Odd Couple in Detroit

By BILL VLASIC
NYT

DETROIT — The unlikely union of Chrysler and its Italian parent, Fiat, is beginning to produce new vehicles that combine the talents of both companies.

Industry analysts have been skeptical of the combined potential of the two automakers since Fiat took control of Chrysler after it emerged from its government-sponsored bankruptcy in 2009. Memories are strong of another overseas partnership — the German automaker Daimler-Benz’s merger with Chrysler — that ended unhappily in 2007.

But the integration of Fiat and Chrysler is nearly complete and some analysts now say it could become a model for trans-Atlantic cooperation in the auto industry. Sergio Marchionne, the chief executive of both Fiat and Chrysler, spoke enthusiastically of the combined company at the auto show in Detroit on Monday.

“We are making all the decisions together as one management team,” Mr. Marchionne said at a media briefing. “There is no question about who runs what. I run one company.”

(More here.)