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Detroit 3 to implement delayed unified towing standards for 2015

Car buyers have a responsibility to be well-informed consumers. That's not always a very simple task, but some guidelines are self-evident. If you live in a very snowy climate, you generally know a Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Camaro might not be as viable a vehicle choice as an all-wheel drive Explorer or Traverse, for example. If you want a fuel-efficient car, it's generally a good idea to know the difference between a diesel and a hybrid. But what if it's kind of tough to be an informed consumer? What if the information you need is more difficult to come by, or worse, based on different standards for each vehicle? Well, in that case, you might be a truck shopper. For years, customers of light-duty pickups have had to suffer through different ratings of towing capacities for each brand. For 2015 model year trucks, though, that will no longer be a problem. According to Automotive News, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Group have announced that starting with next year's models, a common standard will be used to measure towing capacity. The Detroit Three will join Toyota, which adopted the Society of Automotive Engineers' so-called SAE J2807 standards way back in 2011. The standard was originally supposed to be in place for MY2013, but concerns that it would lower the overall stated capacity for trucks led Detroit automakers to pass. Ford originally passed, claiming it'd wait until its new F-150 was launched to adopt the new standards, leading GM and Ram to follow suit. Nissan, meanwhile, has said it will adopt the new standards as its vehicles are updated, meaning the company's next-generation Titan should adhere to the same tow ratings as its competitors. While the adoption of SAE J2807 will be helpful for light-duty customers, those interested in bigger trucks will still be left with differing standards. There is no sign of the new tow standards being adopted for the heavy-duty market.

Chrysler 300C gets Sport Appearance Package option

In 2017, Chrysler added the option of a Sport Appearance Package to the sporty trim level of the 300 sedan, the 300S. The package added trim pieces from the hot-blooded 300 SRT sedan that we don't get in the U.S., namely the front fascia with LED foglights and SRT-style side skirts. Mopar Insiders reports that as of this month, the same upgrade is available on the top-level 300C trim as the Performance Appearance Package. Whereas the Sport Appearance Package on the V6-powered S model costs $1,795; the 300C's Performance Appearance Package is said to cost $695. We're sure Chrysler knows this isn't the performance upgrade that U.S. 300 buyers want. For reasons best known inside Chrysler, only Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East get the 300 SRT and its 6.4-liter V8 with 469 horsepower and 469 pound-feet of torque, limited-slip differential, Bilstein dampers, and Brembo brakes. It's possible the absence of the 300 SRT here is because Chrysler wants North American audiences to see Dodge as the performance brand. At this point, however, anyone intending to buy a 300 should be happy the four-door is still on sale. The model is eight years old and hasn't been the subject of anything close to hard news since last September. That's when Automotive News Canada said the car would die in 2020 to make room for the six-passenger Portal concept. The last hard nugget before that was in 2016, when the late Sergio Marchionne told Reuters the 300 could go front-wheel drive on the Pacifica platform — a fate arguably worse than killing the car. Now all we have is rumor and speculation, such as when Road & Track writes a "major refresh [is] ... supposedly being planned already," and sees a possibility that the 300/Charger/Challenger trio live into the next decade. The moral of the story is: The 300's irons could be as hot as they're ever going to get right now. FCA hasn't announced the upgrade package, but Mopar Insider says dealers can get it right now, order code AJU.

Almost 70 percent of FCA-PSA Groupe models to ride on two PSA platforms

With the merger between PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler having been officially announced this week, we still don't know where everything will settle once the process concludes. We covered the catalog of models herded by the combined company's 12 brands, all of which will remain for now. Profound changes must be afoot somewhere, though, else there'd be no reason for the tie-up. Automotive News has a report on one of the big moves, writing that "more than two-thirds of [PSA-FCA] production would be concentrated on just two platforms." Around 2.6 million cars built by the combined company would sit on PSA's Common Modular Platform, also known as the EMP1, for B-segment city cars, entry-level and mid-range C-segment sedans, and compact crossovers. Three million vehicles would ride on the EMP2 architecture intended for C- and D-segment cars and higher-end crossovers. Those figures account for around 5.6 of the 8.7 million vehicles the combined company expects to sell annually. AN didn't mention the Giorgio platform that's already spread throughout the FCA kingdom to support numerous current and future offerings like the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee, but did write that "larger Jeep models will continue to use FCA underpinnings." The body-on-frame chassis' under Ram trucks and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator should hold pat. We'll wait for word on the fate of the Compact U.S. Wide platform carrying the Chrysler Voyager and Pacifica and Jeep Cherokee. Dodge products with questionable futures are anyone's guess; we've heard the Dodge Durango, still built on a Mercedes-derived platform it shares with the current Grand Cherokee, could go body-on-frame for the next generation, or die and have the Giorgio-based, three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee take its place. More mystery comes with the long-lived LA and LD platforms in the big sedan and coupe trio Chrysler and Dodge still milk quite successfully. And if there were ever a time for the Dodge Journey – last reported as a Giorgio recipient – to modernize or die, we don't know when that time is. Although FCA platforms have been designed with alternative powertrains in mind, AN says the PSA Groupe architectures "are more modern than FCA's equivalent platforms." After PSA acquired GM's Opel/Vauxhall division, the French company didn't waste time moving the Anglo-German products to in-house platforms, helping to put the formerly money-losing operations into the black in just 18 months.