FCA saw the writing on the wall years ago. Marchionne tried to set up a partnership deal with General Motors, but that fell through. Instead, GM sold Opel and Vauxhall to PSA, which streamlined them under thrifty boss Tavares to make them profitable. Opel and Vauxhall build the Ampera, which is the European version of the electric Chevy Volt, and the all-electric Opel Corsa-e debuted this fall at the Frankfurt auto show.