Marchionne insists Jeep Wrangler to stay American-made

In the wholly owned Fiat stable are its eponymous brand, along with Lancia, Abarth, Maserati and Alfa Romeo – plus, as of relatively recently, all of the Chrysler brands. According to Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, of all of those brands, the one with the greatest global cachet is Jeep. Marchionne believes that Alfa had global chops as well, but Jeep remains "first and foremost."

And while Marchionne remains keen on creating global production synergies with his expanding automotive empire, there is at least one sacred cow. According to a new Ward's Auto report, the compulsively sweater-clad CEO has a few words that will make builders of the Jeep Wrangler in Toledo happy – he thinks the legendary SUV's American heritage is too important to risk assembling it in any other country. This is heartening news, as recent chatter had referred to growing global demand putting a strain on the Ohio plant, leading some to think that a satellite production facility could be established elsewhere in the world.