????克拉克在書中寫道，馬基奧尼還是一位世界級的撲克大師，哪怕是在和人交談的時候，也能記住牌桌上的每一張牌。在菲亞特與通用的拆分上，馬基奧尼也展示了他的“賭神”風采。根據2000年菲亞特與通用并購時雙方簽訂的一項協議，菲亞特有權迫使通用收購菲亞特剩余的90%的股份。等到菲亞特有權執行該協議時，菲亞特仍然在虧損，而當時通用根本不想以任何價格收購菲亞特的任何股份。通用認為菲亞特一定會放棄執行協議，因為對于菲亞特來說，將所有權讓給一家美國公司，在政治上無異于自殺。但馬基奧尼看出通用是虛張聲勢。因此他要求通用拿出20億美元分手費，否則就訴諸法律。

????2005年，馬基奧尼飛赴紐約，與時任通用CEO的里克?瓦格納和通用的律師們就拆分一事進行談判。馬基奧尼的寶果然押對了，他如愿以償地獲得了那20億美元。通用寧可乖乖付錢，也不想研究他是否真的要出售菲亞特。據克拉克寫道，當時瓦格納的心思也許并不在拆分的問題上。瓦格納曾是杜克大學（Duke University）的前籃球隊員，在與馬基奧尼的會議開始之前，他先要來了一臺電視，收看他的母校與馬里蘭隊的一場重要比賽。

????在與美國政府打交道收購克萊斯勒時，馬基奧尼再次展示了他敏銳的神經。他急切地想利用克萊斯勒來壯大菲亞特的規模，但他手上缺少現金，也壓根不想付這筆錢。由史蒂夫?拉特納和羅恩?布魯姆為代表的美國政府堅持“共同投資、風險共擔”的理念，要求菲亞特至少要象征性地拿出一部分錢來。他們害怕如果菲亞特收購克萊斯勒幾個月后有可能會反悔，到時候菲亞特一旦悔約，可能不需要承擔任何風險。

????馬基奧尼知道，沒有了菲亞特，克萊斯勒一定會破產，所有他采取了強硬的態度：“克萊斯勒已經完蛋了，現在有一個人可以修好它，不過他現在要告訴你：‘我不會付錢的。’”當拉特納堅持讓菲亞特至少做出一些象征性的投資時，馬基奧尼的回答是：“我不想說什么‘風險共擔’，我已經有很多股份了。我們向克萊斯勒貢獻的是菲亞特的技術。我和我的員工都會搬到底特律，向克萊斯勒注入我們的血液。”

????在咖啡和尼古丁的幫助下，加上每天只睡四個小時，馬基奧尼兌現了他的承諾。他每個月會在底特律待十天，與他親手挑選的管理團隊會面，聽取匯報，在其余20天里則通過黑莓手機與他們保持聯系。他仍然會繼續收購，繼續制訂激進的商業計劃，也仍然會炒掉他認為沒有“團隊精神”的人。

????也許馬基奧尼最鮮明的特點就是他不愿意粉飾現實。2011年菲亞特500轎車的銷量沒有達到馬基奧尼制訂的銷量目標，馬基奧尼將責任攬到了他個人身上，承認自己過早推出這款小車。當然，他也允許了他挑選的菲亞特負責人辭職，這證明他認為除了自己之外，也有不少人需要為菲亞特500的失敗負責。

????要想了解美國和歐洲汽車產業的未來走向，了解馬基奧尼這個人是十分重要的。克拉克對馬基奧尼的了解遠遠超過了其他美國記者。幾天前，馬基奧尼公開表示，要建立“第二個大眾集團”，作為下一波行業整合的一部分。如果他成功地繼續走下去的話，希望珍妮弗?克拉克將繼續為我們講述馬基奧尼的故事。

????譯者：樸成奎

????Clark describes Marchionne as a world-class poker player, able to keep track of every card in the deck even while carrying on a conversation. He demonstrated his skill at bluffing in winning a $2 billion pot from GM. As part of an alliance between the two automakers in 2000, Fiat had wangled a put option that gave it the right to sell 90% of Fiat Auto back to GM. As the time approached when Fiat could trigger the option, it was still losing money, and GM wanted no part of the company at any price. GM was betting that Fiat would back down because letting itself fall into the hands of an American company would be political suicide. Marchionne called GM's bluff. He asked for a $2 billion settlement in lieu of a lawsuit.

????In 2005, Marchionne flew to New York for a crucial weekend meeting to negotiate the settlement with then GM CEO Rick Wagoner and GM's lawyers. Marchionne's bluff worked, and he got his cash. GM would rather pay the money than discover if he was serious about letting Fiat go. Wagoner's mind may have been elsewhere, Clark reports. Before the meeting started, the GM CEO, a former Duke University basketball player, asked for a television so he could follow a big game between his alma mater and Maryland.

????Marchionne demonstrated his steely nerve again in his dealings with the government to acquire Chrysler. He badly wanted Chrysler to add some critical bulk and scale to Fiat, but he was short of cash and didn't want to pay for it. The government, represented by Steve Rattner and Ron Bloom, were wedded to the concept of "skin in the game," and were determined that Fiat invest at least a symbolic amount. They didn't want Fiat to walk away from the deal after a few months without any risk if it didn't like what it found.

????Marchionne knew that without Fiat, Chrysler would go bankrupt, so he played hardball. "This thing is broken and there is one person who can fix it, and he is telling you now 'I am not paying cash.'" When Rattner insisted that Fiat make a token investment, Marchionne replied, " I don't want to talk about 'skin in the game." I have plenty of it. We are contributing Fiat's technology. And me and my people are going to move over to Detroit and pour our lifeblood into the company."

????Fueled by coffee and nicotine, and operating on four hours of sleep a night, Marchionne has done just that. He spends ten days a month in Michigan meeting with his hand-picked team of direct reports in person, and stays in contact the rest of the time by Blackberry. He still makes snap decisions, still works from an aggressive plan, and still fires people who don't fit his definition of "team player. "

????Perhaps his most defining characteristic is his unwillingness to sugarcoat reality. When the Fiat 500 failed to hit the 2011 sales targets Marchionne set for it, he personally took the blame for launching the car too soon. Of course, he also allowed the person he put in charge of Fiat to resign, indicating he thought there was plenty of blame to go around.

????Understanding Marchionne is critical to understanding the future of the American and European auto industries. Clark goes further than other journalists writing in English in doing that. A few days ago, Marchionne publicly mused about forming "a second Volkswagen group" as part of an industry consolidation. If he goes ahead, let's hope Jennifer Clark is along for the ride to tell his story.