1986 Chrysler Lebaron Base Convertible 2-door 2.2l Low Miles Nice on 2040-cars

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Car dealership in East Texas destroyed by tornado

Few things are as fundamentally and unconditionally destructive as a tornado. These cataclysmic phenomena pass through towns, leaving nothing in their wake but ruin and despair. According to an NBC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a car dealership in nearby Canton was hit by a tornado Saturday night. No employees were hurt. Four other people in the area weren't so lucky. Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Canton's new showroom and service center were pounded by the storm, leaving dozens of cars in various states of ruin. Some merely lost windows, while others were flipped and left on their sides or roofs. Photos show piles of cars stacked up like Hot Wheels dumped on the ground. According to a statement from the National Weather Service, winds reached speeds of up to 140 mph. Two other tornadoes were reported in the region. The area has been declared a disaster zone and first responders from up to 100 miles away have swarmed in to help out those in need. According to Reuters, the storms Saturday killed 11 people nationwide. Related Video: News Source: NBC DFW, National Weather Service, Reuters via Automotive NewsImage Credit: Reuters Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM tornado

Fiat Chrysler wins top Total Quality Award for first time

The Strategic Vision Total Quality Awards are 20 years old in 2015, and Chrysler has never topped the awards before. Until now, that is. Fiat Chrysler takes the overall award on the corporate level with six segment leaders from Fiat, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram. The Fiat 500 won Small Multi-Function Car, the 500e won Small Alternative Powertrain, the Dodge Challenger tied at the top in the Specialty Coupe category alongside the very un-coupe Mini Cooper Countryman, the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited took the Entry SUV category, the Dodge Durango won in Mid-Size SUV, and Ram took the overall in Best Non-Luxury Brand. The accolade means FCA has gone from one segment winner in 2010 to overall victory in five years. Cars have gotten so good, says Strategic Vision, that it is harder than ever to win. In fact, says the group, 18 years ago 85 percent of all vehicle brands had more than half a problem per vehicle. This year, no brand has more than half a problem per vehicle. The organization measures "over 155 specific aspects of the customer's experience," and scores are based on input from more than 46,000 customers. Other notables in and near the winner's circle include Volkswagen and General Motors, who tied for second place on the corporate scale, one point behind FCA. The Mini Cooper Roadster scored the highest of any model, the Corvette Stingray Convertible and Coupe scored the second- and third-highest. The Chevrolet Colorado is the first domestic Standard Pickup winner in more than ten years, and the Nissan Titan carried the Full-Size Pickup category. The press release below has all the details on how winners and losers are selected, and the full list of automakers and how they finished. "The Customer's 'Total' Experience Defines Quality, Fiat Chrysler Scores Highest in Total Quality," says Strategic Vision The 2015 Total Quality Awards® SAN DIEGO, Friday, July 17, 2015 — Unknown to many, when some consumer research firms rank a car company's quality performance they often do so by simply "counting problems." In the past, this may have been acceptable, but in today's modern and efficient manufacturing world the difference between the worst brand and best brand is LESS than half-a-problem per vehicle. Thus, any "quality ranking" based on this method is severely lacking in the complete picture of the "Total" Quality experience that customers actually use to judge their product ownership.

FCA's European boss quits after losing out as Marchionne's replacement

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler's European boss has quit, adding to the problems facing new CEO Mike Manley, who must deliver on promises to boost production of SUVs and catch up with rivals in electric cars. Jeep division head Manley was named on Saturday to succeed Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, one of the auto industry's most tenacious and respected leaders, who fell seriously ill after suffering complications following surgery. It emerged on Monday that Alfredo Altavilla, head of Fiat Chrysler's business in the Europe, Middle East Africa had resigned, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. He had been a rival for the top job along with Manley and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer. It's another complication to new CEO Manley's task of executing his predecessor's plan to keep the world's seventh-largest carmaker competitive in the absence of a merger. Marchionne had been due to step down next April, so the market reaction was limited on Monday. The shares initially fell more than 5 percent, but then pared some losses and were down 2.4 percent by 0930 GMT. "The downside may be modest, at least in the next 12 months. But long-term concerns will build — Marchionne ran FCA in a command and control style, with constant firefighting measures," said Bernstein analyst Max Warburton. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) said British-born Manley would pursue the strategy that Marchionne outlined last month. FCA has pledged to increase production of sport utility vehicles and invest in electric and hybrid cars to double operating profit by 2022. It also unveiled bold targets for Jeep, which has become FCA's ticket to creating a high-margin brand with global appeal. Reviving struggling brands Analysts said that choosing Manley, 54, under whose watch Jeep's sales surged fourfold, sent a clear message that FCA was staying on course and would keep the Jeep brand at the heart of its growth plan. "Manley knows that his primary focus is on execution and that, already, he has a strategy into which his team has bought," said George Galliers, an analyst at Evercore ISI. "There is no reason the 2022 plan cannot be executed." Under Manley, the company is expected to sharpen its focus on revamping individual brands, including ailing Fiat in Europe, Chrysler in the United States and Alfa Romeo, which has yet to turn a profit despite multibillion-euro investments.