Sergio Marchionne was blunt.
Speaking on the day of Ferrari's initial public offering, the company's chairman who is also CEO of Fiat Chrysler said America's auto industry needs to kick things into overdrive to keep up with innovators in Silicon Valley.
"This industry in general has to open up to disruptors," Marchionne told CNBC. "I think we have been late to the party."
Though Marchionne's comments were largely overshadowed by the hoopla surrounding Ferrari's first day of trading, they reflect what many people have been thinking for some time: Detroit may be the heart and soul of America's auto industry, but the brains appear to be shifting to California. That's where Tesla,Google, Apple and other technology firms are changing how cars and trucks operate.
"Whether it is the Google car [or] the Apple car, this notion we are seeing with autonomous driving and assisted driving is going to change the traditional nature of car making," he said.