2008 Chrysler Town & Country Limited on 2040-cars

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Chrysler and Hyundai join Pepsi and Coke as top Super Bowl spenders [w/ video]

Super Bowl XLVIII is barely a week away, and some of the early ads are already leaking out. It's timely then that The Street has released rankings of the top five Super Bowl advertisers since 2009, showing Chrysler and Hyundai/Kia taking two of the spots with $131.7 million in cumulative spending.
Since 2010, the cost to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad has risen from $3 million in 2009 to about $4 million in 2014, and about a fifth of advertisers opt for a one-minute ad, which doubles costs. Last year, the ads brought in $292 million, and they have brought in roughly $2 billion since 2010.
Chrysler has spent $64.3 million since 2009 to make it the fourth highest spending company in the last five years. In that time, the company has rebranded itself as it emerged from bankruptcy with the Imported from Detroit ad campaign that premiered in 2011 and last year's God Made a Farmer Ram Trucks ad. Its 2012 Halftime in America sparked national debate about whether it was also a reference to the upcoming presidential election.

Germany threatens to ban FCA vehicles over diesel emissions dispute

Germany is threatening to ban sales of FCA products over diesel emissions. According to the newspaper Bild Am Sonntag, Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority found evidence of a so-called defeat device that shuts down certain emissions controls after running for 22 minutes. A standard diesel emissions test in the European Union reportedly takes 20 minutes to complete. FCA denies the allegations. "We believe all our vehicles respect EU emissions standards and we believe Italian regulators are the competent authority to evaluate this," the company said in a statement. The latter part of that statement drew ire from German authorities, especially after FCA declined to meet with German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt to discuss the issue. Graziano Delrio, the Italian Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, vowed to work with German authorities on behalf of FCA. According to EU law, FCA is required to homologate its vehicles in Italy because that's where its regional operations are based. When will the diesel-scented soap opera end? We wish we knew, but our Magic 8 Ball is covered in soot. Related Video: News Source: Financial TimesImage Credit: Giuseppe Aresu/Bloomberg via Getty Government/Legal Green Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Emissions Diesel Vehicles FCA

Chrysler to reveal next minivan at 2016 Detroit Auto Show

All eyes in the industry are presently fixed on this year's Detroit Auto Show, but over at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, they're already looking towards next year's show. That's when the Italian-American automaker says it'll unveil the next Chrysler minivan. The announcement, made on the FCA Corporate Twitter feed, promises that the next Pentastar minivan will debut in January 2016, which (along with the hashtag NAIAS) suggests the next-generation family hauler will debut at the Detroit show next year. Auburn Hills is expected to replace the current Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan with two all-new models: one keeping the minivan form, and the other shifting into more of a crossover. Just which nameplate gets the new form factor, and which will debut at Cobo next year, we don't know. Odds are good that it'll be the minivan not the CUV, though. Chrysler's minivan has been a winning business for the Detroit automaker, pioneering the segment, outselling the competition and marketing around the world under more brands and nameplates than just about anything else in the industry. The vehicle has been sold as the Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler Voyager, Plymouth Voyager, Lancia Voyager, Ram Cargo Van and Volkswagen Routan, to say nothing of long-wheelbase Grand versions of many of the aforementioned nameplates. News Source: FCA via Twitter Detroit Auto Show Chrysler Dodge Minivan/Van Detroit 2016 Detroit Auto Show chrysler town and country dodge grand caravan dodge caravan