2019 Chrysler 300 Series S on 2040-cars

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2015 Chrysler 200S AWD

I love road trips. Honestly, one of the best parts about this job is the freedom we're given to experience the open road, whether at new car launches or while bombing around with whatever we're testing on our home turf. But the longer-form road trip is equally special to me, and it's something I'm always eager to do. Air travel stinks - that's not news. So if I can drive, I will. And without our dear TSA to fight with, I can pack all the chainsaws and gallon jugs of chocolate milk that I want.
So when it came time to attend the 2014 New York Auto Show this past April, I thought, "Why not drive?" Typically, the route from downtown Detroit to Manhattan is something like 10 hours, but I decided to bake some extra time into the journey and planned for the vast majority of my travels to be off the beaten path. Doing the "avoid expressways" route allows you to see parts of America you've never encountered before, and to meet people with stories and opinions that you've never heard. It's a great way to travel if you have the time. There's something uniquely serene about seeing the country in a great car on a great road.
Let's talk about that "great car" line for a moment. Ideally, long stretches of backroads are best done in something fast, comfortable and involving - a Porsche 911 comes to mind. Or, another school of thought says to pick some fun little spitfire like the always-lovely Mazda MX-5 Miata, for top-down, sun-drenched fun. But for this trip, I chose the 2015 Chrysler 200, in fully loaded S guise with all-wheel drive. Now, settle down; I'm not about to compare it to either the Porsche or Mazda. The point I'm making is this: after 1,500 test miles under my butt, I can emphatically state that the new 200 is indeed a great car in its own right.

FCA and iPhone maker plan Chinese electric vehicle joint venture

MILAN — Italian American automaker Fiat Chrysler and Taiwan's Hon Hai plan to set up a joint venture to manufacture electric vehicles and to engage in the business of wirelessly connected vehicles, Hon Hai said on Thursday. Fiat Chrysler (FCA) and Hon Hai are negotiating to set up a 50-50 joint venture, Hon Hai said in a statement. It added Hon Hai would hold its 50% share both directly and indirectly and that its direct shareholding would not exceed 40%. Hon Hai is the parent of Foxconn, the Chinese assembler of Apple iPhones. FCA last month reached a binding agreement for a $50 billion tie-up with France's PSA that will create the world's No. 4 carmaker. The joint venture with Hon Hai will produce vehicles for the Chinese market, but many details of the accord are still to be worked out, one source close to the matter said, adding that a final deal was expected to be signed in the coming months. Foxconn has been investing heavily in a variety of future transportation ventures for several years, including Didi Chuxing, the Chinese ride services giant, and Chinese electric vehicle startups Byton and Xpeng. Foxconn also has invested in Chinese battery giant CATL and a variety of other mostly Chinese transportation tech start-ups. FCA will launch its first full-electric model - the 500 small car - this year. Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan, additional reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Hundreds of Detroit residents line up to ride in autonomous cars

DETROIT — Members of the public got the chance Friday to take a free ride in a self-driving vehicle as part of an effort to clear up confusion about the technology. Hundreds signed up for the 6-minute journey that led riders through a course set up inside a Detroit convention center. Mary Van Der Maas heard about the opportunity on the radio and decided to give it a shot. The 73-year-old retiree from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, hopped into an autonomous Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivan, and off she went. "I think that it's just ignorance that keeps us from wanting to do this. And once you experience it, it's marvelous," she said afterward. Daniel Schroeder, 17, said he "thought it was interesting how the car knew its route." "And then it could identify things in the road," said the high school junior from Troy, Michigan, who spent one of the days of his spring break at the demo inside Cobo Hall downtown. Rep. Debbie Dingell also rode in the driverless Pacifica, asking more than a few questions of organizers along the way. "Public confidence in autonomous vehicles has decreased, not increased, over the last year for a variety of reasons," the Democratic congresswoman said. "And people need to get to know it. They need to be hands-on. They need to see that it works." Dingell said she had asked her husband, the late John Dingell, the longest-serving member of Congress in the institution's history, to serve as an advocate for driverless cars, citing the technology's potential to benefit older Americans. "He just quite frankly didn't trust it," Debbie Dingell said. Technological hurdles and apprehension have limited attempts to deploy fully autonomous vehicles on public roadways. Uber pulled its self-driving cars out of Arizona last year after one of the ride-hailing service's autonomous cars struck and killed a woman as she crossed the street. Mary Moore of SAE International, an association of mobility engineers, said the idea behind the Detroit event is to "use the facts, use what's on the market today to explain what the capabilities are today and then also give a glimpse into what can happen in the future." The event was sponsored by SAE International as well as Partners for Automated Vehicle Education, a coalition of industry, nonprofit and academic institutions whose goal is to inform and educate the public and policymakers about automated vehicles. It runs through Sunday and is free to attend.