Sergio Marchionne (the man who is currently heading up both Fiat and Chrysler) has announced the beginnings of an exit strategy from his current situation serving two masters, each on a different continent. During a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., Marchionne -- who admitted to working seven days per week and reportedly grabs only a few hours of sleep per night -- said that he would be working toward "a more permanent solution" within the next two years. He initially took the role as CEO, he said, because he was the only person who could absolutely guarantee a smooth transition of technology from Fiat to Chrysler, something the company needed desperately and without delay.

So what's this more permanent solution? He did not say. But it probably means more executive changes are on the horizon in Detroit.

Marchionne also used the venue to touch base on other issues, such as the Fiat 500 minicar, which is headed to U.S. shores (it will go on sale here by the end of next year, and its engine will be built in Chrysler's plant in Dundee, Mich.) and the state of affairs of the automotive industry in Europe.

In regard to the latter, Marchionne had a dire warning, indeed: Overcapacity, he estimated, is at about 30 percent in Europe, and if changes aren't made, various governments will find a reckoning on their hands similar to what the Obama administration faced with Detroit's Big Three when it took office -- something we're still seeing the effects of today.

(Source: Detroit Free Press.)