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Chrysler teases upcoming outlay of SEMA cars

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is hauling a multitude of modified models to the annual SEMA show in Las Vegas this November, and the company is releasing the first teasing sketches of many of them.
Unfortunately, FCA isn't giving many solid details on any of the concepts other than saying the vehicles from Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat all benefit from tuning from its Mopar performance brand. The teaser photos include a sinister-looking Chrysler 200S, Fiat 500 Abarth with two-tone paint and a scorpion on the hood, a red and black 500L, seemingly two different takes on the Jeep Renegade, a green Dodge Challenger wearing the T/A badge, an orange and black Dart, a very neon Charger, just the outline of a red and black Viper, a Ram ProMaster in Mopar livery and a Ram pickup called the Outdoorsman.
Take a look through the gallery to see what you think of the sketches for these concepts, and scroll down for the full announcement from FCA.

Jeep Grand Commander three-row crossover SUV revealed in Beijing

Jeep has finally revealed its first three-row SUV since the Commander, and the new one is called, as we expected, Grand Commander. And it looks just like we expected from leaked images and patent drawings. It pulls a bit of inspiration from the Jeep Yuntu concept, but it generally looks like a much bigger, stretched-out Compass. We do see a bit of Renegade inspiration in the D-pillar, though. Interestingly, the Grand Commander isn't really bigger than our Grand Cherokee. The Grand Commander is just under 192 inches long, which is only 2 inches longer than the Grand Cherokee. But the Grand Commander's wheelbase is four inches shorter. It's also about two inches narrower than the Grand Cherokee. This is all interesting considering the Grand Commander's greater passenger capacity. Also interesting is the Grand Commander's powertrain. It's only available with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder, likely lifted from the Jeep Cherokee and Wrangler. If so, it's been detuned, and it now makes just 231 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque as opposed to the 270 horsepower and 295 pound-feet in the other Jeeps. The Grand Commander's four-cylinder is also paired to a nine-speed automatic, and it can be had with either two-wheel or four-wheel drive. The question of course is, will the Grand Commander come to America? It would fill a gap in the Jeep lineup, since the brand has no three-row vehicles. There have been many rumors of a three-row Jeep, possibly called Grand Wagoneer, as well as Grand Commander prototypes running around the U.S. But the size of the Grand Commander has us questioning whether it would be brought here, or if Jeep would develop a larger three-row, maybe based on Durango, for our market. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jeep Grand Commander View 10 Photos Image Credit: Jeep Beijing Motor Show Jeep Crossover SUV

Chrysler reports $166M net income for Q1, down $307M vs. 2012

Preliminary first-quarter results from 2013 have been announced by Chrysler, and the company is reporting a net income of $166 million on revenue of $15.4 billion. Compared to this period last year, net income is down $307 million and revenue has dropped $1 billion.
Chrysler says that its quarter was negatively affected by the costs associated with launching its 2013 Ram Heavy Duty, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee and preparation for the return of the all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee pictured above. The launches should provide a strong second half of 2013, says the automaker. "We remain on track to achieve our business targets, even as the first-quarter results were affected by an aggressive product launch schedule," said Chrysler Group LLC Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne.
On a positive note, the automaker says worldwide vehicle sales are up 8 percent from one year ago, a number pushed by a 12 percent bump in U.S. retail sales. In addition, domestic market share has risen slightly, up to 11.4 percent from 11.2 percent last year. Read more in the official statement below.