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FCA recalls 894k total vehicles worldwide in two campaigns

FCA is recalling a total of 893,698 vehicles worldwide in two campaigns to fix problems with inadvertent airbag deployment, failure of the anti-lock brakes, and stability control systems in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Liberty, Dodge Journey, and Fiat Freemont. 559,703 of these vehicles are in the US. The larger recall affects 284,089 examples of the 2003 Jeep Liberty and 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and there are also 13,411 of them in Canada, 6,277 in Mexico, and 48,212 outside the NAFTA region. Because of "electrical noise beyond the tolerance of the airbag electronic control module", part of that component can fail, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This can cause the front and side airbags to deploy and the seatbelt pre-tensioners to activate inadvertently. FCA US has seven reports of alleged injuries from this problem. To fix the situation, the Jeeps need their Occupant Restraint Control modules replaced, as well as the front- and side-impact sensors. According to the NHTSA, the replacement parts won't be available until early 2016. Still, FCA US will advise owners about the problem in a letter by the end of December and will send a second notification when the components are ready. The second campaign affects 275,614 examples of the 2012-2015 Dodge Journey in the US; plus 78,148 of them in Canada, 36,471 in Mexico, and 151,476 left-hand drive units outside of NAFTA where it's sold as the Fiat Freemont. On these vehicles, water intrusion can disable the anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control, although a warning light often illuminates when this issue occurs, and the problem doesn't affect regular braking. There are also no reports of injuries or accidents. To fix the issue, dealers will seal the ABS wiring harness and will replace any already affected components as necessary, like the ABS module or the headlamp and dashboard wiring harness. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Modules October 30, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is voluntarily recalling an estimated 284,089 older-model SUVs in the U.S. to replace their Occupant Restraint Control (ORC) modules and front and/or side-impact sensors, as required. Within this vehicle population, FCA US became aware of seven injuries caused by inadvertent air-bag deployments and advised NHTSA accordingly. The affected vehicles are not equipped with Takata Corp. air-bags. The Company is unaware of any related accidents.

Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

FCA registers 'Cuda' trademark, but we wouldn't get our hopes up

It seems Chrysler has submitted a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Cuda," as first reported by Motor1. Fans of Mopar will instantly recognize this as the abbreviated name of Plymouth's classic Barracuda muscle car, which occasionally bared the shortened nomenclature. Though this might seem like a sign that FCA is considering a revival of the beloved machine, we wouldn't get our hopes up. See, rumors of a 'Cuda or Barracuda revival have circulated pretty much since the moment Dodge showed the modern Challenger and when it went on sale. And some of those rumors have involved the re-registering of the 'Cuda trademark, even as far back as 2010. Over the years, each rumor died a quiet death as time went on and no 'Cudas appeared on dealer lots. There is one rumor that's recent enough to still have a slim chance of realization, circa 2015 to be exact. It predicts a smaller Challenger-based car called Barracuda that could appear as a Dodge in both coupe and drop-top versions. However, we doubt it will come true, since FCA doesn't exactly have a large development budget, and we're not sure what the company would have to gain by making another sports car to sell below the Challenger. Odds are, it would cannibalize sales from the older, completely developed, and thus more profitable Challenger. Really, this trademark filing is probably just a defensive move for Chrysler. It will ensure that no one else can slip in and snag the name for their own vehicle. It should also help ensure that Chrysler has the rights to use the name on other products such as memorabilia. Sorry to crush your dreams. Related Video: News Source: US Patent and Trademark Office via Motor1Image Credit: Chrysler Rumormill Chrysler Dodge Coupe Performance hemi cuda