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The mad genius of killing the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200

Sergio Marchionne isn't crazy. At least not with respect to the recent announcement that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will cease production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200. Instead of crazy I'd call this CEO ruthlessly pragmatic, and perhaps short-sighted. The latest revisions to FCA's most recent five-year plan tell some truths about the company's finances. In other words, it can't afford to build mainstream sedans. With only 87,392 units sold in 2015, the Dart is an also-ran in the segment. The axe falls easily there - Chrysler hasn't had a compact-car hit since the second-generation Neon. The 200 isn't so cut and dried: Last year sales increased 52 percent, and the 177,889 total for 2015 is more than those for the Subaru Legacy and Kia Optima. But looking at the overall FCA picture the Chrysler 200 has to go, at least from a short-term perspective. The vehicles that make big money – Ram trucks; Jeep's Cherokee, Grand Cherokee, and Wrangler – can't be made fast enough. FCA can't afford to idle the 200's Sterling Heights, MI, assembly plant to cut back on inventory when other plants are running flat out. It seems crazy to throw away 265,000 sales, but FCA is leaving money on the table by not building more profitable vehicles. The Wirecutter's Senior Autos Editor (and former Autoblogger) John Neff agrees. "As bold as it looks from the outside, he's really making a safe bet that their money is better spent on designing better and building more crossovers and trucks. He's probably right about that." But according to Jessica Caldwell, Executive Director of Strategic Analytics at Edmunds, "FCA's strategy of eliminating the Dart and 200 might be short-sighted if gas prices were to rise and Americans, once again, flocked to small vehicles. FCA must have plans to expand the lineup of small SUVs and position them as small-car alternatives in terms of price and fuel efficiency for this strategy to make sense." FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. And future planning is where the plot holes appear. This realignment cuts dead weight from the product portfolio, but FCA's latest announcement focuses mainly on the profitable brands and nameplates. There's hardly a mention of Chrysler, Dodge, or Fiat. So what's Sergio up to? David Sullivan of AutoPacific thinks Marchionne is still looking for another CEO to hug.

An early gas-electric hybrid was developed by...Exxon?

We're not sure which aspect of Exxon's 1970s-era efforts to develop advanced and electrified powertrains is the most ironic. There's Exxon, that of the Valdez oil spill infamy, being on the leading edge of hybrids and electric vehicles. There's a boat-like Chrysler Cordova getting 27 miles per gallon. And there's the central role a Volkswagen diesel engine plays in that hybrid development. It's all outlined in an article (linked above) by Inside Climate News, and it's an amusing read. Flush with cash and fearing what it thought was peak oil production in the 1970s, Exxon funded a host of new ventures divisions geared to find alternatives to gas-powered powertrains. In the early 1970s, Exxon lured chemist M. Stanley Whittingham to develop what would become a prototype of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery. Then, in the late 1970s, Exxon pioneered the concept of using an alternating-current (AC) motor as part of a gas-electric hybrid vehicle. The company retrofitted a Chrysler Cordova (yes, that's the model Ricardo Montalban used to hawk) with a powertrain that combined 10 Sears Die-Hard car batteries, an alternating current synthesizer (ACS), a 100-horsepower AC motor, and, yes, a four-cylinder 50-horsepower Volkswagen diesel engine. The result was a rather large two-door sedan that got an impressive 27 mpg. And while US automakers didn't see the potential in the early concept, in 1980 Exxon and Toyota began collaborating on a project that would involve retrofitting a Toyota Cressida with a hybrid engine. That car was completed in 1981, and may have been one of the seeds that eventually helped sprout the concept of the Toyota Prius. Soon after rebuilding the Cressida, Exxon would get out of the advanced-powertrain-development business, as oil prices began to fall in the early 1980s, spurring cost-cutting measures. Cry no tears for the Exxon, though, as what's now known as ExxonMobil is the largest US oil company. Related Video: News Source: Inside Climate NewsImage Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Green Read This Chrysler Toyota Electric Hybrid battery

Junkyard Gem: 1990 Plymouth Voyager Turbo

There was a time when the word "TURBO" was king, and even Detroit minivans came with nervous, hair-drier-boosted engines and screaming TURBO badging. Why, some of them even had manual transmissions (sadly, not this van) and in the case of the 1990 Plymouth Voyager Turbo I spotted in a Denver self-service wrecking yard, a lysergic purple paint plus a Bordello Red interior. The first-generation Voyager minivan (not to be confused with the full-sized B-series Voyager van that preceded it) was a tremendous smash hit for Chrysler. Because it came from the K-Car platform, most of the powertrain options available for other members of the many-branched K Family Tree— from the Mitsubishi Astron to the Chrysler turbo 2.5— went into the Voyagers, Caravans, and Town & Countries. The turbocharged 2.5-liter four, rated at 150 horsepower, was an option for the 1989 and 1990 Voyagers. That doesn't sound like much today, an era in which the Voyager's descendants churn out close to 300 horses, but it was lunacy for a front-wheel-drive family hauler that weighed just over 3,000 pounds. And people eventually discovered they could be made far faster than stock. Voyager shoppers could get five-speed manual transmissiona with their Turbo 2.5 engines, though few did. Still, there were more Voyagers and Caravans with the 5-speed than you might think, in part because of the manual transmission's lower cost. The slushbox didn't conquer the Chrysler Corporation Minivan World until 1996. Nissan probably had the most vividly red interiors of the late 1980s and early 1990s, but Chrysler didn't lag far behind. Look at these acres of shiny red plastic and tough, red I Can't Believe It's Not Velour! Because minivans remain useful for decades, most of them have high odometer readings by the time they get junked. So at a little over 115,000 miles, this one may have had a busted speedometer cable. Speedometers reading better than 85 mph were legal after 1981, but perhaps Chrysler decided not to encourage lead-footed hoonery among minivan drivers. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Auntie Entity pitching "the best-loved minivan in the world." Featured Gallery Junked 1990 Plymouth Voyager Turbo View 19 Photos Auto News Chrysler Dodge Automotive History Minivan/Van dodge caravan