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2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Long-Term Update | Serenity now!

If you're an Autoblog regular, you probably know that I'm a person who loves all things automotive that make loud noises, handle like go-karts, and generally send my heart rate through the roof. I mean, I keep advocating for carmakers to add a performance version to just about every model lineup. But I've been developing an appreciation for vehicles that simply make life easier and let you decompress, such as our long-term 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. I haven't always felt that way. Early in its stay, I frequently avoided taking the Pacifica if I could, mainly because I was turned off by the numb steering and roly-poly nature. Yes, it's a minivan, but I couldn't stop thinking about the Honda Odyssey that came through, which I discovered to be surprisingly nimble. It also packed the sweet sounding V6 in our Honda Ridgeline that I've previously raved about. But then other Pacifica strong suits started to come through. The hybrid powertrain may not be exhilarating, but it's wonderfully quiet. That's to be expected when it's primarily running on the electric motor, but when its V6 engine kicks on, the noise is well-muffled. Road and wind noise is nearly non-existent, too, so whether you're tooling around town or cruising on the highway, nothing is interrupting your tunes, podcasts, talk radio or simple silence. The interior is a lovely place to be, too. Enormous windows, a panoramic sunroof and low sills make this one of the airiest cabins I've been in. And the light color of the upholstery and plastics amplifies the open feeling. After a long, cold Michigan winter, this rolling sunroom is welcome. It also provides superb visibility, making the Pacifica a breeze to maneuver. It's really easy to get inside, too; it has most of the height of a crossover, which takes care of not having to bend down, but it has a much lower floor, so you also don't have to climb up to get in. To cap things off, the Pacifica's ride is excellent. While there's more body roll than I'd like, it glides right across nasty bumps and potholes. And it does so without the heaving and pounding of heavy crossovers and SUVs. It feels more like a luxury sedan. Basically, the Pacifica is ideal for transporting you through life with a minimum of fuss. And so anytime I've had a long stressful day, I'll be looking for the keys to ours.

China's Geely says it has no plan to buy Fiat Chrysler — as FCA stock leaps

HONG KONG — Chinese carmaker Geely Automobile denied media speculation on Wednesday that it planned to make a takeover bid for Fiat Chryslerk Automobiles (FCA), the world's seventh-largest automaker. Geely was one of several Chinese carmakers cited in by Automotive News, which said representatives of "a well-known Chinese automaker" had made an offer this month for FCA, which has a market value of almost $20 billion. "We don't have such a plan at the moment," Geely executive director Gui Shengyue told reporters at an earnings briefing, when asked if Geely was interested in Fiat. He said a foreign acquisition would be complicated, but he did not elaborate. "But for other (Chinese) brands, it could be a fast track for their development," Gui added. However, a source close to the matter said FCA and Geely Automobile's parent firm, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, had held initial talks late last year, without disclosing their nature. The source confirmed Geely was no longer interested in FCA, noting that the parent company had only three months ago announced its first push into Southeast Asia with the purchase of 49.9 percent of struggling Malaysian carmaker Proton, a deal that also included a stake in Lotus. Geel's denial failed to dent FCA's stock. The price of its Milan-based shares has jumped more than 10 percent to a 19-year high since Automotive News first reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources, that FCA had rejected the Chinese offer as too low. FCA stock on the New York Stock Exchange rose sharply on Monday from $11.60 to $12.38 and on Wednesday was trading at $12.84. FCA declined to comment on Wednesday. FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly called for mergers as a way of sharing the costs of making cleaner, more advanced cars, but he has repeatedly failed to find a partner and retreated from his search for in April, saying FCA would stick to its business plan. He has also spoken of spinning the successful Jeep and Ram divisions off from FCA. Europe's largest carmaker, Volkswagen, and General Motors have both said they are not interested in talks with FCA. On Wednesday, Geely Automobile reported a doubling of first-half profit, above expectations, as cars designed with Sweden's Volvo won over domestic consumers. Volvo is a unit of the Zhejiang Geely group, and has recently announced it will share its technology with Geely.

GM, Chrysler bailouts saved 2.6 million jobs

The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has been studying the effects of the General Motors and Chrysler bailouts in 2009. Now that the US Treasury has officially sold off the rest of its stake in GM (and Chrysler has already paid back its loan), CAR has released its study on the effects of the bailout with this concluding note: "CAR is confident that in the years ahead, this peacetime intervention in the private sector by the US government will be seen as one of the most successful in US economic history."
Big words, for sure, but there's plenty of evidence to back up the claim. Bailing out GM alone saved 1.2-million jobs. If both GM and Chrysler hadn't been bailed out, US employment would have been reduced by 2.631-million jobs in 2009 and another 1.519-million jobs in 2010, according to the study. If both automakers were allowed to fail, personal income in the US would have decreased by $173.5 billion in 2009 and $110.9 billion in 2010. Instead, the study found that $284.4 billion of personal income was saved by the bailouts.