News: Regulator investigates Fiat cash pile

Consob, the Italian stock market regulator, is apparently investigating Fiat's reputed €23-billion cash pile and asking why Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne isn't dipping into it to prop up Fiat's investments in the flagging Italian economy.

Fiat itself has cash reserves of around €12-billion, with the other €11-billion belonging to Chrysler. According to reports, Fiat can't access the Chrysler cash for European investment (or to subsidise European losses) because of a complex deal agreed with the US Government when Fiat rescued Chrysler from bankruptcy.

Even so, Marchionne, the Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and Consob have been at repeated loggerheads over the past few months. Fiat is threatening to close down another Italian factory (it closed a plant in Sicily last year) and is idling some plants, including one that builds the Panda. That's because Marchionne sees nothing but financial pain in Europe right now, and has put a stop to all major investments and new model developments for the time being, leaving the burgeoning Chrysler to expand in the now-healthy US market and deliver much-needed profits.

The Italian Government, of course, is not keen on this at all, and the investigation (which Fiat currently says it is, officially, unaware of) is being seen as a strong-arm tactic to get Marchionne to unlock at least some of the money to invest in the Italian market.

Marchionne may be holding on to his money for another reason though; Opel. Opel is continuing to lose money for General Motors and analysts Morgan Stanley last week said that it expects that co continue, at the rate of $1-billion a year, through to 2021. GM is being urged to sell Opel and cut its losses, and Fiat, which made an offer for Opel amidst GM's 2009 bankruptcy, is thought to be once again interested.

GM is quashing such rumours though, saying that Opel is an integral part of its operations and will continue to be so, and that the recently-inked tie-up with PSA Peugeot Citroen is progressing well and is expected to save both companies €2-billion a year.

Road Test: Chrysler 300C 3.0 V6 CRDI

Price as tested: €137,637

+ Looks, comfort, refinement, space, quality
– Still some cheap cabin bits, high-ish Co2 levels
= Brash and proud of if. And damned likeable

Chrysler chose to launch the new All-American 300C saloon in the astonishing surrounds of the American Air Force hanger at the famed Duxford aviation museum near Cambridge. The centrepiece of the Norman Foster-designed building is a simply massive Boeing B52 bomber - the mainstay of the US Air Force bomber fleet for sixty years now. A hulking slab of Yankee menace, the 52 induces at once giggly excitement and intimidated awe. Shock and Awe may be a modern phrase, but the big 52 was doling out just that in 200 bombing missions over North Vietnam three decades ago.

The link being drawn between the aircraft and the car was explicit; the finest of American technology wrapped up in an aggressive, iconic shape. The 300C, now significantly re-worked, is back on Irish roads for the first time since 2010 and whatever you may feel about its being compared to a nuclear bomber, the old  300C value of S-Class-size-for-E-Class money remains intact.

The old 300C had felt old even when it was new, though. Based on a mid-nineties Mercedes E-Class chassis, it looked mean, but you could feel the age in dopey dynamics and a terribly lo-rent interior.

Under Fiat's guidance, the 300C has been made-over from stem to stern, with crisper exterior styling and an entirely new cabin that, almost, erases the memories of the dreadful old one. Inside, it's as spacious and as comfy as before, but now the quality of the plastics, leathers, woods and metals is up to German standards, nearly. You can still find some cheap, tacky surfaces without looking too hard but the main dials look tasty, backlit in blue neon, the steering wheel feels expensive and the massive colour touch screen, while fiddly to use, looks impressive.

Up front lies a new, bespoke-for-Chrysler VM Motori V6 diesel, with 239bhp and 500Nm of torque. It's the only engine available, and with the standard 5-speed automatic transmission, averages 7.1-litres per 100km (39.7mpg) and emits 185g/km of Co2. That puts it in an uncompetitive tax band (E, €677 motor tax) compared to a 530d or Audi A6 3.0 TDI but a forthcoming update with a new 8-speed auto should help reduce that figure a little. For now, it's a smooth, powerful, effortless and exceptionally refined drivetrain.

The 300C certainly has a character of its own and it doesn't follow the strict German executive saloon template. The ride is soft and pillowy, even on optional 20" alloy wheels, and the whole car has a very relaxed demeanour. Grab it by the scruff, and it it will corner briskly and responds well enough to being thrown around, but you can tell it would rather be cruising. Comfort is king.

For a basic price of €57,995, it comes rammed with standard equipment including full leather, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear seats, touchscreen satnav and infotainment, chilled and heated cup holders, and keyless entry and go. The only options available are high-tech safety items like radar guided cruise control, blind spot monitoring and emergency braking systems.

Whether or not you will want one will depend very much on your taste for Americana. The styling and mien is quite brash. Get it in a nice dark metallic and it's a very good looking car. Silver looks too plain, white just ridiculous on one so large. As a value proposition, compared to its direct opposition, it is in good shape and even against its lesser 2.0-litre rivals, you wouldn't be long dipping into the German options list to get their prices to match that of the larger Chrysler. True, the poor emissions and tax performance will be a stumbling block, and potential buyers will have to walk past the German giants and Jaguar and Lexus dealerships to get into a 300C, but it could, just, be worth the effort. It has its shortcomings (the chief one being that it's not German) but it is immensely likeable and characterful.

It all depends on whether you prefer Obama to Merkel, Dan Rather to Brian Dobson or Happy Meals to haute cuisine.


Facts & Figures

BMW M5
Price as tested: €57,995
Range price: €57,995 to €62,495
Capacity: 2,987cc
Power: 236bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Top speed: 231kmh
0-100kmh: 7.4secs
Economy: 7.1/100km (39.8mpg)
CO2 emissions: 185g/km
Tax Band: E. €677 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested