2001 Chrysler Pt Cruiser Limited Wagon 4-door 2.4l Mechanic's Special-needs Work on 2040-cars

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FCA revises Renault merger offer in a bid to persuade French government

PARIS – Fiat Chrysler is discussing a Renault special dividend and stronger job guarantees in a bid to persuade the French government to back its proposed merger between the carmakers, sources close to the discussions said. The improved offer, if formalized and accepted, would also see the combined company's operations headquartered in France and the French state granted a seat on its board, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Sunday. FCA spokeswoman Shawn Morgan declined to comment. The French government, Renault's biggest shareholder with a 15 percent stake, also declined to comment. A Renault spokesman did not return calls and messages seeking comment. Italian-American FCA is engaged in intensive discussions with Renault and the French government over the $35 billion merger proposal it pitched last Monday to create the world's third-biggest carmaker. The concessions being discussed are not definitive and depend on other aspects of an emerging compromise deal, both sources cautioned. They nonetheless increase the chances that the merger plan will be approved by Renault's board, on which the French state has two seats. The board meets again on Tuesday. Some analysts and French industry leaders had voiced doubts about the 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) in claimed cost and investment savings, and whether the proposal represents a fair deal for Renault shareholders. A Renault dividend would improve the valuation in their favor, balancing a 2.5 billion euro proposed dividend to FCA shareholders. The sources did not elaborate on the potential size of a Renault payout. The merger plan presented on Monday would see the two carmakers acquired by a listed Dutch holding company whose ownership would be split equally between current FCA and Renault shareholders, after special dividend payments. FCA had proposed locating the combined group's operational head office in a neutral city, most likely London, but has now indicated readiness to base it in the greater Paris area, meeting a key French government demand, both sources said. The French government is also likely to be granted a seat on the board to reflect its 7.5 percent stake in the merged company, the people said. Nissan, whose matching 15 percent stake in its French alliance partner will also be diluted to 7.5 percent of the new group, receives a board seat under the plan unveiled on May 27.

FCA cuts powertrain warranties to 60k miles

FCA US is cutting back the mileage of its powertrain warranty on some 2016 model year vehicles. Rather than the current five years/100,000 miles of coverage, the new amount is five years/60,000 miles for gasoline-fueled models from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram. In March 2015, General Motors made a similar switch to five-years/60,000-miles of coverage for Chevrolet and GMC, and FCA US seems to be citing this as part of the reason for the shift. "Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices," the automaker said in a portion of its statement. The bumper-to-bumper warranty for these vehicles is unchanged at three years/36,000 miles. According to Automotive News, Fiat's warranty is remaining at four years/50,000 miles. When it changed the mileage limit, GM also halved the number of free service visits for Chevy, GMC, and Buick to two from the previous four. The automaker claimed that the reason for the adjustments to its coverage was that a long warranty was seldom a reason for customers to buy a vehicle. Related Video: Response to Query: 2016MY Powertrain Warranty Adjustment Following changes already made by competitors, FCA US is adjusting powertrain warranty coverage for 2016 model year vehicles to be more consistent with industry practices. For 2016MY, Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge and Ram Truck vehicles with gasoline engines will be covered by a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty. The basic coverage, also known as "bumper to bumper," remains at 3 years/36,000 miles. # # # News Source: FCA US, Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Mark Ralston / AFP / Getty Images Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Car Buying Maintenance Ownership FCA warranty fca us powertrain

A closer look at the 2015 Chrysler 200

When the doors of the Detroit Auto Show open to the public tomorrow, there's no doubt that the Chevy, BMW and Lexus booths will attract plenty of foot traffic with flashy sports cars. But when it comes to relevance as it relates to sales volume and in-market shoppers, the 2015 Chrysler 200 could end up being one of the more important introductions from the show. Positioned in the highly competitive midsize sedan segment, Chrysler has quite the challenge ahead of it, so we asked Andy Love, product chief of the 200, to give us a closer look at the new sedan to see how it will stack up against cars like the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Honda Accord.
All of the pertinent information about the new 200 was revealed during the on-stage introduction, but Love gave us a first-hand look at the sedan's more intricate details. This includes some of the exterior design elements such as the wide use of LED exterior lighting and the strategic placement of the side marker lights, and even interior cues like electronic shifter, which allowed for extra storage space in the center console. Aside from the name, the 2015 200 started from scratch riding on a similar platform as the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee, based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
Scroll down to watch Love talk us through the 2015 Chrysler 200, and you can find more information about it at our original post from earlier in the week.