Is Marchionne right? Let's find out - Automotive News
A few months ago, during a private lunch in Dearborn, Mich. , a high-level Ford decision-maker set the scene for the industry in stark terms: "It's getting too expensive to make cars. The business model of making cars is, in simple terms, showing cracks. We were fascinated a few months ago when FCA boss Sergio Marchionne made his now-famous PowerPoint presentation to the analyst community. It was his game plan for saving the industry. Whether we agree with Marchionne or not, and whether we think he was merely responding to FCA's particular issues, we were startled that the CEO of a global automaker would make such a candid and public critique of his industry. Over the next few months, Automotive News is going to put the industry under a microscope. It starts this week, when we host a roundtable in Detroit with current and past industry leaders. We're calling our series "Industry on Trial," and you will see it this summer in print, on autonews. com and on Automotive News TV. Our first installment of the series will publish Aug. Ford is moving into electric bikes, Mini is moving into car sharing, and General Motors is trying to squeeze an extra $1,000 of profit out of a Chevy Malibu by loading it with technology. Source: www.autonews.com
