2011 Dodge Journey Mainstreet on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chrysler recalling over 200k vehicles across its brands

With more than 200,000 units across six separate recalls and almost all of its brands, it appears that Chrysler has officially jumped headfirst into the recall pool this month. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued three official recalls for the automaker, and The Detroit News is reporting that the automaker itself has announced three more.
The biggest of the recalls applies to about 120,000 Dodge Charger, Dodge Challenger and Chrysler 300 models for 2011 and 2012 due to faulty wiring harnesses for the seat-mounted side airbags, which could lead to these airbags not deploying in the event of a crash. A little more than 60,000 two-wheel-drive versions of the 2007-2008 Dodge Nitro and 2008 Jeep Liberty SUVs are being recalled due to a heat shield that could cause the driveshaft to break, which if that isn't bad on its own, could then hit underneath where the airbag sensor is mounted, causing the airbags to deploy. Wrapping up NHTSA's recall notices, about 20,000 Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass models for 2012 are also being recalled due to a problem with the fuel tank transfer tube that could lead to the vehicle stalling. The LX car recall campaign is going into effect this month, while the other two will start next month - all three notices are posted below.
In addition to the official NHTSA recalls, The Detroit News is also reporting that Chrysler is recalling more than 16,000 Ram trucks and a small number of Dodge Dart sedans. Around 6,500 2013 Ram 1500 trucks will be recalled due to an improper adjustment of the parking brake cable from the factory, while 7,000 Cummins-powered 2013 Ram Heavy Duty trucks are being recalled due to an engine cover that does not have as much heat resistance as it is supposed to. Finally, a total of 46 Dodge Dart sedans are being recalled due to a problem with the brake calipers and/or parking brake.

FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?

Rest of 2015.5 Dodge Viper lineup available after MSRP drop spurs sales uptick

The Dodge Viper has muscled its way back into buyers' good graces thanks to a $15,000 price drop across-the-board – and we're sure the extra five horsepower didn't hurt, either – posting a 26-percent year-to-date surge after the September realignment. No longer, uh, snakebitten, Dodge is now allowing dealers to place already-sold orders of the TA 2.0 Special Edition and GTS, both of which come with more goodies as standard than on the 2014 models they replace. The $101,995 TA wears a high performance Aero Package consisting of front lower dive planes, front splitter, competition rear spoiler, a dual-mode suspension supporting 18- or 19-inch matte black wheels on Pirelli PZero Corsa tires, two-piece Brembos rotors with black and orange calipers and performance pads, and a five-mode electronic stability control. We'll pretend to ignore features like a "rear carbon fiber applique" on a hardcore V10 sports car. The $107,995 GTS trim throws in Laguna leather seats as standard, an Alcantara headliner and an 18-speaker Harman Kardon system. It will also be the only model that can be had in Ceramic Blue with black stripes, orange brake calipers and GTS gloss black badging. And that rear carbon fiber applique, since it's apparently quite popular. The Connor Avenue plant where workers assemble the Viper by hand will begin production of the TA and GTS in November, the two models will appear in showrooms in Q1 of next year. A press release below has more information. Finally, it appears the only thing Connor Avenue builders looks like it finally has the work to keep everyone at work. {C} New 2015.5 Dodge Viper GTS and TA 2.0 Special Edition Models Now Available for Customer "Sold Orders" With New Pricing and More Content - Dodge Viper sales up 26 percent year-to-date since Dodge repositioned the hand-built exotic in September and reduced the starting price $15,000 - 2015 Dodge Viper's starting U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) is $84,995 (all prices exclude gas guzzler tax and destination) - New 2015.5 Viper GTS and TA 2.0 models now available for sold customer orders - Track-ready Viper TA 2.0 Special Edition builds on success of TA model; U.S. MSRP starts at $101,995 and adds high-performance Aero Package, competition rear spoiler and front lower dive planes for increased downforce and improved handling on the track - U.S.