Both on the outside and inside, the new edition of the Chrysler Ypsilon subcompact hatchback sports a two-tone black and red color theme.
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To understand the numbers you see listed below, the "overall dependability" is determined by the level of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score translating to higher quality.
In this year's study, J.D. Powers found that overall vehicle dependability improved substantially as the industry average was 132 problems per 100 vehicles, representing a 13 percent improvement from last year (151 PP100), while it's also the lowest problem rate since the survey began in 1990.
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In an op-ed published today at the Detroit News, Romney criticizes Obama of “instead of doing the right thing and standing up to union bosses, he rewarded them”.
Romney stated that the companies should have entered and then exited bankruptcy, but that “by the spring of 2009, instead of the free market doing what it does best, we got a major taste of crony capitalism, Obama-style.”
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Following last month's release of the black and white teaser of the new Viper, which will be marketed under the SRT brand instead of Dodge, the Detroit automaker has now revealed the new and more sinister looking "venomous" logo nicknamed "Stryker".
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The Detroit automaker told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that in some cars, the low beam headlamps could fail due to an overheated bulb harness connector, while in other vehicles, the ABS/ESC systems may stop functioning due to an overheated power distribution center.
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Bush, whose extension of bridge loans to U.S. automakers was one of the last decisions before he left office, gave the closing address to the annual National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) convention.
The former President said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned him that, unless the administration took drastic measures, a new depression was imminent.
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The commercial shows the 300C sedan cruising through Detroit and then emerging through a tunnel in the streets of London, where it is joined by the rest of the brand's UK line-up. It is very similar to this ad only now we see Chrysler's re-badged Lancia models as well.
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One such issue is the inclusion of Japan on the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations, which Obama hopes will create a free-trade zone between the U.S. and the Asia Pacific region.
Currently, apart from the United States, there are eight other countries negotiating the plan including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. But three others want to join the talks that will be held this March in Melbourne.
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Included in the 1,800 positions are close to 500 jobs that will be added to launch production of the 2013 Dodge Dart in the second quarter of the year. For this reason, the Detroit automaker will be adding a third shift to the plant, something that hasn't happened since March of 2008 when the Belvidere facility employed around 3,600 workers.
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Naturally, they obliged. For example, Honda flew in the FCX Clarity from California, Kia brought the Optima hybrid and Mercedes-Benz a fuel-cell car. Carmakers also brought along their top brass to discuss green technologies with the President.
As Bloomberg reports, the problem is that Obama, who had half an hour in his disposal, ignored foreign manufacturers.
Instead, he spent most of his time with domestic brands, posing for the press with the Dodge Dart, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Ford C-MAX Energi, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 (not pretty fuel efficient those two, by the way…).
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The Mopar '12 300 will be built in a limited run of 500 units, all of which are painted in a black exterior finish with bespoke Mopar appointments such as the black chrome grille and accents, tinted lights, blue pin stripes on the profile and hood, plus “Mopar 75” fender badges and a set of color matching 20-inch forged alloy wheels.
The Chrysler division's tuning and performance arm also made changes to the interior that features black leather with blue accent stitching on the seats and steering wheel, a unique Mopar shifter handle, special sill plates and badges, and matte carbon hydrographic accents on the instrument panel and center console sections.
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Mopar, which is the group's automobile parts and service arm, the Detroit firm will present four specially modified vehicles that will go on display at next month's 2012 Chicago Auto Show (January 10 to 19).
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The Detroit firm's all-aluminum 3.6-liter V6 engine made its debut on the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee but has since found its way under the hood of many more models.
These include the Chrysler 200, 300 and Town and Country, plus the Dodge Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Durango, Journey and Caravan, and more recently the 2012 Jeep Wrangler.
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A new report from the Detroit News says that Fiat and Chrysler are currently in "intense negotiations" with the Guangzhou Automobile Group to produce Jeep models for the local market.
The Italian automaker has already forged a joint venture with Guangzhou for the manufacturing of a new compact sedan based on the 2013 Dodge Dart, which will most likely be introduced in China at the upcoming Beijing motor show in April.
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To brief you up, back in 2008, the U.S. government used US$700 billion under Tarp to bailout more than 700 institutions from which seven companies stood out due to the amount of money they received and the nature of their bailouts.
The seven companies that received so-called "exceptional assistance" were General Motors, the Chrysler Group, Ally Financial (formerly GMAC, Inc.), AIG, Bank of America, Chrysler Financial Services and Citigroup.
Although using taxpayers’ money to bailout privately owned institutions was an issue debated for a long time, as it turns out, saving those companies and thousands of American jobs was not the only issue on hand.
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The recent J.D. Power survey placed Jeep, Ram and Dodge in three of the bottom four places amongst the mainstream brands.
As a result, Sergio Marchionne wants Chrysler Group dealers to rapidly improve their Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) scores if the company is to achieve its sales goals. He said that some dealerships’ salespeople weren’t acting properly, failing to make follow-up calls or treat customers “with the dignity they deserve”.
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You see, while the Detroit maker is marketing its 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter four-cylinder units under the new "Tigershark" moniker, both have their roots in the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance (GEMA) family of engines.
To explain, GEMA was a joint venture of the Chrysler Group, Mitsubishi Motors, and Hyundai Motor Company for the development of a line of shared four-cylinder gasoline engines. In 2009, Chrysler bought out the shares of Mitsubishi and Hyundai and continued GEMA on its own.
And here's where Hyundai comes into the picture. Citing unnamed sources, Car&Driver is reporting that the 2013 Dodge Dart's Tigershark engines are fitted with a Hyundai-supplied 6-speed automatic transmission.
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While the 500’s mission was to rival BMW’s Mini, its 2011 sales of 26,000 units were almost half of original forecasts. Delays in the launch and the dealer network certainly played a role while Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne also thinks that the company’s strategy was to blame.
“We thought we were going to show up and, just because of the fact people like gelato and pasta, people will buy it”, he told reporters last week. “This is nonsense”.
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It’s happening all over the world, from Europe to the United States. Even the current administration’s “car czar”, Steve Rattner, said that the government should have pushed the UAW to take wage cuts in order to enhance U.S. automakers’ competiveness.
It seems to make sense: cutting costs is a tried method of increasing a company’s profitability. But what if it’s all a lie created by profit-hungry, greedy mega corporations and perpetrated by the media – which, in some cases, are owned by the same people?
That’s the question posed by Kevin C. Brown on his article in Remapping Debate. The argument he makes is quite compelling: how are German car workers at companies like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW paid twice as much as their counterparts in the U.S., yet manufacture twice as many cars?
Today, the picture is quite different. The U.S. auto market has recovered and according to a report from Autonews, it may be the safest bet for profitable growth. Emerging markets including China, India and Brazil, which until recently looked like the land of opportunity for carmakers, are slowing down.
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