2011 Chrysler Town Country, Braun Wheelchair Handicap Van, Only 3k Miles on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Local UAW leaders recommend membership approve FCA contract

DETROIT — Union leaders from Fiat Chrysler factories are sending a new four-year contract to a membership vote. The 47,000 members of the United Auto Workers union at the company will vote on the deal starting Friday. Local leaders assembled on Wednesday in Detroit to go over the pact, which includes a $9,000 bonus per worker upon ratification. The company also has promised $4.5 billion worth of new investments in U.S. factories. The union reached agreement with Fiat Chrysler last weekend. The new contract also offers a mix of lump sums and pay raises for longtime workers, full top wages for new hires within four years and a path for temporary employees to become full-time after three years of work. The Fiat Chrysler contract also adds 12.5% to the union workers' profit-sharing formula, giving them $900 per 1% of profit margin generated North American. That's up from $800, and a $12,000 cap was lifted. The UAW says the deal created more than 7,900 jobs, including a $4.5 billion investment previously announced at two factories in Detroit. Fiat Chrysler is the last of the Detroit automakers to settle with the union. Workers at General Motors ratified their contract Oct. 31, ending a 40-day strike that paralyzed GM's U.S. factories. Ford workers followed by approving a contract in November. In a summary of the contract, the union said FCA agreed to extend a moratorium on outsourcing of jobs and will maintain its U.S. manufacturing presence through the life of the contract. The $9 billion of factory investment includes $4.5 billion previously announced at two factories in Detroit, including a new assembly plant. Also included is an agreement to build fresh models off the Jeep Cherokee SUV underpinnings and invest $55 million into the Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, where the Cherokee is built. At the Toledo, Ohio, North Assembly plant, which builds the Jeep Wrangler SUV, the company will invest $160 million and hire 100 more people to build a plug-in hybrid version of the Wrangler. The Toledo South plant gets $120 million to keep building the Jeep Gladiator pickup. At an assembly plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, Fiat Chrysler will invest $210 million to keep building light-duty Ram pickup and new high-performance version of the truck. Another truck plant in Warren, Michigan, will get $2.8 billion including engineering and development expenses to keep building the Ram pickup and a new three-row SUV called the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer.

Fiat pondering swallowing rest of Chrysler, US IPO

At the moment, Fiat is in court with the United Auto Workers, waiting for the justice system to provide some guidance on a fair price for 41.5-percent of Chrysler it doesn't own. Fiat owns 58.5 percent of the company and wishes to buy the remainder, which is owned by the union's VEBA retiree trust, but the Italian company and the UAW are on different sides of the galaxy when it comes to assigning a fair price to that outstanding stake.
Naturally, Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is considering his options. A new report in the The Wall Street Journal says one of the scenarios being considered now is - depending on the outcome of the court case - to purchase the 41.5-percent stake and then issue an IPO to recoup some of the cost. About two months ago, Marchionne put the odds of an IPO for a wholly combined Fiat/Chrysler at 50 percent. Even with the WSJ report, it's not clear if those odds have changed.
The current company structure leaves a lot of options as to how a potential IPO could be issued, but it's said that Marchionne is against it, preferring "to be one company," under Fiat, indivisible. If Fiat is finally able to purchase all of the Pentastar, it would get access to Chrysler's war chest, pegged at $11.9 billion at the end of Q3 in 2012, and that money can't come soon enough for a brand taking a beating in Europe and delaying product over cash concerns.

NHTSA investigates a million-plus Jeep Cherokees for parking brake issue

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a potential safety issue that could be present in more than 1 million Jeep Cherokees sold for the 2014-2020 model years. Per owner complaints, these cars may be equipped with an electronic parking brake control module that is susceptible to water intrusion. If the water causes a short, it can result in uncommanded activation of the parking brake while the vehicle is in motion, which can lead to a stall, NHTSA says.  If you follow Jeep Cherokee news closely (and who doesn't?), this issue may ring a bell. That's because Jeep was on the hook for recalling the Cherokee for water intrusion into the liftgate control module, which is fitted right next to the parking brake module. In that instance, short circuits had the potential to cause a fire, which has not so far been indicated as a potential side effect of the new parking brake issue, but any time electricity is involved, there's usually at least some risk for ignition.  The Cherokee is just one of four Stellantis models with a new open investigation, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday. NHTSA is also looking into reports of a transmission problem that could strand owners of 2019-2021 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrid minivans and a crankshaft and/or camshaft position sensor problem that could cause a stall in the 2016 Dodge Journey and Jeep Compass. Between the two, these investigations cover an additional 300,000 vehicles.  None of these vehicles are being recalled at this point, however a NHTSA investigation is the first major step toward a recall being initiated. The regulator will work with Stellantis to determine whether a recall is necessary.  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ownership Safety SUV