2005 Chrysler Pacifica Touring Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: Obama reflects on the auto bailout's legacy

President Obama took a victory lap of sorts this week at the Detroit Auto Show, lauding the industry's progress and reflecting on the decision to bail out General Motors and Chrysler seven years ago. While the rescue was controversial at the time, historians will likely judge the president's actions to help save two of America's industrial symbols in a positive light. Much like Theodore Roosevelt's trust-busting tactics were controversial in the early 20th century, Obama's plan drew fire from critics who argued the free market should be left to its own devices. But providing financial aid and forcing the automakers to restructure had an enduring impact on the US economy. The auto industry has added more than 646,000 jobs since the companies emerged from bankruptcy, including manufacturing and retail positions. Make no mistake, GM and Chrysler were nearly dead in 2009. Now, GM is a powerhouse that's set to capitalize on a market that could see 18 million vehicles sold this year. Chrysler, which was renamed FCA US, survived as part of the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles conglomerate. It's also performed well amid the strong industry conditions, though CEO Sergio Marchionne very publicly went looking for alliance partners last year, something from which he's since backed off. While Obama can claim a win, the bailout was actually started by George W. Bush, who provided short-term loans to GM and Chrysler in December 2008. Without that, they might not have made it much past Obama's inauguration. NEWS & ANALYSIS News: Spy Shooters captured the next-gen BMW Z4 during extreme cold weather testing. Analysis: The upcoming Z4 (which might be called the Z5) looks sharp. But the big deal is that BMW's much-anticipated sports-car project with Toyota is coming to fruition. Refresher: BMW and Toyota agreed to work together back in December 2011 and then announced an expansion of that deal to include sports cars in June 2012. Ultimately, it will provide BMW with a new Z4 and Toyota with another sports car, perhaps the Supra replacement. BMW is developing the platform, while Toyota is expected to chip in with hybrid technology. Big picture, this project is a good thing. It's providing enthusiasts with two modern sports cars that Toyota and BMW might not chose to develop on their own. This template has been shown to work, as the Fiat-Mazda alliance produced the MX-5 Miata and 124 Spider. News: The Jeep Grand Cherokee Hellcat was also spied, briefly.

The Plymouth Prowler was so cool you could get a Prowler-shaped trailer for it

Like many car enthusiasts, we at Autoblog have a tendency to spend our free time browsing online car listings for unusual vehicles. One of our editors' latest finds is this 1997 Plymouth Prowler with less than 300 miles on the clock. And as we looked at it and discussed it in our work chat room, we were reminded just how cool the Prowler was. It was one of the rare automobiles to go from concept to reality almost unchanged. It was even more remarkable Chrysler pulled it off considering its open wheels, aluminum chassis and dramatic body work. The 1997 model year was the very first for the Prowler, and it was only offered in the metallic purple that the show car wore. That show car made its debut in Detroit in 1993. You can see it in the photo above. Besides some tweaked bumpers and reworked headlights, they're hard to tell apart. The Prowler, inspired by hot rods like custom 1932 Fords, helped kick off the retro craze of the late 1990s and early 2000s, leading to Chrysler's own PT Cruiser and other vehicles such as the VW New Beetle, BMW-built Mini Cooper and Ford Thunderbird. The production car boasted some impressive technology, but it also had a number of drawbacks. It featured an aluminum chassis, and it had a rear-mounted transmission connected to the engine via a torque tube similar to the contemporary C5 Corvette. On the flip side, this hot rod-inspired roadster ended up with a 3.5-liter V6 making 214 horsepower, rather than a rumbly V8. This was because there wasn't room in the narrow nose for a V8. It was also saddled with a four-speed automatic, the only available transmission. The interior, while having cool hot rod touches like the body-color instrument panel, AutoMeter tachometer on the steering column and stylish hoops on the seats, was plasticky and sourced heavily from the Chrysler parts bin. These were issues on a car that cost the equivalent of nearly $60,000 in today's money. Chrysler did make efforts to improve the Prowler over time. The most significant improvement was the introduction of a high-output V6 for 1999 making 253 horsepower, which actually resulted in acceleration appropriate for a performance car at the time. Then again, it still had that four-speed automatic. Plymouth also offered the car in a variety of colors and some special editions with two-tone paint. The one sad thing about the Prowler is that Chrysler recognized some of the shortcomings of the car, and it even built a show car that fixed the issues.

FCA joins BMW, Intel and Mobileye on autonomous car project

Today, BMW, Intel and Mobileye announced that FCA would be joining their effort to build a sharable and scalable platform for autonomous cars. This project has been moving ahead full steam, with Intel purchasing Mobileye earlier this year, not long after Tesla and Mobileye parted ways. Not long after that, parts supplier Delphi joined the autonomous effort. The group's current goal is to have 40 autonomous test vehicles on the road by the end of 2017. The eventual end game is to create a new architecture that each partner can use and adapt to its needs. The platform will support level 3 to level 4/5 automated driving, and can be adapted to suit brand identity. The main headquarters for the effort will be in Germany. FCA staff will join the already established group of engineers from BMW, Intel and Mobileye. The group expects this new platform to hit the streets by 2021. It's unclear how this will affect FCA's relationship with Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous vehicle project. Waymo currently uses modified Chrysler Pacificas for its fleet. In addition to FCA, the trio of BMW, Intel and Mobileye have extended an invitation to any other automakers and suppliers that want to join the project. Related Video: News Source: BMW/Intel Green BMW Chrysler Fiat Autonomous Vehicles mobileye