2008 Chrysler Town & Country Limited on 2040-cars

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Chrysler investigating complaints of vehicles with faulty power modules

Chrysler owners are hopping mad after experiencing a series of electrical gremlins in some of the company's vehicles. Issues range from mere annoyances - windows rolling down and radios turning off of their own accord - to serious safety issues, with headlights that randomly shut off at night and cars that stall and refuse to start.
The issues are being blamed on the total integrated power module, which can cost up to $1,000 for customers to replace. This, of course, has led to a hefty batch of complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with 240 owners expressing their displeasure so far. Another site, CarComplaints.com, has registered over 300 complaints relating to the 2010 to 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango, alone, according to The New York Times.
Chrysler has acknowledged that it's investigating the complaints and is analyzing the faulty TIPMs, but that isn't quite enough for customers of the affected vehicles. The newspaper has snagged a few of the more harrowing tales with the electrically challenged Chrysler products, culled from the NHTSA complaints.

FCA chairman confirms Marchionne email to Barra

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne is apparently backing up his talk about the need for consolidation in the auto industry with quite a bit of action. One recent report claimed that he even emailed General Motors CEO Mary Barra to make a deal. FCA chairman John Elkann has now confirmed that the correspondence actually happened, and that it wasn't a one-off occurrence. "It was not the only email, it was not the only conversation," Elkann (pictured above with Marchionne) said, according to Reuters. He is a member of the Agnelli family that has a controlling stake in FCA's stock and is supporting the idea of a merger. The automaker is willing to "act with determination if there are the prerequisites to do something that makes sense," Elkann said. Marchionne has been pushing for industry consolidation for months. While GM has been the main target of late, Ford was also rumored as a partner under consideration. In the past, there have also been reports of FCA negotiating with Volkswagen Group and PSA Peugeot Citroen for mergers, as well. According to Reuters, part of the reason for all of this effort might be as a way for Marchionne to ensure his legacy, though he's denied that. He's reportedly considering retiring after 2018. In his opinion, consolidation is needed because automakers are investing too much money to achieve the same goals. The situation would be better after mergers, and he predicts something to happen before 2018. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Massimo Pinca / AP Photo Earnings/Financials Chrysler Fiat Sergio Marchionne FCA merger John Elkann

Former Treasury boss unaware auto task force fired GM's Wagoner

We dig a good political tell-all every once in a while (how else will we get our political fix while waiting for House of Cards' third season?). Today, we get just that from former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's new book, "Stress Test," which details, among other parts of the 2009 financial catastrophe, the structured bankruptcy that allowed Chrysler and General Motors to emerge as competitive players in the auto industry.
In the book, which is nicely recapped by The Detroit News, Geithner discusses the firing of GM CEO Rick Wagoner while explaining how much trust he had in the auto industry task force that executed the move without his knowledge.
Auto Czar Steve Rattner "didn't even consult me before he fired General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner; if anything, that move increased my confidence in Team Auto," Geithner wrote.