• order now
  • Items in cart: Subtotal:
  • Home
    • Clearance
    • Shop By Category
  • DEALER LOCATOR
  • BECOME A DEALER
  • SUPPORT
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN/REGISTER
  • TRACK ORDER
  • MY ACCOUNT
  • TRACK ORDER
  • DEALER LOCATOR
  • BECOME A DEALER
  • Services
  • Blog
  • CONTACT
  • 0
  • Shop By Category
  • Fittings
  • Intercoolers
  • Silicone
  • Tubing
  • Clearance

treadstoneblog

Marchionne says FCA will continue to make V-8s despite tightening regs

14 Sep 2015

  DETROIT -- Tougher fuel economy and emissions standards won't mean the death of Fiat Chrysler's V-8 engine lineup, CEO Sergio Marchionne says. But in an interview with Automotive News last month, Marchionne conceded that it is getting harder for FCA to stay in compliance with the federal corporate average fuel economy rules. For now, he said, the key for keeping powerful engines in FCA's lineup is the purchase of clean air credits. "One of the things that we learned to do is how to buy stuff," Marchionne said. "We buy credits. ... The purchase and sale of credits is actually more efficient than capital today." FCA lags behind every other mass-market automaker in fleet fuel economy and emissions. According to the EPA, FCA was the industry's largest purchaser of emissions credits for the 2013 model year, the most recent year for which figures are available. FCA purchased most of its credits from Tesla Motors. Under EPA rules, the credits serve as a form of currency. Automakers can offset their carbon footprint with emission credits earned by the sale of other vehicles. While other automakers have used strategies such as turbocharging smaller displacement engines or direct injection to achieve fuel economy gains, FCA has chosen to increase the horsepower of existing engines. Recently, speculation on the FCA-centric site Allpar.com has suggested that the company might be forced by fuel economy regulations to abandon its V-8 Hemi engines or even its 707-hp Hellcat V-8 in favor of turbocharged V-6 offerings. But Marchionne threw water on that idea. Asked whether new regulations will mean the death of V-8s such as the Hellcat, he said: "No. We offset. I mean, every time we do one of those things, we offset." Still, automakers won't be able to purchase credits from one another forever. That has meant an engineering push inside FCA to find another solution. "The biggest challenge for me now is to find truly a compact and midsize car solution that is actually [greenhouse gas] positive, by a stretch," the CEO said. "And you know how the rules are, so it's a question of footprint and so on. I need to find a solution, so I've got a bunch of kids who are sitting in the basement tearing apart the front end to find out whether we can find a way out." The other major powertrain issue hanging over FCA has been ongoing performance problems with its nine-speed automatic transmission. The nine-speed, which debuted in the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, had been the source of troubling consumer complaints even as it rolled out in other vehicles. Earlier this month, FCA said it had produced its one-millionth unit of the nine-speed at its massive transmission complex in Kokomo, Ind. Marchionne said changes have been made to the nine-speed for the 2016 model year that should quiet its critics. "We've been working our ass off with [designer ZF Friedrichshafen] on the nine speed," he said. "There were some things that were built in as a technical solution that proved to be, in hindsight, unwise, and so the remedial stuff has been put in place." You can reach Larry P. Vellequette at lvellequette@crain.com.

Prev Next

join our email list

You’ll be first to know about Treadstone Performance Engineering new products, discounts and special events!

You have successfully signed up to get the best deals.

You have already signed up to get the best deals!!!

All of our products complement the best in performance turbocharging today! Turbonetics, Precision, and Garrett Turbochargers, the pioneers in performance turbocharging! With the knowledge and experience of some of the best names in turbocharging. Treadstone products parallels with quality and reliability, giving you the best products combination in performance turbocharging.

  • MY ACCOUNT
  • TRACK ORDER
  • Search By Brand
  • Search By Category
  • DEALER LOCATOR
  • BECOME A DEALER
  • Services
  • SUPPORT
  • PRIVACY
  • TERMS
  • ABOUT
  • TRE Hub
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Sitemap

Blog Categories

blog-thumb
Rad Dan - Same Mullet New ...

Jun 09, 2020


blog-thumb
Hoonin' Hooman Rahimi - Tr...

Jun 04, 2020


blog-thumb
Treadstone Intercoolers Ex...

May 19, 2020


blog-thumb
Titanium Pipes are now Ava...

May 07, 2020


blog-thumb
Oil Filter Sandwich Plate...

May 01, 2020


More

Find Us

TreadstonePerformance.com is committed to providing the best online shopping experience and customer support available. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Business Hours

9:00 am - 5:00pm EST
Monday - Friday
Closed on Saturday and Sunday

10340 SW 187th Street
Miami, FL 33157
Phone: 888-789-4586

Copyright © 2023 Treadstone Performance Engineering. All Rights Reserved

Designed By Admark | Powered By Nebhub

  • Shop by Vehicle

Add a Different Rear Tire SizeDifferent Size
Add Same Rear & Front Tire SizeSame Size

Search by Vehicle