upped its teasing, providing us with images of real Grand Wagoneer real estate.

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Rare Rides: The 1988 Chrysler Conquest - an American Sports Coupe

Quick badge swaps between Chrysler and Mitsubishi were common throughout the Eighties. Mostly a one-way affair, Chrysler rebranded Mitsubishi products as Colts, Plymouths, and Dodges. These captive imports generated revenue via Chrysler’s brand recognition while cheaply filling gaps in the domestic company’s lineup.

Today marks our first Chrysler-branded Mitsubishi, and it’s certainly the sportiest rebadge we’ve seen here. Presenting the Chrysler Conquest, from 1988.

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  • 1995 SC I don't know what the answer is, but out Germaning the Germans hasn't been it. Look at what works and do that (Escalade?). Maybe the world is ready for an option that just sort of shuts the world out at the end of the day and gives the driver a nice, supple ride home and is suited to the world that most people drive in.They won't though. The Journos will hate it and cry about ring times and at the end of the day that and dealers are who the cars are built for...not you. And Cadillac will likely fail sadly.
  • Daniel I couldn't agree more! As someone who is literally 100% brand agnostic, Cadillac is right up there with Lincoln for (relatively) very nice American brand designs and powetrains (OK, their sedans are getting a little stale with the same pointy, CyberTruck angles, but I digress) but their interiors really are absolutely lacking almost *any* differentiation from the "solid for what it is" Chevy parts bin and deserves better!
  • Fred Do what GM wants, cut costs. Pull out of racing hyper cars, defund the F1 program. Finally make more SUVs.
  • Cprescott I would do the following for Cadihack:[list=1][*] Make the V-Series as the base model and then add hybrid to the upgrade;[/*][*]Can the hideous Arts and Scientology (!) design disaster and bring out smoother yet crisp and sleek styling - no more boxes or tacky lighting. Let the body sculpturing win the day. I'd say take Audi and cross it with Genesis to give the vehicles stance and easily identifiable brand cues.[/*][*]Come up with interiors that are unique with quality materials and not something that looks like you ripped off Hyundai and Kia. The car must have four bucket seats that are all adjustable. [/*][*]Build to order. Get rid of this buying a Cadihack off the lot and sell at retail for a car built specifically for the client. Nothing makes a premium statement than a car built specifically for the customer - dealer will like because car will be sold at sticker.[/*][*]Expand exterior and interior colors and combinations.[/*][*]Share nothing with any other GM product. Each car / vehicle has to be a standout model even if the basis is common platform - if Hyundai/Kia/Genesis can pull this off, GM must be able to do.[/*][*]Do not mistake sticker price for luxury. The car's design and material integration will do that for you. If it does not feel, look, and smell premium, it is a Chevrolet.[/*][*]Special customer service - at the time of delivery, client gets to meet the service team that will deliver five years of complimentary service PLUS free tires for the first 50k. Special appointments and pick up car from customer and then bring it back. [/*][*]Loaner car delivered if vehicle is in the shop more than routine maintenance and picked up free of charge for first five years.[/*][*]Thoughtful design trumps technology. Vehicle should be intuitive to use and built to coddle the customer beyond his/her expectations. Vehicle must have "Wow!" - not just good enough.[/*][/list=1]
  • KOKing Kinda hate to say this but they need to be an American Land Rover sans the offroad image (and capability). Leave the Escalade alone and do a shrunken Escalade-esque lineup (the first time I saw a Hyundai Palisade I thought that was the XT6 that Cadillac shoulda made) and dump the alphabet soup models and trims.