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Junkyard Gem: 1989 Chrysler TC by Maserati

Lee Iacocca's friendship with Alejandro de Tomaso went way back, and it led to the Ford-powered De Tomaso Pantera being born in 1971 (when Iacocca was running Ford). After Iacocca moved over to head Chrysler in 1978, he began working with de Tomaso (who owned Maserati by that point) to develop a sports coupe based on the Chrysler-salvation K-Car platform. It took quite a while, but eventually that car became reality: the Chrysler TC by Maserati (officially known as Chrysler's TC by Maserati). Some 7,300 were built through 1991, and I've found one of them in a Denver-area car graveyard. I've managed to document four of these cars in their final parking spots prior to this one, in wrecking yards in Colorado, California, and Wisconsin. The Chrysler's TC by Maserati does have a devoted following, but they can't save 'em all. The TC really was assembled by Maserati in Italy, but the underlying chassis was taken from the Dodge Daytona. The body bore a strong resemblance to that of the Chrysler LeBaron GTC, which was unfortunate considering the price difference between the two cars: the MSRP on the 1989 TC was $33,000, while the LeBaron GTC cost $17,435 (that's about $80,880 and $42,730 in 2022 dollars). The TC had three different engines driving the front wheels over its short lifetime: two varieties of turbocharged Chrysler 2.2 four-cylinder (one with 160 horsepower and one with a Cosworth cylinder head with 200 horsepower) and that good old workhorse of a Mitsubishi V6: the 6G72, with 141 horses. This car has the 160hp 2.2. The Cosworth-headed cars (500 were built) got a five-speed manual transmission, but the other 6,800 TCs got a Chrysler slushbox of either three or four speeds (this one is a three-speed). There was a lot of snobbish disapproval of the TC by the automotive press, but just look at that interior! Even the most over-the-top LeBaron never got this level of swank inside.  Every time I write about one of these cars, I hear that the factory hardtop roof is worth fantastic money… but four out of the five examples I've found in junkyards had the hardtop, and I think every single one went to the crusher with its car. How many miles? Not many! Maybe the speedometer cable broke in 1995. The radio and HVAC controls are straight LeBaron, but the wood and leather are the real thing.

Chrysler to accelerate production of 2013 Ram and V6 engines

Chrysler is adding a third shift at its Warren Truck plant to meet demand for the new 2013 Ram pickup. And with tight supplies of its Pentastar V6, the company is also boosting output at its Mack Engine plant.
The expansions will add 1,250 jobs and are part of a $238 million investment by Chrysler in the Detroit area. Warren's third shift will begin work sometime in the spring, a Chrysler rep told Automotive News. Mack's increased Pentastar production a could include both 3.6 and 3.2-liter engines.
The company says it also plans to invest $40 million in its Trenton Engine plant to allow for production of a 3.2-liter V6 as well as the Tigershark inline-four for the upcoming Jeep Liberty replacement.

FCA, Waymo expand plans: 62,000 more self-driving vehicles, potential retail sales

If you live in Phoenix, you may have seen one of Waymo's 600 autonomous Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids ferrying passengers around town. You may have even been one of the riders. You're likely to see a lot more of them, too. Today, FCA announced that it will deliver up to 62,000 additional Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid's to Google's automated driving technology company. The expansion of the partnership between FCA and Waymo goes beyond growing the fleet. The companies have also announced that they're considering making Waymo's tech commercially available to FCA vehicle retail customers through a possible licensing partnership. FCA would build the cars, and Waymo would provide the self-driving system. "FCA is committed to bringing self-driving technology to our customers in a manner that is safe, efficient and realistic," said FCA boss Sergio Marchionne. Waymo CEO John Krafcik added, "Waymo's goal from day one has been to build the world's most experienced driver and give people access to self-driving technology that will make our roads safer. We're excited to deepen our relationship with FCA that will support the launch of our driverless service, and explore future products that support Waymo's mission." That service, expected to launch later this year, will allow the public to use Waymo's app to hail a ride from one of its self-driving minivans. To date, vehicles equipped with Waymo automated driving tech have logged over 6 million cumulative miles in testing. As of late last year, Waymo's self-driving cars needed far less human intervention than the competition. Earlier this year, Waymo also announced a partnership with Jaguar Land Rover to deploy autonomous Jaguar I-Pace EVs. The plans for an expanded partnership come on the same day Japan's SoftBank announced a $2.2 billion investment in GM's Cruise self-driving division. Related Video: News Source: FCA, WaymoImage Credit: Joe White / Reuters Green Chrysler Technology Emerging Technologies Minivan/Van Autonomous Vehicles Electric Hybrid Sergio Marchionne Waymo john krafcik