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1963 Chrysler Turbine Car is for sale, and it's the coolest car you can buy

If you have a lot of money, there are a lot of really wild and exciting cars to choose from. But I feel confident in saying that none of them, none of them, can come close to being as brilliantly badass as this 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car, first spotted by Barn Finds, which, yes, is actually something you can buy and own. And even drive! Here's a quick recap of the Turbine Car in case you're unfamiliar. Back in the 1960s, Chrysler was researching turbine engines for vehicle propulsion, and to get an idea for how well they would work in the real world, they built 5 prototype cars followed by 50 production models. Those latter models did a tour to just over 200 families, each of which spent 90 days driving the cars. According to Motor Trend, the engine produced 130 horsepower and 425 pound-feet of torque, and it was paired with a three-speed automatic. Afterward, the cars were returned to Chrysler, which eventually decided that turbine engines weren't the way of the future. According to Hyman Ltd., the company selling this example, only nine Turbine Cars were spared the crusher, and six were sent to museums. This was one of the cars Chrysler held onto, and it was occasionally loaned to executives and such. It was then sold to William Harrah for his collection and museum near Reno. It later was sold to the founder of Domino's Pizza, and then to the latest owner, Frank Kleptz. Kleptz then worked with GE Engine Services to rebuild the engine and make the car run again. As it sits, the car features its original paint, trim and interior. It comes with spare parts and various documents. And of course it oozes cool, from the whistling engine under the hood to the jet-inspired, Ghia-built body and sleek interior. Plus, you can be sure you won't see another one on the road, unless you happen to be cruising by Jay Leno's garage in Burbank, Calif. It really doesn't get cooler than this. Hyman hasn't listed a price for it, but we're sure it will sell for a massive amount, and it would probably be money well spent. Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Bill Harrah's car collection was in Las Vegas, it was actually near Reno. The text has been updated to reflect this. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Prosecutors indict three FCA employees in alleged emissions-cheating case

Federal prosecutors indicted three Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA, now Stellantis) employees as part of an investigation into alleged emissions cheating. Charges unsealed on April 20, 2021, accuse the defendants of helping rig the emissions control system fitted to the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 used in some models during the 2010s. Prosecutors claim Emanuele Palma, Sergio Pasini, and Gianluca Sabbioni played a determining role in developing a defeat device that allowed the V6 to obtain certification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while polluting too much in normal driving conditions. Jeep and Ram began making the engine available in the Grand Cherokee and the 1500, respectively, in 2014, but the charges state plans to game the EPA started in 2011. Palma, Pasini, and Sabbioni knowingly mislead federal regulators, the charges claim; they called it "cycle beating," according to The Detroit News. While the three men were part of FCA's research and development department, they started the project while working for an Italian supplier named VM Motori, which FCA purchased in 2013. Pasini and Sabbioni are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and six counts of violating the Clean Air Act. They could spend several years behind bars if they're found guilty. Both are currently in their home country of Italy. Palma's legal troubles are more serious. He was charged with several counts in September 2019, though four wire fraud charges were dropped in November 2020. He lives in Bloomfield Hills, a city located on the far outskirts of Detroit. Prosecutors claim motorists spent over $4 billion on over 100,000 trucks and SUVs fitted with the non-compliant engine between January 2013 and September 2017. FCA has already agreed to pay $800 million to resolve civil claims from the Justice Department, state officials and customers, though it significantly has not admitted guilt. It stressed that "it did not engage in any deliberate scheme to install defeat devices to cheat emissions tests."

Toyota tops Consumer Reports best, worst used car values

We often mock Toyota for building boring, soulless cars, but a new study by Consumer Reports suggests that regardless of whether that's true, the company has some of the best used cars on the market. In its report on used cars from 2004-2013, the Japanese automaker had 11 vehicles among its brands on the list - more than any other automaker.
CR breaks the list down by cost and vehicle size, and Toyota has at least one entry at every price point and in nearly every segment. To score a recommendation, a vehicle had to perform well in the magazine's initial tests and score above-average reliability results. It also tried to only suggest cars with electronic stability control. Of the 28 recommended vehicles, Honda/Acura had the second most mentions at six, and Ford, Hyundai and Subaru managed two each.
The Detroit brands also made it to the list, but not in a positive way. Consumer Reports compiled a list of 22 vehicles it wouldn't recommend because "they have multiple years of much-worse-than-average overall reliability." General Motors had the most unrecommended models on the list at six, but Chrysler and Ford weren't far behind, with five cars each from their brands not making the grade. The full list of recommendations is available on CR's website.