2020 Chrysler Pacifica Touring L on 2040-cars

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FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?

Chrysler UConnect wins AOL Autos Technology of the Year Award

The first annual AOL Autos Technology of the Year Award has been won by Chrysler's upgraded UConnect system.
Over 35 entries were considered and narrowed down to six finalists in three categories: Connectivity, Telematics and Active Safety. The judges, which included editors from AOL Autos, Autoblog and Engadget, as well as a number of other auto and tech journalists and luminaries, chose UConnect over the MyFord Mobile app, Audi Connect with Google Maps, Cadillac CUE, Honda's LaneWatch technology and Nissan's Tire Pressure Alert and Refill System. Even readers who were polled on which technology should win chose UConnect.
AOL Autos Editor in Chief David Kiley remarked that Chrysler's UConnect deserved the first Technology of the Year Award not because of what it does, but for how UConnect performs every time it's used. Kiley went on to say UConnect works the way it's supposed to, fills a need and puts a smile on your face. By meeting those requirements, UConnect very much deserved AOL Auto's first Tech of the Year award.

Sunday Drive: Rendering the future at Jeep and Ford

Last week brought us quite a wide variety of automotive news nuggets, and judging by the response of our own readership, the Jeep Wrangler pickup truck led the way. It's not expected to hit the sales floor until April of 2019, which means we've all got an entire year to wait, but that just means we have lots of time to anticipate its arrival. And we do so today with a series of renderings that show what the so-called Scrambler may look like in a few different colors. Another set of renderings depicting a hotly anticipated new vehicle follow just behind. The Baby Bronco – will Ford ante up to the retro-inspired table and call it the Bronco II? – will be one size smaller than the regular-grade Bronco, and we think it'll compete with the Jeep Renegade as a subcompact crossover with some real off-road chops. Moving onto some tuners, both old and new(er), we first present a sweet old Dodge Ram pickup truck tuned by none other than Carroll Shelby himself. The blue and silver striped truck looks so period perfect that it stands out as a star even alongside a quartet of vintage Shelby Mustangs with which it will share space at the Bonhams auction in Greenwich, Conn., this June. And finally we turn our attention to the Hennessey Veliciraptor, an absolute behemoth of a truck. Based on the most excellent Ford Raptor, the Velociraptor ups the crazy quotient with six wheels and 600 hundred horsepower. As always, stay tuned to Autoblog this week for all the latest automotive news. Jeep Wrangler pickup renderings: Latest imaginings of the Scrambler Ford Baby Bronco comes alive in these exclusive renderings Bonhams to auction Carroll Shelby's prototypes and personal cars Hennessey VelociRaptor 6X6 First Drive Review: The incredible hulk