2012 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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Ram helps power Chrysler to 11% gain in May

Increasing consumer demand for Ram pickup trucks and big SUVs has helped to boost May sales for Chrysler. Ram sales were up a total of 24 percent year-over-year for the month of May. In addition, Dodge sales increased by 23 percent in May, with the standout Durango clocking a 24-percent year-over-year improvement (with an updated 2014 model in the wings, incentives are thick on the ground for 2013 inventory). Fiat and Jeep were up only a modest one percent, however, and Chrysler brand sales were down by two percent against last year's figures.
Chrysler is quite pleased overall with brand performance, saying that this May marks the company's strongest in the past six years. It was also the 38th consecutive month showing year-over-year sales gains.
Eight of the automaker's vehicles set sales records for May, as well: Jeep Wrangler and Compass, Dodge Avenger and Challenger, Fiat 500, Chrysler 200 and Ram pickups. Scroll down to read more detail in Chrysler's press release.

Future Classic: 1990-2012 Mitsubishi Eclipse

It was meant to be a premiere partnership, pregnant with possibilities: the alliance of a pair of global automotive powerhouses from Japan and America. Eventually the merger gave birth to a trio of highly-regarded sports coupes: the Mitsubishi Eclipse, the Eagle Talon and the Plymouth Laser, cars developed by the company that became Diamond-Star Motors. Although DSM’s beginnings can be traced back to a flirtation in 1970, when Chrysler Corporation took a 15-percent stake in Mitsubishi Motors, the partnership later culminated in a formal pairing in 1985. It was good timing: Chrysler was emerging from near-bankruptcy; the Japanese company just didnÂ’t have anything to please U.S. buyers, and with government-imposed “voluntary” import quotas, its supply lines were broadly restricted. Chrysler, looking to expand its lines, built a plant in Normal, Illinois, but, although Chrysler put up half the $650 million for the facility, it left management to Mitsubishi. And the Japanese facilities provided engines and transmissions. By the end of 1989, production of the Diamond-Star triplets — the Laser, Eclipse and Talon — was in full swing. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Why is the Mitsubishi Eclipse a Future Classic? The Eclipse, supposedly named for an unbeaten 18th-century English racehorse that won 18 races in a row, was the shining star of the line. Because of its long run in series production, the genealogy of the Eclipse is worth discussing. Initially the car, designed at the Mitsubishi Motors North America Design Studio and introduced in 1990, was available in four trim levels: Eclipse, Eclipse GS, Eclipse GS-T (Turbo) and Eclipse GSX. It evolved first as a two-door coupe, later as a convertible or liftback, with front-wheel or all-wheel drive, and with engine choices including naturally aspirated fours, turbocharged fours and V6 options. One really needs a scorecard to chart the generations: 1st Gen (1990-1994), 2nd Gen (1995-1999), 3rd Gen (2000-2005), and 4th Gen (2006-2012). Before the EclipseÂ…well, was eclipsed, buyers of the third and fourth-gen cars could specify a 3.8L V6 engine as well as a four. This swank 2+2 sports car and its nearly identical cousin, the Eagle Talon TSi, emerged as hot rods for the Nineties, and tuners gave them full props for power.

Ford, Chrysler and Mazda expand scope of Takata airbag recalls

The scope of the Takata airbag inflator recall is ballooning once again across the United States. Where Honda has elected to take its driver-side airbag campaign nationwide, Chrysler Group and Ford have now announced expanded regional actions to cover some passenger-side airbag inflators. Mazda is adding more regions, as well. For Chrysler Group, the campaign covers the inflators on 149,150 examples of the 2003-model-year Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500 pickups. The recall is limited to vehicles sold or ever registered in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. The company will begin notifying affected customers on January 19. According to Chrysler's announcement of the action, the passenger side inflators in these trucks "are of a type that is not used in any of the other vehicles affected by Chrysler Group's regional field action." The automaker says that it's not aware of any actual failures or accidents in these pickups and even claims there are no "observed failures in laboratory testing of its airbag modules." The company is continuing to study the problem, though. Ford is taking a similar step by issuing a recall of inflators for 38,500 examples of the 2004-2005 Ranger and 2005-2006 Ford GT. The campaign only affects vehicles originally sold or ever registered in Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Certain zip codes of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Guam, Saipan and American Samoa are also covered. There's already precedent for passenger-side airbags to be covered under the Takata inflator recall. When many automakers announced campaigns in June, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan and Toyota all included that side in some of their repairs. Subaru subsequently did, as well. In addition, Mazda is expanding the scope of its recall to add Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Saipan, Guam, American Samoa, US Virgin Islands, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to the affected areas. The company estimates that it has a total of 86,773 vehicles in need of repair. Mazda is also teaming with Toyota to begin independent testing of the Takata inflators. Scroll down to read all of the automakers' announcements of these newly expanded recalls. Statement: Air-Bag Inflators December 3, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich.