First we find out that Chrysler is going to build pickup trucks for Nissan in Mexico and that Nissan is going to build a small car for Chrysler. Then, we learn that Chrysler is in advanced talks with Italian carmaker Fiat , a deal that could result in Chrysler building cars for Alfa-Romeo in North America. The next call Chrysler LLC CEO Bob Nardelli is going to have to make to owner Cerberus Capital is to allocate more money for foreign language training for its engineers and product planners. They never did do a good job of learning German. Maybe theyll do better with Japanese and Italian. Germans. Italians. Japanese. Hmmmm. What does this make me think of? Seriously, these deals that are shaping up for Chrysler look smart, at least on paper. Chrysler has way too much manufacturing capacity for its own sagging market share. It makes a lot of sense for the companies. And as Center for Automotive Research executive director David Cole put it, its good for Chrysler to do a lot of dating with other manufacturers, one of whom may just want to buy Chrysler from Cerberus after it does some more of the heavy lifting on cleaning up what the Germans left behind. One cant help but grin at the prospect of a Chrysler-Fiat tie up. Chrysler making Alfas? My mind goes back to the 1980s when Lee Iacocca (maybe hell come out of retirement to run Fiat-Chrysler? Or at least let him throw out the first pitch, or pizza, in that game) struck an alliance with Maserati. That deal produced a Maserati designed Chrysler TC , which was more full of quality and production problems than the Clinton campaign. I can also remember how Bob Lutz, then of Chrysler and now of GM, used to scoff at the idea of Chrysler linking up with Fiat as a potential black hole of cash and foolishness. That was then. This is now. Today, Fiat is a comeback story if you believe Italian accounting standards. The Italian company is mounting a comeback to the U.S. for its Alfa-Romeo brand . And the Italian carmaker is considerably healthier than Chrysler. But one has to wonder where Chrysler would build Alfa Romeos. Its not as if they are going to be grafted on top of Dodge Avenger platforms. And I wasnt aware that Chrysler had that much flexible capacity. How will potential Alfa buyers react to the Italian cars coming out of a North American Chrysler plant? It sounds a bit like buying Nebbiolo wine made in Pennsylvania. It doesn't sound good on the ear. Part of the allure of the Alfa brand in a crowded premium car maarket is the whole Italian thing. Right? Alfa was thought to be also talking to BMW about getting some of its production space in South Carolina, but BMW is moving as much of its own production there as possible given the weak dollar. That would have been, I am guessing, an easier pignoli to swallow for would-be Alfa buyers. How about Volkswagens Mexican plant? No dice. Fiat and VW are too much the rivals in Europe. Should be interesting to watch. Audi is looking to build capacity in North America?  read more »

Like every car nut, I've dreamed of owning a Ferrari for almost as long as I've been an automotive enthusiast. Ferrari's have long represented the ultimate expression of four-wheeled passion because of their design, limited availability, leading-edge performance and strong racing heritage. So why has my desire to own a Ferrari faded like so much oxidized Rosso paint?  read more »

I believe there are certain things you can never have too many of. Good pairs of jeans and shoes. Pocket knives. Friends with pickup trucks. Real Mexican joints. Books. And of course, sports cars from the early 60s that competed at LeMans in your Fantasy Garage. We've already got the two best (the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and the Ferrari 250 GTO, respectively) so let us now induct the most beautiful; the British/Italian hybrid Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.  read more »

More details are emerging on the Lamborghini Estoque four-door set to debut in 2011 or 2012. Lamborghini insists the aggressive sedan is still only under consideration, but company insiders tell us SantAgata is already preparing the car for production. The only obstacle is a strategic review of the entire Volkswagen Group's future vehicle portfolio, currently being carried out by Porsche, VW's majority shareholder. A conservative sales estimate is about 1500 units annually, but Lamborghini hopes to sell at least 2000 per year. That doesn't seem unrealistic compared to Porsche's far more ambitious targets with the Panamera, of which Stuttgart hopes to make 20,000 in the same time span. The Estoque will be built on Audi's modular-longitudinal platform, which is the base of a number of new models, including the current Audi A4 and A5, the next-generation A6 and A8, the forthcoming all-new A7, and the 2013 VW Phaeton. There is very little component sharing with the recently revealed Porsche Panamera, which uses a standalone platform close to that of the Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q7, and VW Touareg SUVs.  read more »

Ingolstadt/Laguna Seca Emanuele Pirro will race an Audi sports prototype for the last time in his career at the American Le Mans Series finale on 18 October at Laguna Seca. The Italian has served the brand since 1994 and is one of the most successful Audi factory drivers ever with three touring car titles, two sportscar championship victories in the American Le Mans Series and five wins in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.