2013 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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The next steps automakers could take after sales drop again in April

DETROIT (Reuters) - Major automakers on Tuesday posted declines in U.S. new vehicle sales for April in a sign the long boom cycle that lifted the American auto industry to record sales last year is losing steam, sending carmaker stocks down. The drop in sales versus April 2016 came on the heels of a disappointing March, which automakers had shrugged off as just a bad month. But two straight weak months has heightened Wall Street worries the cyclical industry is on a downward swing after a nearly uninterrupted boom since the Great Recession's end in 2010. Auto sales were a drag on U.S. first-quarter gross domestic product, with the economy growing at an annual rate of just 0.7 percent according to an advance estimate published by the Commerce Department last Friday. Excluding the auto sector the GDP growth rate would have been 1.2 percent. Industry consultant Autodata put the industry's seasonally adjusted annualized rate of sales at 16.88 million units for April, below the average of 17.2 million units predicted by analysts polled by Reuters. General Motors Co shares fell 2.9 percent while Ford Motor Co slid 4.3 percent and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's U.S.-traded shares tumbled 4.2 percent. The U.S. auto industry faces multiple challenges. Sales are slipping and vehicle inventory levels have risen even as carmakers have hiked discounts to lure customers. A flood of used vehicles from the boom cycle are increasingly competing with new cars. The question for automakers: How much and for how long to curtail production this summer, which will result in worker layoffs? To bring down stocks of unsold vehicles, the Detroit automakers need to cut production, and offer more discounts without creating "an incentives war," said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for AlixPartners in Southfield, Michigan. "We see multiple weeks (of production) being taken out on the car side," he said, "and some softness on the truck side." Rival automakers will be watching each other to see if one is cutting prices to gain market share from another, he said, instead of just clearing inventory. INVESTORS DIGEST BAD NEWS Just last week GM reported a record first-quarter profit, but that had almost zero impact on the automaker's stock. The iconic carmaker, whose own interest was once conflated with that of America's, has slipped behind luxury carmaker Tesla Inc in terms of valuation.

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Chrysler LeBaron GTC Convertible

Chrysler's versatile front-wheel-drive K Platform saved the company from certain doom during the early 1980s, then spawned so many derivatives — including the vehicle that started the minivan revolution — that we can't keep track of all of them. One of the original K-cars was the affordably luxurious 1982 Chrysler LeBaron, which evolved into a snazzy convertible later in the decade. The LeBaron disappeared after 1995, replaced by the Sebring and the Cirrus, and I'm seeing fewer and fewer of these cars during my wrecking-yard explorations. Here's a sporty '91 convertible in a Denver-area yard. The top-of-the-line LeBaron convertible in 1991 was, in fact, badged by Maserati and came only with a Mitsubishi V6. That 141-horse engine was the base powerplant for the '91 LeBaron GTC, though an optional 2.5-liter, 152-horsepower straight-four could be purchased for the LeBaron (but not for the TC By Maserati). The "litre" spelling was considered very classy by Detroit during the 1975-2000 period. Whoever bought this car in the first place must have been a bit of a hell-raiser, because here's the 5-speed manual transmission that became increasingly rare in members of the K-Car family as automatics got cheaper. It also has the driver's-side airbag, which meant that those horrible automatic seat belts that ruined early-1990s cars weren't required. The interior has suffered much fading from the Colorado sun, but it started life as an exquisitely 1980s/1990s Bordello Red palace, all done up in pseudo-velour and hard plastic. Not quite 150,000 miles on the clock. 1992 was the last year for the LeBaron's pop-up headlights. That's just as well, because the mechanisms that opened the "eyelids" tended to get flaky as the years went by. ] This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. There Is No Luxury Without Engineering.

2021 Chrysler Pacifica gets fresh face and brings back all-wheel drive

The rumors were true, the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica has brought back all-wheel drive as an option after it disappeared from Chrysler minivans in 2004. Not only that, buyers don't have to choose between having more traction or more cargo flexibility, as both features can coexist on one van. And to herald the changes, Chrysler has also updated the styling, features and trim line. Of course the all-wheel drive is the biggest change, and according to Chrysler representatives we talked to, it was something that was planned for since the launch of this generation of Pacifica. When the platform was developed, they wanted to make sure that if demand called for bringing it back (and it did, more on that later), that it wouldn't be difficult to implement, and that the fold-into-the-floor Stow 'N' Go second-row seats would still fit. Some changes were necessary, such as rerouting the exhaust and tweaking the design of the gas tank, which retains the same volume as a front-drive van. The all-wheel-drive system itself is capable of routing power completely to the rear if necessary, and the driveshaft and power takeoff unit can disengage for fuel savings. It's controlled entirely automatically, taking into account the severity of driver steering and throttle inputs, outside temperature, use of windshield wipers and detection of wheel slip. Besides the extra drive wheels, the 2021 Pacifica gets a reworked nose and hatch. The fascia is much more aggressive with its taller, frowning main grille. The headlights have new LED running light designs. Around at the back, the taillights are new full-width units. The interior has more subtle but still noteworthy changes. All Pacificas now have a 10.1-inch infotainment display as standard, and they're the first FCA products to use the Uconnect 5 operating system. The system brings several upgrades including full Amazon Alexa integration, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, multiple driver profiles, and more, which you can read about here. Pacificas are also available with a new center console that offers more covered storage space, but also gives the front seats a more cosseted feel like in a car or a crossover. They all differ on overall length toward the back and what kind of arm support they provide. Chrysler also offers something called the FamCam, which gives the driver and front passenger the ability to keep an eye on the kids with cameras controlled from the touchscreen.