Is this a politically incorrect overdose, or a quip taken out of context, or a substantive issue?
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has apologized to an organization called One Voice for his quip last January at the North American International Auto Show where he said Alfa Romeo models when re-introduced into North America should have Italian engines. Journalists present laughed it off as being typical of the straight talking executive who uses humor, including self-deprecating humor, to make his points.
The alleged slight in the pressure group’s point of view was how the irreverent Marchionne phrased the product development issue that was holding up Alfa Romeo’s return to the U.S. “I won’t put an American engine into that car. With all due respect to my American friends, it needs to be a wop engine,” Marchionne said.
One Voice president Dr. Manny Alfano via e-mails and letters claimed that ethnic slurs and “negative images are not funny and, in point of fact, extremely damaging to the Italian American community at large.” No indications of what damages actually occurred in this instance were provided.
Marchionne has now issued an apology to “anyone who may have been offended.” (If you find someone, let AutoInformed know, please.) For the record Chrysler public relations was immediately responsive to our queries.
The full text of the correspondence is here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=552557028122812&set=a.163526017025917.37288.135948066450379&type=1&relevant_count=1
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
Marchionne is being sent to sensitivity training sessions, held by Ralph Gilles and Donald Trump…