The Italian connection expects more mergers
For several years, chief executive Sergio Marchionne of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has shared a belief that only the largest companies will continue to survive an increasingly competitive auto industry. This has fuelled speculation about which automakers might be ripe for a merger.
The investment firm Exor stirred it up this week with an April 13 letter. Writing to its own shareholders, Exor chairman John Elkann said he expects the auto industry to go through further consolidation due to the rising costs of development.
Elkann is the great-great-grandson of Fiat founder Gianni Agnelli — and chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), of which Exor owns 29.2 per cent.
“The 500X and Jeep Renegade are very different cars, but they are manufactured in the same plant and share R&D, which reduces the total investment required by 1 billion euros,” Elkann wrote.
A year ago, rumours began circulating that Volkswagen might be interested in acquiring FCA. Then came other rumours, to the effect that FCA might be inclined to bring French automaker Peugeot under the Italian-American umbrella. Neither of these have proven to be factual to date, although some analysts suggests that a Peugeot/FCA partnership would help the latter increase its presence in the Chinese market.
During the time when Chrysler was owned by Daimler, the company was disjointed at best, as German and North American management styles seemed to be constantly at odds. The culture within the FCA house seems to have become far more harmonious, leading the way to a healthier company.
Elkann acknowledges this in discussing possible future partnerships: “Hopefully this will be driven by reason and common sense rather than by crisis and will take into account the importance of identity and culture, as we have done, avoiding the all too typical divisive trappings of a takeover and creating instead a shared transnational culture. This is one of the most important lessons learned from combining Fiat and Chrysler to create FCA.”
Film cars drive web series Born in Germany to Polish parents, Christopher Rutkowski grew up in Etobicoke. Rutkowski knew he wanted to be a filmmaker from the first time got his hands on a video camera — after his father won money on a Lotto 6/49 ticket.
Having no luck being accepted into Ontario film schools, Rutkowski made the move to Los Angeles, where he has worked on a variety of reality television shows, including Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel. Rutkowski has a side passion for movies and movie cars — which has led him to a side project of particular note to fans of cars on film.
Called the AFICIONAUTO, or tA for short, the YouTube-based series explores the world of those who build and collect movie cars, and those who build their own replicas.
Rutkowski has featured a staggering lineup of cars. From the Back to the Future DeLorean to the first Batmobile, the series includes vehicles that have shaped modern pop culture.
There is the sinister Plymouth Fury from Steven King’s thriller Christine. David Hasselhof of course makes an appearance with KITT from Knight Rider.
The Jurassic Park vehicles make an appearance and there is a visit with the creator of Dom Toretto’s Charger from Furious 7. To check out Rutkowski’s work, visit theaficionauto.com
All-female body shop opens Regulars readers may recall a story about a fundraising campaign to open an auto body repair facility operated by an all-female staff. The campaign has now brought those dreams to life as a Toronto quartet have opened their new shop.
Dubbed Ink & Iron, the Mississauga shop is the work of Hilary Noack, a Centennial College instructor, her sister, Emily, who is an apprentice, licensed painter Alexandra Lieth and Olivia DiGianfelice, also a Centennial grad. Ink & Iron is located at 5900 Dixie Road, Unit 6. Road racing season begins The last remnants of winter have finally melted at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, originally known as Mosport, and the facility is alive with the sounds of racing cars for the first time in 2015 this weekend as Chumpcar Canada hosts its first round of the season. Based around the idea that road racing should be fun and not break the bank, Chumpcar racing features race cars of the beater variety — teams typically field cars that couldn’t pass muster on the local used-car lot, with a market value of no more than $500. To learn more, visit chumpcarcanada.com