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Detroit automakers keep their masks on to keep the factories running

United Auto Workers members leave the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Warren Truck Plant in May. Fiat Chrysler along with rivals Ford and General Motors Co., restarted the assembly lines after several weeks of coronavirus lockdown. (AP)   DETROIT — When the coronavirus pandemic slammed the United States in March, the Detroit Three automakers shut their plants and brought their North American vehicle production to an unprecedented cold stop. Now, four months after a slow and sometimes bumpy restart in May, many General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles  factories are working at close to full speed, chasing a stronger-than-expected recovery in sales. So far, none of the Detroit Three has had a major COVID-19 outbreak since restarting production, even as the coronavirus is surging in Midwestern and Southern communities outside factory walls. "We have people testing positive, but it's not affecting operations," said Ford global manufacturing chief Gary Johnson. Keeping the pandemic at bay has pushed the automakers and 156,000 U.S. factory employees represented by the United Auto Workers into unfamiliar work routines and extraordinary levels of cooperation among the rival automakers that will have to be sustained for months to come. For automakers, the automakers' COVID response has been as much about instilling new habits as relying on new technology. Workers log their symptoms, or lack of them, into smartphone apps and walk past temperature scanners to get to their work stations. But company and union executives said masks, along with physical distancing, are the key to keeping assembly lines rolling. "The mask is the foundation" of protecting workers on the job, said Johnson. Complaints about masks Autoworkers are accustomed to wearing protective gear such as shatterproof glasses and gloves. Masks that cover the mouth and nose, however, were not standard equipment on auto assembly lines, and were a tough sell at first. "The biggest complaint is wearing a mask," United Auto Workers President Rory Gamble told Reuters. "A lot of our members perform physical tasks. Wearing the mask inhibits breathing." Beyond that, Gamble said, masks and distancing make it harder for workers to have conversations on the job or socialize during breaks. "ThatÂ’s pretty much out the window, and it makes for a longer day," he said. Masks make it harder for co-workers to read each other's expressions — often crucial in the noisy environment of a car plant.

Marchionne says electric Maserati may debut by 2019

Ask Sergio Marchionne's opinion on the prospects of making a profit on producing electric-vehicle versions of Fiats or Chryslers, and he's likely to shoot the concept down. Bring that price point up into Maserati range, though? That apparently may be in the works, according to Bloomberg News. The famously EV-averse Marchionne says the company may start work on an electric vehicle for its hoped-for Maserati Alfieri model. Additionally, a hybrid version of the Maserati Levante SUV may also be developed during the next few years. The EV may be available by 2019, while the hybrid may start sales shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Fiat may also be working on an electric city car, which would be its first in Europe. The key, of course, is the price point. The Maserati brand means that a new EV may be a legitimate competitor to Tesla Motors because such a badge could approach the $100,000 threshold where the Tesla competes. Marchionne has long professed that it's nearly impossible to make money on electric vehicles. Earlier this month, Marchionne, speaking with UK's Car magazine, suggested that Tesla Motors is the best example of this theory, because, for all the demand for and growth of the California-based company, Tesla has never made an annual profit. And while the Fiat 500e electric vehicle has been feted for its style and performance, Marchionne has always insisted that the model was produced strictly to comply with California's zero-emissions policy, and that the company loses about $10,000 on each 500e it sells. Related Video: Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Sergio Marchionne

Chrysler's Hurricane engine detailed ahead of 2016 launch

We've been hearing distant rumblings about Chrysler's new Hurricane engine for some time now, but details have been hard to come by. Now, Automotive News is adding some specifics to the scuttlebutt, citing Chrysler documents. According to the industry publication, the Hurricane will blow onto the scene in 2016, but it's not an all-new engine. Rather, it will be rooted in the company's existing 2.0-liter four-cylinder Tigershark powerplant (shown above), albeit with "many new technologies to achieve excellent fuel economy."
It's not clear what sort of technologies Chrysler is referring to, but the Hurricane is expected to continue to use an aluminum block, and the finished product is expected to generate even better figures than the existing 2.0-liter's 160 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque (as found in the Dodge Dart). Automotive News notes that the updated 2.4-liter Tigershark debuting in the entry-level 2014 Jeep Cherokee has its basis in the 2.0-liter lump, but unlike the smaller engine, it's been fitted with MultiAir2 electrohydraulic variable valve timing to realize 184 hp and 171 lb-ft and greater efficiency.
Perhaps the Hurricane will incorporate the latter in its bag of tricks? Either way, we're hoping for a more generous torque curve than the what's in the current 2.0-liter Tigershark, which is something of a slug in the Dart - even for a base economy compact.