2013 Chrysler 200 Touring on 2040-cars

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1990 Chrysler Imperial is a forgettable American luxury sedan

MotorWeek's Retro Review series often lets us be nostalgic about vehicles from the '80s and '90s, but this time the show looks back on the 1990 Chrysler Imperial. With atrocious styling and middling performance, it might be better that we collectively forget about this luxury sedan. When this Imperial hit the scene, the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class were entrenched in the luxury sedan segment. Japanese automakers like Lexus and Infiniti were also making waves. The Chrysler just seems old fashioned compared to the rest, and its landau roof didn''t fit the competition's modern styling. MotorWeek also complains of poor craftsmanship and bad visibility out of the back. A 3.3-liter V6 with 147 horsepower doesn't provide much acceleration, either. Chrysler understood the demands of its aging customers for the Imperial. The sedan didn't offer anything class-leading, but there were a comfy seats and a floaty suspension to get drivers around town. In the modern world of luxury vehicles, which bristle with active safety tech and advanced infotainment system, the Imperial seems like a dinosaur. Watch Motorweek's clip to get a better understanding why there's not much nostalgia for this American sedan. Related Video:

A closer look at the 2015 Chrysler 200

When the doors of the Detroit Auto Show open to the public tomorrow, there's no doubt that the Chevy, BMW and Lexus booths will attract plenty of foot traffic with flashy sports cars. But when it comes to relevance as it relates to sales volume and in-market shoppers, the 2015 Chrysler 200 could end up being one of the more important introductions from the show. Positioned in the highly competitive midsize sedan segment, Chrysler has quite the challenge ahead of it, so we asked Andy Love, product chief of the 200, to give us a closer look at the new sedan to see how it will stack up against cars like the Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Honda Accord.
All of the pertinent information about the new 200 was revealed during the on-stage introduction, but Love gave us a first-hand look at the sedan's more intricate details. This includes some of the exterior design elements such as the wide use of LED exterior lighting and the strategic placement of the side marker lights, and even interior cues like electronic shifter, which allowed for extra storage space in the center console. Aside from the name, the 2015 200 started from scratch riding on a similar platform as the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee, based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
Scroll down to watch Love talk us through the 2015 Chrysler 200, and you can find more information about it at our original post from earlier in the week.

Fiat Chrysler seeks $6.8 billion state-backed loan in Italy

MILAN — Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Saturday that Fiat Chrysler was entitled to apply for Italy's state-backed loans because the automaker employs thousands of people in the country, even though its legal base is located abroad. The Italian-American group confirmed on Saturday its Italian unit was working with Rome to obtain state guarantees on a 6.3-billion-euro ($6.8 billion) loan facility designed to help Italy's automotive industry, comprised of approximately 10,000 small and medium-size businesses. The coronavirus outbreak, which has hit Italy especially hard, slammed the brakes on demand for new vehicles and forced automakers to halt most production, burning cash. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said in a statement that talks were ongoing with lender Intesa Sanpaolo for a three-year credit facility exclusively dedicated to the group's activities in Italy. Asked whether FCA, which has its legal headquarters in the Netherlands, could get a loan guaranteed by the Italian government, Conte said the group qualified. "We're not talking about the parent company, we're talking about the group's companies in Italy, which employ thousands of people," the prime minister said. FCA runs several plants and research and development centers in Italy, directly employing around 55,000 people. In addition, over 200,000 people work in Italy's 5,500 parts suppliers and 120,000 people in car dealers and service companies, with the automotive industry accounting for 6.2% of Italy's domestic product, FCA said. News that FCA was asking the Italian government for liquidity support had raised criticism. The ruling party PD's deputy president, Andrea Orlando, earlier on Saturday said on Twitter that if a company asked the Italian government for sizable financing, it had to bring back its legal base to Italy. The scheme is part of emergency measures the Italian government is making available to the country's businesses. It offers more than 400 billion euros' worth of liquidity and bank loans to companies hit by the pandemic. FCA said the state-backed credit facility it is seeking will have "the sole purpose of providing operational support for payments to Italian suppliers to support their liquidity and, at the same, supporting the restart of production and investment at Italian plants." The group has gradually restarted operations in Italy since the end of April. Related Video: Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Chrysler Fiat coronavirus