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XDCX · 07-16-2015, 01:36 PM

I'm getting caught up and just had a chance to read the article in Automotive News.

While I thought it was interesting that the article, written by Reuters, touched on FCA's issues with quality, fuel economy and reliance on sub-prime buyers, I was most surprised by the comments about FCA's spending on Research and Development.

According to the article, FCA is spending less than a third of what GM and Ford are spending on R&D. That's likely the real reason the next Grand Cherokee has been delayed.

I remember at one point Marchionne was underfunding Chrysler's pension plans to generate cash - I wasn't aware he was underfunding R&D too.

07-16-2015, 01:36 PM	#2
XDCX Administrator Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 14,869	I'm getting caught up and just had a chance to read the article in Automotive News. While I thought it was interesting that the article, written by Reuters, touched on FCA's issues with quality, fuel economy and reliance on sub-prime buyers, I was most surprised by the comments about FCA's spending on Research and Development. According to the article, FCA is spending less than a third of what GM and Ford are spending on R&D. That's likely the real reason the next Grand Cherokee has been delayed. I remember at one point Marchionne was underfunding Chrysler's pension plans to generate cash - I wasn't aware he was underfunding R&D too.