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Junkyard Gem: 1954 Plymouth Savoy Sedan

American car shoppers bought many millions of the four-door sedans that flew off Detroit's assembly lines in the decade after World War II, and so plenty of them still remain in barns, garages, driveways and yards today, awaiting loving owners who will put them back on the road. Unfortunately, those with the time and money to take on challenging vintage automotive projects tend to prefer coupes and convertibles, especially those made by the higher-prestige marques. That means that many of these cars continue to run out of time with each passing day, taking that final tow-truck ride to their very last parking spaces. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars: a 1954 Plymouth Savoy four-door painted in Piedmont Maroon, found in a Denver self-service yard recently. As an example of how many of these cars still get crushed each year, here's a partial list of some of the 1946-1956 American four-door sedans I've personally documented in car graveyards over the last decade or so: 1947 Dodge Custom, 1947 Frazer Manhattan, 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe, 1949 Dodge Coronet, 1949 Kaiser Special, 1949 Oldsmobile 88, 1949 Plymouth Special Deluxe, 1950 Cadillac Sixty-One, 1950 Chrysler Royal, 1950 Studebaker Commander, 1951 Chevrolet Styleline, 1951 Frazer, 1951 Lincoln Cosmopolitan, 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, another 1951 Plymouth Cranbrook, 1952 Kaiser, 1952 Buick Special, 1952 Mercury Custom, 1953 Packard Clipper, 1953 Plymouth Special, 1953 Pontiac Chieftain, 1955 Studebaker Commander, 1956 DeSoto Fireflite and a 1956 Mercury Montclair. It's especially tough for the 1946-1954 Plymouths, because those cars were seen as stodgy transportation appliances for cheapskates when they were new. As the 1940s became the 1950s, most American cars became longer, sleeker and flashier-looking, but Plymouths seemed to stay the same. For the 1955 model year, Plymouths got a clean-sheet redesign and caught up with current styling trends well enough (probably not coincidentally, Plymouths finally got their own dealerships in late 1954, rather than just being sold out of Chrysler, DeSoto and Dodge showrooms). But for 1954, the best Chrysler could do with the looks of the increasingly aged-looking Plymouth was give it a new grille and some body chrome. Bumpers were made to stick out a few extra inches to cheat on the overall length a bit.

Stellantis, GM pay $363 million in U.S. fuel economy penalties

WASHINGTON — Stellantis and General Motors paid a total of $363 million in civil penalties for failing to meet U.S. fuel economy requirements for prior model years, documents seen on Friday by Reuters show. The record-setting penalties include $235.5 million for Stellantis for the 2018 and 2019 model years and $128.2 million for GM covering 2016 and 2017, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), which administers the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. Stellantis — which also owns Fiat, Peugeot and other marques — said the penalty "reflects past performance recorded before the formation of Stellantis, and is not indicative of the companyÂ’s direction." Stellantis previously paid a total of $156.6 million in penalties for the 2016 and 2017 model years. GM said Friday as "we work towards the goal of a zero-emissions future, we may use a combination of credits from prior model years, expected credits from future model years, credits obtained from other manufacturers, and payment of civil penalties to comply with increasingly stringent CAFE regulations." GM, which sells Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles in the U.S., had not previously paid a fine in the 40-year history of the CAFE program. It had initially planned to use credits to meet its compliance shortfall but opted to pay penalties, NHTSA said. The GM and Stellantis penalties were paid between December and May, according to the records. This is the first time in three years the agency has collected fuel economy penalties. NHTSA in April 2022 said it calculated there would be 11 instances between 2018 and 2021 "where substantial civil penalty payments will have to be made," but did not disclose the automakers involved. The disclosure comes ahead of NHTSA's plan to soon propose more stringent fuel economy standards for 2027 and beyond, after the Environmental Protection Agency in April proposed a 56% reduction in projected fleet average emissions over 2026 requirements by 2032. Sharp increase The EPA said in December Stellantis had the lowest real-world fuel economy among all major automakers, at 21.3 miles per gallon on average in 2021, while GM was second-lowest at 21.6 mpg. In March 2022, NHTSA reinstated a sharp increase in penalties for automakers whose vehicles do not meet fuel efficiency requirements for 2019 and beyond.

Chrysler Voyager minivan goes fleet-only for 2022

Private motorists will not be able to buy a new Chrysler Voyager in the 2022 model year; the minivan is now a fleet-only model. The cheaper alternative to the Pacifica loses most of its trim levels, but it gains a longer list of standard features during the transition. Fleet buyers take on many shapes and forms, but in minivan-speak the term usually denotes rental car companies. Chrysler simplified buying by paring down the lineup from three to one trim. Called LX, it gains a 7.0-inch touchscreen that runs the Uconnect 5 infotainment system, second-row Stow 'n Go seats, power-operated sliding doors, heated front seats, and a heated steering wheel; that's not bad for something you're picking up at the airport to spend a weekend in. There's also a new air filtration system shared with the Pacifica.   Related: Least expensive vehicles to insure in America   The list of options now includes a package called Safety and Premium Group that bundles a blind-spot monitoring system, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path detection, full-speed forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen with navigation. However, upmarket features like leather upholstery and a 19-speaker Harman-Kardon surround-sound system are not offered. Chrysler is not making mechanical changes, so power for the Voyager comes from a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 rated at 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque. It spins the front wheels via a nine-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive is not available; only the Pacifica can get its power sent to four wheels. Similarly, there are no visual changes to report. The Voyager still looks like a pre-facelift Pacifica. Pricing information for the 2022 Voyager will be announced closer to its on-sale date. At launch, buyers will have five colors called Silver Mist, Brilliant Black, Bright White, Granite Crystal, and Velvet Red, respectively. The former (shown in the gallery) is new for 2022. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. How to use the Stow 'N Go seats on the 2021 Chrysler Pacifica