2010 Chrysler Sebring Touring Sedan 4-door 2.4l on 2040-cars

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FCA recalls 1.25M trucks for software error in fatal crash

WASHINGTON - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said Friday it would recall more than 1.25 million pickup trucks worldwide to address a software error linked to reports of one crash death and two injuries. The error code could temporarily disable the side air bag and seat belt pretensioner deployment during a vehicle rollover spurred by a significant underbody impact, such as striking onroad debris or driving off-road, the Italian-American automaker said. The company will reprogram computer modules in the affected vehicles to address this error. The recall covers 1.02 million 2013-16 Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups, and 2014-2016 Ram 3500 pickups in the United States, 216,007 vehicles in Canada; 21,668 in Mexico; and 21,530 outside North America, the automaker said. Fiat Chrysler said the recall would begin in late June. In the event of the software error code, the problem could temporarily be addressed by turning the vehicle off and then on, the company said. The automaker told the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration it began investigating the issue in December after it received notice of a suit involving a 2014 Ram 1500 in which the airbag failed to deploy in a rollover crash.Reporting by David ShepardsonRelated Video: Recalls Chrysler Fiat Truck FCA airbag fiat chrysler automobiles

The Grand Caravan, at least the name, isn't dead yet in Canada

Last week we got Stellantis. This week, we’re learning that the Grand Caravan name isnÂ’t actually dead. ItÂ’s just moved to Canada. Allow us to explain. The Dodge Grand Caravan is well and truly gone. However, FCA has decided the name is too good not to use. Therefore, FCA Canada just announced that Canadians will get the Chrysler Grand Caravan for the 2021 model year. One look at the photos will tell you most everything you need to know about the van. ItÂ’s a rebadged Chrysler Voyager, which itself is a budget Chrysler Pacifica by a different name. Basically, the U.S. gets the Voyager, and Canada gets the Grand Caravan. “WeÂ’re incredibly proud to maintain the ‘Grand CaravanÂ’ nameplate exclusively in the Canadian marketplace,” said David Buckingham, President and CEO, FCA Canada. “Particularly here in Canada, that name has become synonymous with affordable, safe and innovative family transportation that the 2021 Chrysler Grand Caravan builds upon.” Now that the Voyager and Caravan are the same again, the next logical step would be to bring back Plymouth, right? Rebadged Plymouth Hellcats wouldnÂ’t bother us. Just Â… you know, an idea. Canadian customers will have the choice of two trims for the Grand Caravan: Base and SXT. Similar to the U.S., upper trim levels of the van will be called Pacifica. The two will be sold alongside each other at Chrysler dealerships. Photos of the Pacifica with the Grand Caravan badge already have us a little weirded out, but now youÂ’ll know whatÂ’s going on during your next trip up north when you see a Chrysler Grand Caravan roll by. Related video:

Values snowball for legendary Tucker Sno-Cats, latest toys of the super rich

Here's a fun-sounding vehicle perfect for the cold and snow that's currently gripping much of North America. Tucker — no, not that Tucker — just marked its 75th anniversary making the Sno-Cat, its orange-painted, four-tread snow vehicles that have inspired backcountry skiers, collectors — and increasingly, the super rich. Bloomberg in a recent story writes that demand for the Medford, Ore.-based company's products is soaring on demand from the wealthy, who need a way to get to their backcountry mountain retreats. They're also in demand from collectors and gearheads who also love snow, like two anonymous collectors who are believed to have amassed more than 200 vintage Sno-Cats. The value of vintage models has reportedly tripled in the past five years to well over $100,000 for a fully restored rig. Tucker Sno-Cat Corp. claims to be the world's oldest surviving snow vehicle manufacturer, launched by E.M. Tucker in 1942 out of a desire to design a vehicle for traveling over the kind of deep, soft snow found in the Rogue River Valley of his childhood. It was four Tucker Sno-Cat machines that helped English explorer Vivian Fuchs and his 12-man party make the first 2,158-mile overland crossing of Antarctica in 1957-58. While many of the company's competitors either shuttered or adapted to serving ski resorts with wider, heavier treads, Tucker has stuck to its formula of making lightweight vehicles to travel over deep snow. Many Tuckers use Chrysler's flat six-cylinder engine, or its Dodge Hemi V8 for larger Sno-Cats, mounted rear or centrally, with basic, no-frills aluminum cabins. Sno-Cats all have four articulating tracks that are independently sprung, powered and pivoted at the drive axle. Track options come in three different types: conventional steel grouser belt track, rubber-coated aluminum grouser belt track, and one-piece all-rubber track. Steering is hydraulically controlled by pivoting the front and rear axles for smooth movement over undulating terrain with minimal disturbance of the ground cover. The company today makes 75 to 100 Sno-Cats a year for customers including the U.S. military, oil-drilling crews in cold places like Alaska and North Dakota, and utilities. But demand is so high that it's launched a profitable service reselling and refurbishing old machines. E.M. Tucker's grandson, Jeff McNeil, now head of this division, scours Google Earth for abandoned Sno-Cats rusting in backyards that he might be able to acquire and fix up.