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2020 Chrysler Pacifica Review & Buying Guide | A marvelous minivan

The 2020 Chrysler Pacifica is one of our favorite minivans, and the plug-in hybrid version, the Pacifica Hybrid, is even better. Roomy, comfortable and — dare we say — stylish, itÂ’s good enough to at least garner consideration from folks who would otherwise not be caught dead driving a minivan. It also offers a ton of standard and optional features to make life better for the driver up front all the way back to the kids seated in the comfy third row. While the well-mannered and techy Honda Odyssey is also worth cross shopping, we think the Pacifica is practical and enjoyable enough that weÂ’d even choose it over a lot of three-row crossovers. What's new for 2020? For the 2020 model year, Chrysler drops the L and LX trims, replacing them with a budget minivan that bears its own nameplate — the Chrysler Voyager — and starts at $28,480. That means the cheapest Pacifica you can get is the Limited trim, starting at $35,240. There are also a few extra features added here and there to the various trim levels, but nothing major apart from the flashy Red S Appearance Package available on the Limited versions of both the Pacifica and Pacifica Hybrid. This gets red and black Nappa leather upholstery, grey contrast stitching and piping, some red S emblems inside and out black 20-inch alloy wheels (18-inch on the Hybrid), Harman Kardon sound system and an advanced safety package. There are more significant changes in store of the Pacifica later this year when the 2021 model arrives, including some design tweaks and the addition of available all-wheel drive. What's the Pacifica interior and in-car technology like? The Pacifica interior is a lovely place to spend time. Up front, thereÂ’s plenty of room to stretch out, and lots of places to stash items within easy reach. WeÂ’re big fans of the huge cupholders, which are capacious enough to house two 32-ounce Nalgene water bottles side by side. The materials are nice, with good attention to detail. We were quite fond of the perforated leather seats, smooth leather steering wheel and attractive stitching in our long-term Pacifica Hybrid tester. As for tech, thereÂ’s plenty, and itÂ’s good. We like the big multimedia touchscreen in the center stack, and find this iteration of ChryslerÂ’s Uconnect multimedia system to be intuitive and responsive. The Pacifica offers a number of helpful driver aids, including adaptive cruise control and plenty of parking cameras.

Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.

Proposed deal averts strike between FCA and UAW

With the deadline rapidly approaching for a strike, FCA US and the United Auto Workers were able to hammer out a potential agreement late last night to avoid picket lines, at least for now. While the UAW said in a statement that it "secured significant gains," the actual contents of the deal haven't been published yet. Before going public, the offer still needs the consent of the UAW National Chrysler Committee, and that body has a meeting on 11:00 AM Eastern on Friday, October 9, to make a decision. If the Chrysler committee signs off on the deal, it would then go to the union's 40,000 FCA US workers for a vote, according to The Detroit News. "We have made real gains and I look forward to a full discussion of the terms with our membership," President Dennis Williams said in the UAW's statement. FCA US isn't providing any answers about the proposed contract either. In a release about the negotiations, the automaker said: "FCA US confirms that it has reached a new tentative agreement with the UAW. Because the agreement is subject to UAW member ratification, the Company cannot discuss the specifics of the agreement pending a vote by UAW members." The original tentative contract with FCA US promised raises and the creation of a healthcare co-op. However, 65 percent of union members rejected the deal, The Detroit News reports. Workers didn't like that the offer kept a two-tier wage system between veterans and more recent employees. The details of the health plan also weren't explained well, and there wasn't much info on possible production changes. UAW-FCA NATIONAL BARGAINING COMMITTEE VOTES ON PROPOSED TENTATIVE AGREEMENT Featured / News / October 8, 2015 UAW National Chrysler Council Leaders to Convene for Vote on Friday, Oct. 9 — Terms to be announced following Friday vote Detroit, Mich. – After a lengthy bargaining process, the UAW FCA National Bargaining Committee has secured significant gains in a proposed Tentative Agreement with FCA US announced today. The bargaining committee unanimously voted to send the proposed Tentative Agreement to local union leaders who make up the union's UAW National Chrysler Council. The UAW Chrysler Council will meet in Detroit at 11 am on Friday to discuss and vote on the agreement. "We heard from our members, and went back to FCA to strengthen their contract," said UAW President Dennis Williams.