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Chrysler recalls 162,000 Pacifica minivans over stalling fears

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Friday it was recalling more than 162,000 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivans because a software glitch may cause the vehicles to stall. The Italian-American automaker said one accident had potentially been linked to the defect. Under a rare set of conditions, a vehicle's engine control module may incorrectly assess the engine's operating status and cause it to stall, Fiat Chrysler said. Dealers will update the engine control software, the company said, adding that most incidents associated with the glitch took place at low speeds or when the vehicles were starting up. The Center for Auto Safety, a consumer advocacy group, petitioned the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in November to investigate the issue after it said at least 50 owners had reported stalling in new Pacifica minivans. The agency asked Fiat Chrysler to answer questions about the stalling last month. Fiat Chrysler said it had begun investigating the issue before the petition was filed. The recall includes nearly 154,000 vehicles in the United States and more than 8,000 others around the world, but the company did not immediately say when the new software would be available. Hybrid gas-electric versions of the minivans are not included in the recall. (Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2017 Chrysler Pacifica First Drive

Chrysler may be testing a Hellcat 300

Another day goes by, and another mysterious, undisguised SRT prototype comes out of FCA. This time we have a Chrysler 300 SRT that looks nearly stock except for its footwear. Our spy photographer got up close and personal with this machine, and found that it has the same wheels with 315-mm tires that were on the early Dodge Demon prototypes. The only difference is the wheels on this 300 have Chrysler-branded center caps. All that extra width means these wheels stick pretty far out from the wheel wells, which would suggest that any production car running this setup would have flares to cover the wheels. Behind those wheels are four-piston Brembo calipers and slotted discs that looks similar to those on the current 300 SRT. We doubt that Chrysler is building a Demonized version of the 300, but the tires do suggest that this is a much more potent 300 than the current SRT, which was discontinued in the US in 2015 but is still sold in the Middle East and Australia. That's not all we have to go on, though, since our spy photographer says it sounded like it had Hellcat power under the hood. Equipping a 300 with a Hellcat engine would be a breeze, too, since the engine is already in the Charger, which is virtually identical mechanically. What you may be wondering is why Chrysler is adding a Hellcat version of the 300 SRT when that model hasn't been available in the US since 2015. One possible reason is that this would finally allow Aussies access to the 707-horsepower machine. Dodge is not a brand offered Down Under, so it doesn't get the Charger Hellcat, leaving the 300 as the only V8, rear-drive Mopar available. And for the Middle East, if the normal 300 SRT was selling well, it would only make sense to offer another variant. It shouldn't cost Chrysler too much to develop this model either, since the 300, mechanically, is virtually identical to the Charger. Related Video: Featured Gallery Chrysler 300 SRT Hellcat Widebody Spy Photos View 16 Photos Image Credit: Brian Williams Spy Photos Chrysler Performance Sedan chrysler 300 srt8

Stocks down as automakers, Boeing lead China's hit list in trade spat

Shares in U.S. exporters of everything from planes to tractors fell on Wednesday after China retaliated against the Trump administration's tariff plans by proposing duties on key U.S. imports including soybeans, beef and chemicals. U.S. automakers' products are prominent on China's list of tariff targets, yet shares of automakers ended higher on Wednesday as Wall Street stocks changed course in the afternoon when investors' trade fears subsided. Tesla shares closed 7.3 percent higher at $286.94, Ford shares gained 1.6 percent to close at $11.33, and GM shares were up 3 percent at $38.03. Aircraft maker Boeing closed down 1 percent, weighing the most on the Dow Jones Industrial Average as documents from China's Ministry of Commerce and the U.S. manufacturer showed the move would affect some older Boeing narrowbody models. It was not immediately clear how much the tariffs would impact its newer aircraft. Boeing said it was assessing the situation while analysts from JP Morgan said the proposals from China looked to have been calibrated carefully to avoid a major impact on the planemaker. Fellow Dow component 3M lost as much as 2.4 percent. And farming equipment maker Deere lost nearly $10 per share at its lowest. The company urged the two countries to work toward a resolution to "limit uncertainty for farmers and avoid meaningful disruptions to agricultural trade." The speed with which the trade spat between Washington and Beijing is ratcheting up — the Chinese government took less than 11 hours to respond with its own measures — led to a sharp selloff in global stock markets and commodities. China was hitting back against U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to impose tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods with similar tariffs on U.S. goods even as Trump said the country is "not in a trade war with China." "Everybody knew they were going to retaliate. The question was how strong of a retaliation. Today's move clearly shows that they mean business," said Adam Sarhan, chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York. China levied 25 percent additional tariffs on U.S. goods, but unlike Washington's list that covers many obscure industrial items, Beijing's covers 106 key U.S. imports including soybeans, planes, cars, whiskey and chemicals. Trump denied that the tit-for-tat moves amounted to a trade war between the world's two economic superpowers.