2013 Chrysler 300 Base on 2040-cars

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KBB 2013 Brand Image Awards has some obvious and oddball winners

The sixth edition of the Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards have crowned a wide range of winners - in a couple of cases the recipient of the laurels might say more about KBB users than they do about the actual winner. Compiled from the responses of more than 12,000 shoppers on KBB.com over the past year, there are 13 categories broken into non-luxury, luxury and truck segments "representing the combined wisdom of the American car-buying public."
The award categories have been revamped this year, with some dropping off, some new ones appearing and at least one other given a new term. What isn't surprising is that Honda won Most Trusted Brand for the second year running, Best Value Brand for the third year in a row and took Best Overall Brand, which wasn't on last year's list of awards.
On our own shores, in the non-luxury categories Chrysler got Most Refined Brand and Buick took Best Value Luxury Brand. Neither one of those marques won anything in last year's Brand Image Awards, while Cadillac, which won Best Interior Design Brand and Best Comfort Brand last year - those awards disappeared this year - went home without a single accolade.

A Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country with 12,000 miles is up for auction

A hundred years ago, the LeBaron name was among America's top luxury nameplates, so when we heard that auction house R.M. Sotheby's was auctioning one off, we immediately thought of one of the coachbuilt Imperial-branded classics that competed with the highest-order Gatsby-era Cadillacs and Lincolns. What we found instead, however, was arguably even better. It's a 1985 Chrysler LeBaron Town and Country convertible, the one most of us know from when "Back to the Future" was still in theaters, complete with faux wood paneling. This has strong nostalgic value, especially as one of my best grade-school friends' mom had one, and I always felt like a celebrity to get picked up from school with the top down. While the LeBaron name may have fallen from grace by then, becoming the entry-level Chrysler offering, the T&C droptop was the most glamorous of the midsize K-cars. Did the Plymouth Reliant or Dodge Aries have acres of plastic timber applique on their flanks and four words (five if you count "Le" as its own) in their model names? Hell no. It may have been powered by a 2.6-liter Mitsubishi Astron engine, but the front-driver was pure Americana. K-cars were as common in the 1980s as RAV4s are today, and the K platform was largely responsible for saving Chrysler from bankruptcy. Nothing from Ford, GM, Germany or Japan came close, then-CEO Lee Iacocca said, and, "If you can find a better car, buy it!" he would threaten. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Beyond that, the LeBaron was the steed that carried Neal Page and Del Griffith cross-country in time for Thanksgiving dinner in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Esteemed LeBaron T&C owners counted Iacocca himself, Frank Sinatra (a wagon, even!), and if George Costanza is to be believed, Jon Voight. For a car that sold over 2 million examples, the "wood"-sided Town and Country convertible variant was rare. Chrysler made only 1,105 of them, and this particular example has a claimed 12,345 miles on the clock. The color is gold, Jerry, gold! And given what we known in hindsight about their build quality, you're not likely to find a better one. According to its CarFax report, the LeBaron was purchased new in Vermont, where it resided until 2004 when it was sold to a new owner in West Virginia. Five years later, it made its way to a dealer in Utah.

UAW ratifies FCA contract

The second time was apparently the charm for the proposed contract between the United Auto Workers and FCA US as 77 percent of union members have ratified the four-year deal, it was announced Thursday. "This agreement represents an investment in our US workforce and recognizes its contributions to the company's growth over the past six years." the automaker said in a statement. Now, the UAW must move forward on new arrangements with Ford and General Motors. After members rejected the original offer, UAW president Dennis Williams (pictured above, right) was positive about the new deal's acceptance. "The resolve of our membership and the dedication of our negotiating team has produced an agreement that affords UAW members a strong wage package and job security while still allowing the company to competitively produce high quality vehicles for our customers," he said in a statement. In contrast to the last offer, the new contract largely eliminates the two-tier wage system, and it's now it's possible to attain the same $29 per hour pay over eight years of employment. According to the Detroit Free Press, the deal also no longer limits FCA US from hiring entry-level workers. The original plan for a healthcare co-op across the Detroit automakers is also axed from the latest arrangement. While the strategy was supposed to lower costs, the potential changes weren't explained well to union members, and they rejected it. UAW FCA MEMBERS RATIFY NEW CONTRACT Featured / Negotiations / October 22, 2015 DETROIT – The members have voted to ratify a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with FCA by a 77% majority. The results of the voting are as follows: • Production workers – 77% • Skilled Trades – 72% • Salaried Bargaining Unit – 87% President Williams stated, "The recent bargaining process that took place on behalf of our members at FCA is a testament to the UAW's democratic values and commitment to our members. The resolve of our membership and the dedication of our negotiating team has produced an agreement that affords UAW members a strong wage package and job security while still allowing the company to competitively produce high quality vehicles for our customers." "UAW members at FCA have obtained a strong agreement that provides substantial wage gains, fairness in the workplace, and job security.