2013 Chrysler 300c Varvatos Collection on 2040-cars

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Does the future of Fiat-Chrysler include Dodge?

Wards Auto reports the future of Dodge is looking uncertain. Fiat has more or less laid out it's game plan for the next few years, and while the Chrysler, Fiat and Jeep lines are set to receive plenty of love, Dodge isn't so lucky. Fiat has already hobbled Dodge significantly by splitting off the brand's trucks into a separate Ram line.
Wards says that after the Avenger rides off into the sunset early next year, Fiat-Chrysler won't replace the model, leaving a gaping midsize hole in the Dodge lineup. The report also cites unnamed sources as saying that at least two other current Dodge products will move to the Chrysler line.
One of those could very well be the Grand Caravan. Chrysler has already made it clear that it plans to trim redundancy between its minivan offerings, but it has yet to clarify which other vehicle could sail under the Chrysler banner moving forward. Either way, such changes to the product line would theoretically leave Dodge with just four models.

Detroit's new emergency city manager worked on Chrysler bankruptcy [w/video]

Kevyn Orr, the new emergency city manager of Detroit, has a history with one of Michigan's most famous residents: Chrysler. Governor Rick Snyder (at right) appointed Orr to the position yesterday with the belief that Detroit needs outside assistance to right the city's mounting financial woes. Orr (at left), a partner with the Jones Day law firm, will begin work on March 25 and receive $275,000 a year for his work. While state officials believe the new city manager will be able to complete his duties in 18 months, the contract is technically open-ended.
The 54-year-old attorney helped steer Chrysler through its 2009 bankruptcy, earning $700 per hour for his efforts. He was also instrumental in convincing the courts to allow Chrysler to shutter 789 dealerships in a single month. Orr says he's aware that his efforts won't have made him any friends in Southern Michigan.

Junkyard Gem: 1995 Eagle Vision TSi

Lee Iacocca's main motivation to have Chrysler buy the American Motors Corporation in 1987 was to grab the Jeep brand, but it turned out that getting all the chassis engineering that went into the Eagle Premier paid off handsomely as well. The Premier's ancestry was Wisconsin-tinged Renault, a mashup of Renault 25 and 21 chassis and suspension design, and Chrysler later based the very successful LH series of sedans on the Premier. The Eagle-badged version of the LH was the Vision, sold for the 1993 through 1997 model years. Here's one of those cars, heavily battered and its once-lurid purple paint now faded, found in a self-service yard south of Denver, Colorado. The Eagle brand was named after the AMC Eagle, and it was used for both ex-AMC vehicles and Mitsubishi machinery. It got the axe after 1998, when the final Talons were sold. The first-generation LH cars included the Vision, the Chrysler Concorde, the Chrysler LHS, the Chrysler New Yorker and the Dodge Intrepid. A Plymouth version known as the Accolade was planned but never went into production. The crash that mangled the front end made it impossible for me to open the hood, but the '95 Vision TSi got a 3.5-liter OHC V6 with 214 horsepower and 221 pound-feet. Every production Vision ever built came with a mandatory four-speed automatic transmission. This car made it just a bit past 167,000 miles during its life. All in all, a comfortable Detroit sedan on a French suspension that sold fairly well and then faded into oblivion. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. So much cheaper than the Acura Legend! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Virtual reality speculation was all the rage during the first half of the 1990s. And, hey, it still is! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The middle 1990s were a strange time.