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Chrysler touts Pacifica Plug-in minivan's lower emissions

Put the words "Chrysler" and "minivan" together, and the concept of lower greenhouse-gas emissions may not immediately come to mind – especially given today's news about FCA sister brands Ram and Jeep. Among mass-market automakers, Chrysler and its sister companies (namely Dodge and Ram) have long lagged its competitors in fuel economy, with little in the way of drivetrain electrification. Now, though, Fiat Chrysler says it's taking steps to make some green-vehicle progress via its new Chrysler Pacifica Plug-in Hybrid minivan. Namely, the automaker says the minivan, which can go 33 miles on electric power alone, generates 31 percent less emissions than previous-generation Pacifica, and 24 percent less than the 2017 model-year gas-powered variant. The Pacifica Plug-in, which will be the first hybrid minivan to be sold in the US, has a fuel-economy rating of 84 miles per gallon equivalent, and can go as far as 566 miles on a full tank and full electric charge. That full charge takes about two hours with a 240-volt charger, and 14 hours from a standard, 110-volt outlet. That means that over the lifecycle of the vehicle (estimated at 120,000 miles), the plug-in minivan, which will compete against models such as the Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey, may cut emissions by 21 metric tons of carbon dioxide relative to the gas-powered version. That is the equivalent to the annual emissions of about 22 US households, or, as Chrysler put it, 14 commercial flights to Los Angeles from Detroit. Chrysler is pricing the minivan at about $43,000 (or about $35,000 once the $7,500 federal tax credit for plug-in vehicles kicks in) and will start selling the model by the end of March. Take a look at Autoblog's First Drive impressions here. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid: First Drive View 19 Photos News Source: Fiat Chrysler via Green Car Reports Green Chrysler Fiat AutoblogGreen Exclusive Emissions Fuel Efficiency Minivan/Van Hybrid chrysler pacifica

Woman who gives birth on video in moving car gets another surprise

A mother of (now) five gave birth on video in her minivan on the way to the hospital last week, and she was just gifted a brand new Chrysler Pacifica minivan by none other than Jimmy Kimmel. He brought the now viral family live on air to talk about the crazy experience. The birth video is stunning, scary, but hilarious too once you realize who all is in the car. Alexis Swinney, the mother, was reportedly only minutes away from the hospital when the baby just couldn't wait any longer. Swinney's husband filmed the entire thing while driving (not recommended) on the way to the hospital. Kimmel echoed our thoughts on this exactly, "The whole time I'm watching, I'm thinking put the camera down and drive the car!" As she gives birth, he swivels the camera back to their other children in the rear seat with shocked looks on their faces — they just witnessed their mother giving birth to their new sister. Obviously the car was a complete mess after giving birth, so Kimmel did the best he could to help them out. "We were concerned that things might not be clean in the car anymore, so we called our friends at Chrysler ... so we're upgrading you. Go ahead, go in there, have a couple more kids," Kimmel said. This story transitioned from scary to unbelievable, and finally, incredibly heartwarming. The family can now pack all of their kids into the wonderful children transporting machine that the Pacifica is.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Detroit automakers observing 8:46 of silence to mark Juneteenth

GM Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing Gerald Johnson, right, talks with employees at the Fairfax Assembly & Stamping Plant in Kansas City, Kansas. (file photo - GM)     All three Detroit automakers are observing Juneteenth, a day commemorating the end of slavery, on Friday by observing 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence, among other companywide efforts to advance the causes of social and racial justice and equality. Juneteenth marks the date, June 19, in 1865 when Union soldiers, led by Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, arrived at Galveston, Texas, and announced the Civil War had ended and enslaved African Americans were to be freed. President Abraham Lincoln had officially ended slavery more than two years prior via the Emancipation Proclamation, but Union forces didn't reach Texas until that time, so there was virtually no enforcement. The 8:46 timestamp is significant because it was the length of time that a police officer in Minneapolis knelt on the neck of George Floyd during an arrest, ultimately killing him and sparking waves of protests across the U.S. and overseas. Autoblog asked automakers about their plans to mark Juneteenth, what they were doing to advance the cause of social justice for Black people, and how many African Americans they employ in both blue- and white-collar jobs. We heard back from GM, Ford, Fiat Chrysler and Honda but not from Nissan and Toyota. General Motors GM’s U.S. workforce is 17.2% Black and 69.2% white, according to its most recent corporate Diversity and Inclusion Report. GM's total global employment is 173,000, and it says women and minorities represent 40% of its team of corporate officers. For reference, the Census Bureau says African Americans make up 13.4% of the U.S. population of roughly 328 million people. White people constitute 76.5%. As previously reported, GM planned to pause production at its factories on each shift today and observe silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The company will also have a digital countdown clock atop the GM's headquarters in Detroit for the moment of silence. Additionally, Chairman and CEO Mary Barra has said she will lead a new Inclusion Advisory Board made up of people from within and outside GM to suggest areas for change and hold the company to its commitments to fight injustice and racial inequality.