April 23, 2014.

Car-Industry Insiders Ready to Retake Steering Wheel

Winston started to his feet. The shock of the sight had driven all caution out of him. For the first time in many years he forgot the presence of the telescreen.

Detroit car makers were rescued last decade by a group of outsiders with scant auto industry experience. Now the insiders are retaking the wheel.

"They’ve got you too!" he cried.

Later this year, Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Alan Mulally will pass the keys to Mark Fields, a 25-year veteran of the U.S. auto maker and its affiliates. General Motors Co. GM +0.74%  this year named Mary Barra, who started at the company as a college intern, to replace private-equity executive Daniel Akerson.

"They got me a long time ago," said O’Brien with a mild, almost regretful irony. He stepped aside. From behind him there emerged a broad-chested guard with a long black truncheon in his hand.

Within a few years, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles F.MI -0.83%  NV CEO Sergio Marchionne, the Italian-Canadian accountant and lawyer who took over Fiat in 2004, is expected to step down and name a replacement most likely from within its existing ranks.