Daily Detroit News Byte

Welcome to a very Motor City-centric edition of your Daily Detroit. Today, we're running down a pair of big stories from the auto industry, speaking with Kristin Dziczek, vice president of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. First up: Fiat Chrysler has withdrawn its $35 billion proposal to merge with French automaker Renault just 10 days after FCA first announced the proposal. It comes after the Renault board on Wednesday failed to reach a decision on the proposal, citing the French government's request to postpone a vote. The Wall Street Journal also reported that Nissan's two representatives on the Renault board also objected.  Renault owns a stake in Nissan as part of a long-running alliance with the Japanese automaker, while the French government owns a 15% stake in Renault. Fiat Chrysler's board met Wednesday evening and voted to withdraw its proposal with immediate effect, saying that although it remains convinced of the compelling rationale for the merger, "it has become clear that the pol