Did you know that Champagne, as we know it, wasn’t invented by the French? It was invented by the British. Christopher Merret documented the addition of sugar and molasses to a finished wine to create the bubbles in Champagne. This was six years before Dom Perignon (the supposed creator of Champagne) went to the Abbey of Hautvillers. And 40 years before Benedictine supposedly created Champagne. Merret presented his paper to the Royal Society which detailed the process now known as méthode Champenoise in 1662. Did that surprise you? Now check this out… (Read More…)

UAW boss Bob King is taking the fight abroad, visiting Fiat’s Italian plants in order to take a look at the World Class Manufacturing system that apparently has not yet sufficiently taken hold at Chrysler’s plants to be viewed there. But the visit isn’t purely social. King tells Reuters that

We’re going to be pitching to suppliers that they should come and locate here in Michigan.

Because clearly everybody wants to do business with the UAW. Heck, American supplier firms are falling over themselves to move production to Michigan, but King just thought it would be nice to give the Italians a first crack. On the other hand, Italy hasn’t exactly been free of auto-sector labor strife itself. At least King can pitch Italian suppliers by explaining that, as majority stakeholder in Chrysler, the UAW makes Fiat-Chrysler’s US labor environment a lot less complex: all you have to do is keep the union happy. So much for Marchionne’s “culture of poverty.”

Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is an agonizing character. There can be no doubt that he’s one of the smartest execs in the business, and yet he so often comes off as the stuffy, pedantic college professor, who sputters into ad hominem at the faintest sign of criticism. His speeches often revolve around stock speaking points and a copy of Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, and as the video above proves, his delivery is rarely inspiring. But between the Einstein quotes and plaintive self-sympathy, Marchionne can offer moments of unexpected candor. His speech to Chrysler’s dealers earlier this week offered several such moments, and though it’s too long (and, frankly, boring) to reprint in its entirety (click here for the whole thing), here are a few stunners from the mind of Marchionne.

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Via Chrysler’s Facebook page come these first images of the “heavily refreshed” 2011 Chrysler Sebring, which will henceforth be known as the 200.

A long time ago, I was told a little phrase which stuck with me: “Sometimes, you may be done with history, but history isn’t done with you.” It made a lot of sense to me. Just because you’ve finished with something doesn’t mean it’s over for the other party. Seems like Daimler and Cerberus are learning this the hard way. (Read More…)

Gimmicky sales techniques are tough. On the one hand, Hyundai’s 10 year warranty and Assurance buy-back program have helped it become one of the fastest-growing auto brands in the country. On the other, Chrysler’s free gas giveaway, “lifetime guarantee” and its latest, the “regret-free purchase” offer, have all come and gone without materially moving the needle for the beleaguered automaker. In fact, cars.com reports that just 21 buyers opted for the option of returning their Chrysler within 60 days instead of a financing deal. Which makes sense: people buy Chryslers because they’re cheap and they offer lots of incentives. If we’re honest, the option of returning a car because it is of lower quality than the competition shouldn’t really appeal to deal-minded consumers. Which is why only Ram now offers the “regret-free” deal, while the rest of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge’s nameplates have loaded back up on incentives. It’s clearly what brings the customers in.

The look on my passenger’s face says it all. I’ve just late-braked a fully-prepped BMW M3 on Hoosier race tires and we are about to straight-line the infamous “Climbing Esses” at VIR. At well over one hundred and twenty miles per hour. Listen to the photo. Put your ear up to it. You can hear my passenger, a student of mine who wanted to see “the fast way around”, gritting her teeth. You can hear the 6.1-liter HEMI catapulting us down the track at full throttle, a Sprint Cup racer stuffed beneath a Deep Sea Blue bonnet. And, if you listen very carefully, I think you can hear Sara Watkins, who is to me what Mike Rowe is to “The Booth Babe”, singing “Lord Won’t You Help Me.”

The boss man emeritus, one R. Farago, reviewed the 300C SRT-8 more than five years ago. Has the car changed? Not much. So why review it again? It’s simple. The fact that Robert’s article has a whopping three comments means you probably didn’t see it. And, of course, as the self-appointed bad guy in TTAC’s pro-wrestling pantheon, it seemed appropriate that I would use the big Chrysler to ruin the day of some club racers. Here’s how it went.
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We can’t pretend to be overly enamored with former “car czar” Steve Rattner, who oversaw the auto bailout before being disgraced for his role in a New York pension fund pay-for-play scandal. Still, the guy was in the thick of things during last year’s negotiations over Detroit’s rescue, so he knows where the bodies are buried. And in his new book, Overhaul, which has been released to select outlets ahead of its October 14 publication, he tells a whole lot of stories about the months of bailout proceedings that led to the rescue of GM and Chrysler. Of course, Rattner has an agenda in all this, namely proving that

so he’s not necessarily an unbiased source. But with grains of salt at the ready, let’s dive into his spilled guts and see if what secrets lie beneath.

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Chrysler was one of the few firms that didn’t see much of a bump from last August’s Cash-for-Clunkers programs (due, it claimed at the time, to inventory shortages), and as a result it’s one of the few firms that actually increased sales this August. The Chrysler brand still dropped 4 percent, with only Sebring (+79%, 4,498 units) and T&C (+26%, 9,472) posting year-over-year gains. Jeep saw improvements across its nameplates (for a total volume increase of 17 percent), with only Grand Cherokee (-17%, 6,393) and Commander (-74%, 348) failing to beat their August 2009 numbers. Dodge was up 8 percent, with Caliber (+32%, 5,347), Nitro (+66%, 2,505) and sportscars leading the way. Both Ram (+8%, 18,995) and Dakota (+55%, 1,583) were up, but declines in Sprinter sales dragged Ram-brand sales down to a mere five percent increase. Unlike GM however, Chrysler did not release its fleet sales numbers. On the other hand, Chrysler Group did finally meet its 95k monthly “survival volume,” selling a total of 99,611 vehicles. By Chrysler standards, that’s as good as sales news gets. Full numbers after the jump…

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Chrysler execs met with some 400 potential Fiat dealers today to discuss plans for a new network of Fiat and Alfa-Rome brand stores in the US, and as we have noted, a certain amount of overlap can be expected. Chrysler says that “as many as 200” stores could be opened for the Italian brands, but the company has only identified 119 metropolitan markets in 38 US states where it projects sales growth in small car sales. Even with only “about 165” stores planned for the initial rollout, quite a few markets could host dueling Fiat/Alfa stores. According to the NYT’s Nick Bunkley, Idaho, Iowa, Alaska, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, The Dakotas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming will not receive Fiat/Alfa dealerships. Meanwhile, the AFP reports that Chrysler plans to sell 50,000 Fiat 500s in 2011 alone, meaning each of the 165 stores will sell an average of 303 units per year.

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The enthusiasm for the Fiat coming to the market has diminished. At first, it was something that would be mixed in… now [Fiat-Chrysler is] going to have to present a compelling story and product to back me investing at least $1 million to build a new showroom

Everyone loves the Fiat 500, but Chrysler’s dealers aren’t exactly thrilled that they have to build brand new showrooms to sell the Italian (er, Mexican) subcompact, as witnessed by the quote above in the WSJ [sub]. Another dealer adds that he knows enough troubled MINI and Smart stores to be spooked by the prospect of dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on what will clearly be a niche offering. Yet another calls it an “excellent opportunity,” but Chrysler needs to find 200 qualified dealers to make Fiat’s American adventure a reality. The credit and car markets, gas prices and Fiat’s less-than-stellar American-market legacy all conspire against the scheme. To say nothing of the poor historical precedents for Chrysler’s ballooning brand portfolio. But as usual, CEO Sergio Marchionne has it all figured out…

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We’re hardly shocked by the idea that Chrysler won’t turn profit this year. After all, Auburn Hills has barely made its minimum monthly sales volumes (at best, and with rampant incentives and fleet mix) this year, and lost $50m+ in “industrial inefficiencies” on the Jeep Grand Cherokee launch alone [Q2 results analysis here]. With plans to close out the year with a non-stop barrage of product launches and attendant media spending, it would take a minor miracle for Chrysler to break even. But we’ve essentially known this all for some time… what’s truly shocking is that Chrysler’s CEO Sergio Marchionne actually admitted to the media that Chrysler won’t turn a profit.

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Jeep has released the first pictures of its next refreshed product, the 2011 Jeep Wrangler, but the changes don’t exactly jump out. That’s because, besides a new body-color hardtop and five new exterior colors, the changes have all taken place on the inside. You know, where they’re most needed. Have they done the job? Hit the jump for the first peek…

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When I had business at Volkswagen, arriving at Wache Sandkamp, I was always asked whether I have a cell phone on me. “Ja,” I said. “Does it have a camera?” “Nein,” I said. The guard didn’t want to see the phone, and I could keep it.

At Chrysler’s big dealer convention, to be held in September in Orlando, they won’t be so lenient. Dealers have already been told to leave all cell phones, video equipment and cameras in their hotel rooms. To ward off the intrusion of rogue recording equipment, metal detectors will be put up at the show’s entrance. (Read More…)