1941 Chrysler Crown Imperial Town Sedan on 2040-cars

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Chrysler recalls Pacifica Hybrids for stalling issue [Corrected/Updated]

[This story has been updated to correctly describe the stalling issue and prescribed remedy. -BH] Chrysler is recalling the 2017-2023 Pacifica Hybrid to address a transmission software issue that can lead to unexpected stalls. The campaign covers a total of 67,118 examples, all of which shipped prior to the defect — programming that allowed the vehicle to stall when a 12v connection in the transmission is shorted — being isolated. Chrysler says the safety risk is presented by the stall itself and has produced a software update that will allow the vehicle to enter limp mode instead, preserving enough power to allow the driver to get to safety if the problem occurs.  "A routine internal review of customer data discovered reports of stalling in 0.2 percent of this vehicle population. However, the Company is unaware of any related accidents or injuries," a company statement said. "A subsequent Company investigation linked the stalling reports to certain, rare, vehicle-operating conditions. The recall remedy – a software update – detects these conditions, preserves propulsion and activates an alert instructing the driver to exit traffic." The automaker will begin notifying owners in March of this year. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Junkyard Gem: 1993 UMC Aeromate Food Truck

One of my favorite things about living in the Mile High City is all the food trucks roaming the neighborhoods here. I'm a regular at such fine mobile eating establishments as Tacos el Huequito, Mikes2Kitchen, and Yuan Wonton, and I'm pleased that South Denver's metal-centric Brutal Poodle bar now has its own food truck. The sad part about food trucks, however, is that they're trucks, and sometimes old trucks wear out and have to be sent to the knacker's yard. Here's a once-ebullient Denver food truck that met that fate and now resides in a self-service yard just south of the city. This truck started out as a member of the extended UMC Aeromate family, built in Indiana by the company now known as Utilimaster. I couldn't find much useful information about this particular model, which seems to have the windshield and nose of one of the many UMC-based RVs instead of the typical long snout of most Aeromates. What I do know is that it's based on an early-1990s Chrysler minivan chassis, complete with 3.3-liter V6 engine and the instrument cluster out of a 1992 Plymouth Voyager. The 3.3 made 150 horsepower in 1993, and it was installed in Chrysler minivans through 2010. 150 horses (and 180 pound-feet) isn't much for a big truck packed with a complete kitchen, and the strain on a Torqueflite automatic transmission designed for a 3,400-pound minivan must have been severe. I think the drivetrain on this 29-year-old truck just couldn't hold up under the demands of a hard-working crew of sandwich entrepreneurs in the extreme weather and traffic conditions of High Plains Colorado. The county licensing sticker expired in late 2019, so it took a couple of years for this UMC to reach this place. Don't weep for the Little Big Sandwich Truck, though, because the LBST Empire upgraded to a newer, GM-built school bus a few years ago and appears to be slinging sandwiches outside Denver-area breweries to this day. The headlights and marker lights clearly came from a late-first-generation Dodge Caravan/Plymouth Voyager (the second-generation Chrysler minivans, which debuted in the 1991 model year, got different noses). The grille looks like typical RV equipment. I've seen a few junked ice cream trucks over the years, but somehow a sandwich truck with a stenciled snorkeling dachshund seems sadder. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Germany says Fiat Chrysler also cheats on diesel emissions

In May, Germany threatened to ban Fiat Chrysler vehicles because they supposedly had diesel emissions cheat devices. The guilty vehicle at the time was a Fiat 500X. Since then, Italian regulators looked into the issue and said they found no such device. But Germany didn't back down, and filed papers today with the European Commission (EC) and the Italian Transport Ministry saying, again, that there were questionable emissions results in four FCA vehicles. According to Reuters, the Germany's new tests proved there was an, "illegal use of a device to switch off exhaust treatment systems" in the four FCA vehicles. According to Der Spiegel, the four vehicles in the latest batch of offenders are the two new 500Xs, a Fiat Doblo, and a Jeep Renegade. Alexander Dobrindt, Germany's Federal Minister of Transport, noted the vehicles in the letter to the EC, which also said that the EC should communicate with Italian regulators as the next step. Related Video: News Source: Reuters, Der SpiegelImage Credit: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images Government/Legal Green Chrysler Fiat Diesel Vehicles vw diesel scandal FCA diesel scandal