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Junkyard Gem: 1964 Plymouth Valiant V-200 Wagon

When Chrysler introduced the Valiant for the 1960 model year, the automotive world had no idea that this new compact would become one of the most successful products in the company's history. Valiants and its A-Body siblings were built and sold by the millions around the world, with production continuing into the early 1980s (in Australia and South America). The sales pinnacle for the Valiant in the U.S. was 1964, and today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars: an upscale V-200 station wagon, found in a Denver-area wrecking yard a few weeks back. The Valiant began life as its own marque, became a Plymouth for 1961, left Plymouth for 1962, then returned as a Plymouth model until American Valiant production ceased in 1976, and the Volare took its place. You'll barely see any mention of the Plymouth brand in the 1964 Valiant brochure, and Plymouth badging on the '64s was minimal. You could get the 1964 Valiant wagon as the base V-100, starting at $2,273, or as the nicer V-200 with its $2,388 price tag (that's about $21,150 and $22,220 in 2022 dollars). Valiant coupes and convertibles could be had with the even swankier (by cheap small-car standards) Signet trim level. As Ford showed us in the middle 2000s, numbers are just classier if you spell them out on emblems. In the middle 1960s, substituting an automatic for the base three-on-the-tree column-shift manual transmission jacked up the price of an affordable car by an eye-watering amount. The Torqueflite three-speed automatic and its slick-looking push-button shifter cost 172 bucks extra (around $1,600 today), which made the car more than 7% costlier. A four-on-the-floor manual was available for the first time in a new Valiant that year, but it cost $180. Also new for the 1964 Valiant was a V8 option (a 273-cubic-incher rated at 180 horsepower), but this car has the good old Slant-6. If it's the engine that came with the car when it rolled off the assembly line, it's a 101-horse example with 170 cubic inches… but these cars are notorious for getting engine swaps early and often and I didn't check the block casting numbers. The cassette deck tells us that it was being driven as recently as the late 1980s through middle 1990s. There's some rust in the usual spots, about what this car would have acquired by 1967 if it had stayed in Michigan. This car could have been restored, though the expense for rust repair and interior refurbishment wouldn't have been a good investment from a financial standpoint.

North America profit helps Fiat Chrysler limit its losses from coronavirus

MILAN — Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) posted a smaller-than-expected operating loss in the second quarter, as a small profit in North America helped to limit the damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic. FCA said on Friday it had an adjusted loss before interest and tax of 928 million euros ($1.1 billion) in April-June, versus a forecast 1.87 billion euro ($2.2 billion) loss in an analyst poll compiled by Reuters. The group also said it made adjusted earnings before interest and tax of 39 million euros ($46.2 million) in North America, the home market of its Jeep and Ram brands, in the quarter. Milan-listed FCA shares were up 1.2% at 1125 GMT, after being little changed before the results. Chief Executive Mike Manley said the group's plants were up and running and car dealers were selling in showrooms and online, following disruptions caused by the pandemic. "We have the flexibility and financial strength to push ahead with our plans," he said in a statement. FCA, which is set to tie-up with Peugeot maker PSA to create Stellantis, the world's fourth largest carmaker, said on ongoing probe launched by European Commission competition authorities was not expected to delay the merger timetable. Despite the pandemic, PSA earlier this week delivered a profit in the first half of the year and stuck to its medium-term margin goal. FCA said its industrial free cash flow was minus 4.9 billion euros in the second quarter, with a slightly lower cash burn compared with January-March.  

Chrysler fires protest organizer at MI assembly plant

Chrysler has reportedly fired a Warren Stamping Plant worker for what the company is calling a violation of its code of conduct. Alex Wassell (left), a 20-year veteran with the automaker, was suspended without pay after he was quoted in an article in The Detroit News. The 63-year-old welder repairman helped organize a demonstration against a new work schedule and was protesting outside the Michigan plant on February 28 when he was interviewed. Chrysler then fired Wassell when the paper published his comments. Wassell, has since filed a grievance and says that he's looking for an amicable settlement between his union and his former employer.
Meanwhile, multiple civil liberties groups have spoken out against Chrysler's decision to dismiss Wassell. Both the National Lawyer's Guild and the American Civil Liberties Union have released statements on the situation, with the ACLU saying "Employees have a right to air their grievances, even if that means a public demonstration or a comments to the media."
According to The Detroit News, Chrysler spokesperson Jodi Tinson said that Wassell was fired for "engaging in activity constituting or appearing to constitute a conflict with the interest of the company."