Review - Mondo Agnelli: Fiat, Chrysler and the Power of a Dynasty by Jennifer Clark
Officially, Fiat stands for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.
But many stranded drivers of the Italian car swear it is an acronym for: Fix It Again, Tony.
It took the modest financial and sartorial success in 2007 of the new Fiat 500 (available in a Gucci version), to jumpstart the repair of the company's dented reputation. But an announcement about a year later that the family-owned Italian car maker intended to acquire Chrysler, an American manufacturer with its own downtrodden image, made many, including Fiat's chief executive, want to throw a few coins in the Trevi Fountain for some much-needed luck.
The meticulously researched book, Mondo Agnelli: Fiat, Chrysler and the Power of a Dynasty, by Jennifer Clark, details the remarkable turnarounds of not one, but two car makers that were mired in financial mud.
Fiat has long been owned by the Agnelli family, one of Italy's richest and most influential.
Yet among Detroit's Big Three car makers, Chrysler was the distant third and had already unsuccessfully partnered Daimler Benz and then declared bankruptcy in April 2009.
It had previously risen from the automotive ashes 30 years earlier with the help of the chief executive at the time, Lee Iacocca, and a US government loan.
It would take another government bailout, along with some no-nonsense, tradition-slashing Italian executives, the new Fiat 500 template of success and a now-famous Super Bowl commercial last year featuring the Detroit-born rapper Eminem to help pull off Chrysler's comeback.
Ms Clark, a former Italy bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires who now works for Thomson Reuters in Milan, tells the story of Fiat through the Agnelli family, whose patriarch, Gianni Agnelli, became the company's largest shareholder in 1906. While Fiat's up-and-down, near-bankruptcy-to-boom history make for interesting reading, it is the story of this flamboyant, well-known family from Turin, replete with love, lawsuits, suicide and sprezzatura - the Italian word for effortless nonchalance - that elevates the book into a must-read.
mangeles@thenational.ae
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm
Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: from Dh155,000
On sale: now
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
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What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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THE SPECS
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 275hp at 6,600rpm
Torque: 353Nm from 1,450-4,700rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Top speed: 250kph
Fuel consumption: 6.8L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: Dh146,999
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
BORDERLANDS
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Director: Eli Roth
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Profile
Company name: Jaib
Started: January 2018
Co-founders: Fouad Jeryes and Sinan Taifour
Based: Jordan
Sector: FinTech
Total transactions: over $800,000 since January, 2018
Investors in Jaib's mother company Alpha Apps: Aramex and 500 Startups
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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