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Chrysler, CAW reach tentative contract deal

The Canadian Auto Workers tentatively agreed tonight to new concessions that will save the struggling automaker $240 million annually and help the carmaker to try to avoid a bankruptcy filing, CAW President Ken Lewenza said at a news conference. In exchange, the CAW got Chrysler and potential partner Fiat SpA to agree to keep its two Chrysler assembly plants open even if bankruptcy is unavoidable, Lewenza said. General Motors and Ford Motor Co., which signed new CAW agreements earlier, have indicated their desire to get the same concessions as those negotiated with Chrysler, Lewenza said.

Lorenzo Ramaciotti to head Chrysler and Lancia design

Lorenzo Ramaciotti, current head of design at Fiat Group, has been tasked with leading the design of future Chrysler and Lancia products in a bid to more than double the sales figures of the newly collaborated brands. The 63-year-old former Pininfarina designer – credited to some of the most beautiful Italian machinery of the modern era – has been asked by Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat and Chrysler Group LLC, to create a common styling language for the two brands that wouldn't look out of place in Detroit or Milan. Ramaciotti has made it clear that badge-engineering isn't going to be the future for the two brands and is hoping to inject a unique, but global flavor, into the two brands.

Transportation Department clinics to test connected-vehicle communication

Usually communication between cars on the road consists of expletive-ridden road rage or “hey, your headlight’s out!” Thanks to new technology, the exchange of information could soon be far more productive. The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced that it will be holding Driver Acceptance Clinics in six cities across the country to assess how well drivers respond to vehicle-to-vehicle communication technology.