2005 Chrysler Pacifica Touring on 2040-cars

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Question of the Day: Most heinous act of badge engineering?

Badge engineering, in which one company slaps its emblems on another company's product and sells it, has a long history in the automotive industry. When Sears wanted to sell cars, a deal was made with Kaiser-Frazer and the Sears Allstate was born. Iranians wanted new cars in the 1960s, and the Rootes Group was happy to offer Hillman Hunters for sale as Iran Khodro Paykans. Sometimes, though, certain badge-engineered vehicles made sense only in the 26th hour of negotiations between companies. The Suzuki Equator, say, which was a puzzling rebadge job of the Nissan Frontier. How did that happen? My personal favorite what-the-heck-were-they-thinking example of badge engineering is the 1971-1973 Plymouth Cricket. Chrysler Europe, through its ownership of the Rootes Group, was able to ship over Hillman Avanger subcompacts for sale in the US market. This would have made sense... if Chrysler hadn't already been selling rebadged Mitsubishi Colt Galants (as Dodge Colts) and Simca 1100s as (Simca 1204s) in its American showrooms. Few bought the Cricket, despite its cheery ad campaign. So, what's the badge-engineered car you find most confounding? Chrysler Dodge Automakers Mitsubishi Nissan Suzuki Automotive History question of the day badge engineering question

Renault wants to merge with Nissan, then go after Fiat Chrysler

The late Sergio Marchionne used to say consolidation would be the only way to compete against the biggest global carmakers. The company looks certain to fulfill that goal, but perhaps not in the way he intended. The Financial Times reports that Renault wants to begin merger talks with Nissan in the next 12 months. Assuming a merger gets completed, the plan is for the combined company to then pursue another merger, with Fiat Chrysler a prime target. Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi have been busy since cutting ties with ex-alliance boss Carlos Ghosn. They formed a new alliance board with Renault chairman Jean-Dominique Senard at the helm, Renault has shrunk the size of its board while Nissan added more outside directors, and the two agreed to a new governance structure to ease operational decision making. All three automakers have walked away from Ghosn-era goals to sell 14 million cars and find 10 billion euros in savings by 2022. New strategic plans for all three car companies are in the works. With stability in sight, it's said Senard wants to succeed where Ghosn failed — a full-fledged merger between Renault and Nissan with talks to begin "as soon as possible." Ghosn's pursuit of a merger last year in attempt to make the 20-year-old alliance "irreversible" is part of what led to his downfall, with Nissan executives including CEO Hiroto Saikawa against the push. The new effort is presented as larger scale being the only way for the alliance to take on companies like Volkswagen and Toyota. But the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi trio sold 10.76 million cars around the world last year, second to Volkswagen with 10.83 million sales, ahead of Toyota with 10.39 million. If Nissan hadn't suffered a 2.8 percent dip in sales, the alliance would have taken the top spot. If a little scale is good that means more is better, right? Pulling Fiat Chrysler into the alliance would add around 5 million annual sales, and would be another move in Ghosn's footsteps. The former honcho is said to have "held talks with FCA" about some kind of union within the past three years. The French government, which has a 15 percent stake in Renault and double voting rights, shut down the initiative. It's not clear if FCA will be an independent company by the time a potential Nissan-Renault merger closed, though.

2015 Chrysler 300 swaggers into LA Auto Show [w/video]

The Chrysler 300 has always exuded a certain brashness, but the chip-on-its-shoulder styling seemed to mellow a bit after its 2011 redesign. Now, the bad boy of the premium sedan segment is getting some of its angry attitude back for 2015, and the refreshed model debuted here at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The grille is larger, the fascia is updated and the lights are redesigned. That doesn't seem like much, but when taken collectively, they give the car a more menacing glare. The inside is freshened with a new seven-inch in-cluster display, better-quality materials and an updated suite of available Uconnect features, and there's a bevy of new active safety features available, too. The engine line continues with the 3.6-liter V6 and the 5.7-liter V8, though they are now both paired with Chrysler's eight-speed automatic. The sedan also received a Sport mode button, which changes the tuning for the steering, engine and transmission, while providing a rear bias for all-wheel drive models. Pricing starts at $31,395, just as it did for the 2014 model. The lineup also gets a new Platinum model with special wood, chrome and leather finishings, though the company also has said it will discontinue the 300's high-performance SRT variant for in the United States. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New 2015 Chrysler 300: Return of the Big, Bold American Sedan with World-class Levels of Sophistication, Craftsmanship and Technology, Once Again Putting Boulevards and Interstates On Notice The new 2015 Chrysler 300 highlights six decades of ambitious American ingenuity through iconic design proportions inspired by historic 1955 and 2005 models – world-class quality, materials and refinement, best-in-class V-6 highway fuel economy, plus segment-exclusive innovations – all at the same $31,395 starting price as its predecessor.