1998 6 Disk Cd V6 Sohc Used Preowned 51k Miles on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler halts European production as coronavirus hits demand

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is halting production for two weeks at most of its European plants to help protect staff against the coronavirus pandemic and adjust to a slump in demand, the Italian-American carmaker said on Monday. Italy has been the European country worst hit by the crisis and the first to enforce a nationwide lockdown, which has now been replicated by Spain and, to a lesser extent, by France as the virus sweeps through the continent. With all non essential services closed, including car dealers, and people forced home except for strict working needs, many forecast a heavy fall in car sales in March. FCA — which according to analyst estimates produces around 25% of its vehicles in Europe — said the suspensions through March 27 would allow it "to effectively respond to the interruption in market demand by ensuring the optimization of supply." Ferrari, meanwhile, said it closed its two plants until March 27. Ferrari said it had so far ensured production continuity, and it already implemented all the health measures decided by the Italian government at the two sites, in hometown Maranello and in Modena. But it was "now experiencing the first serious supply chain issues, which no longer allow for continued production." Marco Opipari, an analyst at Fidentiis, said a few weeks of closures was not a big problem in an over-supplied European auto industry and lost production could be recovered later on. "The real problem is on the demand side, people are not buying cars now, and sales volumes are expected to be very bad in March, with a real impact on automakers' earnings," he said. FCA said in a statement that production for its FCA Italy and luxury Maserati units would stop for two weeks, extending a temporary closure period already planned for some Italian facilities. Affected plants are Melfi, Pomigliano, Cassino, Mirafiori, Grugliasco and Modena in Italy, Kragujevac in Serbia and Tychy in Poland. The FIOM union said FCA's decision was "necessary". The carmaker said the freeze would help it to resume activity promptly once market conditions allow it. "The group is working with its supply base and business partners to be ready to enable our manufacturing operations to deliver previously planned total levels of production despite the suspension when market demand returns," it said.

Junkyard Gem: 2001 Plymouth Neon

Chrysler's Plymouth brand was created in 1928 (and named after a brand of twine favored by farmers), in order to compete against Ford and Chevrolet for entry-level car shoppers. Plymouth stayed in third place in the US-market new-car sales hit parade for most of the years through the early 1950s and remained a strong (if gradually shrinking) player for decades after that. By the 1990s, though, it was tough to distinguish Plymouths from Dodges and DaimlerChrysler announced in late 1999 that the Plymouth Division would be getting the axe. 2001 was the last model year for Plymouth, with just one kind of vehicle sold for that year: the Neon. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those final Plymouths, found in a Denver self-service yard recently. In the years just before the DaimlerChrysler "merger of equals," Chrysler had attempted to make the Plymouth brand more interesting. An updated version of the old Plymouth ship emblem was created, a Plymouth-badged car on the Chrysler LH platform was planned, the PT Cruiser was going to be a Plymouth, and then there was the Prowler crypto-hot-rod. Those dreams of a revived Plymouth bit the dust once Herr Schrempp took over. The Prowler and Voyager became Chryslers, while the PT Cruiser never had even a single year of Plymouth badging. The only 2001 car sold as a Plymouth was the humble Neon. Since the very beginning of Neon production as a 1995 model, there never had been much difference between the Neons with Dodge badges and the ones with Plymouth badges, continuing the tradition of the Dodge/Plymouth Colt and Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon. Earlier generations of Plymouths (e.g., the Valiant) had been mechanically identical to their Dodge-badged siblings, but at least they looked different and had smaller price tags. In 2001, the MSRP of a base Dodge Neon was $12,715, or about $22,156 in 2023 dollars. The price of the base 2001 Plymouth Neon? $12,715. At least the Plymouth Division got two model years in which to sell the second-generation version of the Neon. The engine is the SOHC version of Chrysler's 2.0-liter straight-four, rated at 132 horsepower and 130 pound-feet. Sorry, 2001 Plymouth shoppers, your Neons didn't get the 150-horse version that Dodge Neon R/T and ACR models received that year. This car has some extra-cost goodies. There's this three-speed automatic transmission, which had a $600 cost ($1,036 in today's money). It has the $1,000 air conditioning option as well ($1,742 now).

GM, Ford, FCA and the UAW form joint coronavirus task force

General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler are forming a coronavirus task force along with the United Auto Workers union to improve protections for their employees and limit the spread of the highly contagious virus. The task force, which would be focusing on areas including vehicle production plans, is being headed by UAW President Rory Gamble, GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, Ford CEO Jim Hackett, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford and FCA CEO Michael Manley, the parties said in a joint statement on Sunday. Though automakers typically schedule plant staffing to allow for a certain proportion of absent workers, according to industry consultants, if the outbreak causes higher levels due to infection or workers staying home to care for children whose schools are closed, that could lead to reduced production or in extreme cases shutdowns. Production at an FCA assembly plant in Canada was halted for 24 hours after employees there refused to work on Thursday over fears of an employee being possibly exposed to the coronavirus. Separately on Thursday, the Italian-American automaker said that one of its employees had tested positive for COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus, at its transmission plant in Indiana. The plant, however, remained open. "This is a fluid and unprecedented situation, and the task force will move quickly to build on the wide-ranging preventive measures we have put in place," the CEOs of the three companies said in the statement. The task force would also be focusing on aspects such as health and safety education, health screening, food service at the automakers' locations. Related Video: Government/Legal Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat Ford GM coronavirus