Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat and Chrysler, has announced the unification of the two automakers’ management teams in one, smaller unit. As Fiat said in a statement, from September 1, the group will have four regional managers for both companies’ operations in Europe, Asia, North America and South America.These regional chiefs, along with Marchionne himself, and other 17 managers will form a “group executive council". Not surprisingly, Fiat execs dominate the new consolidated management team, with 14 people sourced from the Italian-based carmaker and only five from Chrysler.Until now, the executives of both companies have worked together in all industrial functions like engineering, design, manufacturing, quality control etc. Marchionne has admitted that he aims to merge the two groups in order to reduce costs and increase their revenue to $140 billion (€100 billion) ‘till 2014.In comparison, last year Fiat and Chrysler’s combined revenue was $81.47 billion while production reached 3.58 million units. Marchionne’s grander plan is to create a global group strong enough to compete against the biggest names in the industry such as VW, Ford, GM and Toyota.PHOTO GALLERY
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Here's a new set of photos of the Honda CR-Z Mugen RR competition study that made its debut alongside the more production ready CR-Z Mugen Concept at the beginning of July in the Moving Motor Show area at Goodwood Festival of Speed.While the CR-Z Mugen was designed and built by "MUGEN EURO" based in the UK, the more hardcore RR model is the work of the firm's Japanese division.The CR-Z Mugen RR features a range of bespoke prototype parts, several of which are made from carbon fibre, including the bonnet, passenger doors and rear tailgate. Other unique parts to the car include a full-length carbon-fibre underbody, a twin central-exit exhaust, vented front bumpers and race-developed suspension.A set of orange-colored 4-piston monobloc brake calipers and forged 18-inch alloy wheels in black along with the lively Valencia Orange Pearl paint round off the exterior looks.As for the cabin, Mugen dressed the seats in a combination of orange leather and black Alcantara and plenty of carbon fiber trim that covers the dashboard, the door panels and the center console.A key highlight of the CR-Z RR's interior is the addition of a race-developed information screen that can record chassis and engine data while also housing a Satellite navigation and audio system.PHOTO GALLERY
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If Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche's dream comes true, Mercedes-Benz is on course to become the world’s leading premium car maker both in sales as well as in profits. As Automotive News reports, Zetsche sent a letter to the firm's employees admitting that chief competitors Audi and BMW are growing faster than Mercedes."Some of our competitors are now growing faster and more profitably than we are. Granted, those are just snapshots in time and should not be overestimated. After all, many of our best new products are yet to come" Zetsche wrote in the letter.But he didn’t stop there: “We can’t be content to be in a solid second or even third place. We are Daimler – we should be far ahead of the pack! And if it requires something we don’t have, we’ll identify and develop it”.Currently the premium car market is enjoying great success mostly due to the boom in China and the rebound of the US market. However, Mercedes-Benz global sales, despite increasing by 9.7% to 610,531 units in the first half of the year, still trail those of BMW (689,861 deliveries) and Audi (652,970 units).Read more In
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Following the release of the MINI Clubman Soho edition last year, the British automaker decided to name all of its special edition models after London boroughs, districts, streets and landmarks.As a result, the Soho nameplate has now been applied to the three-door hatchback and soft-top convertible model, both of which will be available in the United Kingdom in Cooper and Cooper D models from now until March 2012.The Soho editions sport an exclusive ‘White Silver’ metallic paint, which is not available on any other current MINI Hatch or Convertible model, as well as 17-inch Black Star Bullet alloy wheels, Bi-Xenon headlights with black interior reflectors and white indicators.As for the interior, the two MINI Soho models gain Anthracite headlining, a 3-Spoke sport leather steering wheel and ‘Piano Black’ interior surfaces.
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