Sergio Marchionne

“There's no doubt that we are, by traditional automotive manufacturing standards, an automotive conglomerate. And so that causes confusion by definition.”

“The last thing you want is a group of senators who just lent you seven and a half billion dollars to sit back and go, 'Look at these jerks and how they're using taxpayer money.'”

“When we agreed to the changes in the emissions standards and the objectives for 2025 with President Obama, there was a very clear road map that was put in place that required a midterm review, which should have been completed by 2017 and '18.”

“Having had to live through a period of integration into another country a number of years ago, I am keenly aware of the negative implications of stereotyping and the significant efforts required to undo its effects.”

“There's nothing worse in life than to sit there and be the victim of a process that's outside your control.”

“I'm a fixer by nature.”

“I think that if you don't do the full analysis of what the origin of the electrical power is, where it comes from, how you get batteries into these cars, what the cost is in terms of CO2 and the environment, I think the analysis that we are going to save the planet with electric cars is nonsense.”

“Following the automotive pack down unwise and unprofitable roads is not just naive but also very dangerous.”

“I am proud of my Italian heritage, and nothing I have said should be interpreted as an attempt at minimizing its value.”

“I am never on holiday.”

“If you look at Jeep, Ram, and the premium brands, those are brands that will survive.”

“I just want to make a difference. I want to make Chrysler the most profitable car company in the United States.”

“I give people a huge amount of rope, and then I hold them accountable for the rope.”

“When you got mechanisms in a car that prevent damage from happening to the engine and that operate under very specific circumstances, those things are exceptions under normal operating conditions of the car; under the rules, they need to be disclosed.”

“When I was young and foolish, and I had no money, I bought myself the carcass of a Jaguar E-Type. It was a rust bucket. I spent all my university savings trying to fix the car. I never did, and I finally sold it to recover at least part of my investment.”

“I love Obama to talk about Chrysler. It's the cheapest bloody advertising I can get.”

“As much as I reiterate my affection for Elon, there is nothing Elon does that we cannot do.”

“The biggest fear that I see is that we will be left behind. We are a very slow industry; for us to make a decision takes forever. Take Tesla: Elon moves at the speed of a rocket.”

“One of the things that unfortunately happens in organizations that become dysfunctional is that the very first thing to go is the amount of care and attention that you place on the workplace and the environment within which people work.”

“It takes me exactly a minute and a half to get dressed in the morning.”