2014 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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FCA and Cummins named in diesel emissions class-action lawsuit

Chrysler is now the first United States-based carmaker to be sued for allegedly skewing emissions results. In a move that sounds eerily similar to the troubles of European manufacturers, Chrysler is claimed to have hid diesel engine characteristics causing emissions as much as 14 times higher than permitted by regulations. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit alleges that Chrysler, together with its diesel engine partner Cummins, has concealed the nitrogen oxide output of certain Ram vehicles produced between 2007 and 2012. The NOx pollutants were meant to be broken down in a process called regeneration in the truck's NAC system, or NOx Absorption Catalyst, which predated the 2013-introduced SCR, or Selective Catalytic Reduction system. By design, the NAC captures and stores NOx emissions, converting them to nitrogen and oxygen through a catalytic process. The lawsuit claims the Cummins engine's system has a limited capacity to store the emissions, and as a result the pollutants escape, increasing emissions, worsening fuel consumption and wearing down the catalytic converter. The later, cleaner SCR system uses a urea-water injection, and it gradually replaced the NAC on Cummins 6.7-liter engines, as it was first implemented in 2011 and made standard in 2013. As Bloomberg notes, the model years of Ram trucks involved in the lawsuit predate the earliest Volkswagen "Dieselgate" models by two years. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 500,000 truck owners, accuses Chrysler and Cummins of fraud, false advertising and racketeering. As an underlying motive, the filing mentions a 2001 change in EPA emissions standards. Announced to become effective in 2010, the EPA requirements drove Chrysler and Cummins to try and reach those already by 2007. However, the NAC system is said to have fallen short of these goals, and the filing claims that Chrysler and Cummins chose to "rig" the engines instead. The affected vehicles predate the 2014 merger of Chrysler and Fiat. FCA US has released a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying it will contest the lawsuit "vigorously". News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Getty Editorial Government/Legal Green Chrysler Dodge RAM Emissions Diesel Vehicles FCA cummins diesel

Chrysler hoons Pacifica minivan, issues recall

Chrysler is recalling about 50,000 Pacifica minivans after finding an issue with a seat belt. According to the NHTSA recall notice, "In certain passenger seating and vehicle situations, the second-row center seating position seat belt buckle could cause the left outboard seat belt to become unlatched." The affected vehicles have the eight-passenger configuration, and includes 47,927 Pacificas in the U.S. from model years 2017 and 2018, plus another 1,908 vehicles in Canada. It appears the problem occurs under spirited driving (or "extreme handling maneuvers"), which is kind of funny, because: minivan. FCA's statement, though, adds a little more clarity. The problem was discovered through Chrysler's own testing, not some dad hooning his minivan on the way to soccer practice. The problem only occurs when there are people sitting in both the center and left outboard seat of the second row. In hard cornering, the left seat belt's release button would come into contact with the center buckle, which caused it to unlatch. FCA will notify owners, and will install a shorter second-row seat belt buckle for free. The automaker is unaware of any injuries related to this issue, but urges customers to "avoid using the second-row center seat in conjunction with the other second-row positions." Better yet, if you're going to autocross your Pacifica this weekend, leave your kids on the sidelines. They're just added weight anyway. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Chrysler Pacifica: First Drive View 35 Photos News Source: NHTSA, FCAImage Credit: Copyright 2017 Chris McGraw / Autoblog Recalls Chrysler Safety Minivan/Van chrysler pacifica seat belt

2015 Chrysler 200 gets 36 mpg with Tigershark four-cylinder

Chrysler has come out with the official fuel economy information on the new 200 following the info that was leaked from the EPA earlier this week. It turns out that our initial report of 18 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway for the all-wheel-drive V6 was correct.
What we didn't know at the time, though, was what sort of economy the 200's other powertrain options managed. Outfitted with the 2.4-liter four-pot, Chrysler is promising 23 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, with a combined rating of 28 mpg. Those figures are fairly impressive; besting figures of the 2.5-liter Ford Fusion and tying the 1.5-liter, EcoBoost, non-start-stop model. It's also beats the four-cylinder Toyota Camry's 35-mpg highway figure while tying its combined efficiency.
Stepping up to the 295-horsepower Pentastar V6 pushes the economy down to 19 mpg in the city, while the highway figure is a respectable 32 mpg for the front-driver. The combined rating for the FWD V6 is 23 mpg. Those figures can't quite match the 270-horsepower 2.0-liter, EcoBoost four of the Fusion, which nets 22 city and 33 highway. In fact, the V6 200 has trouble besting even the 3.5-liter V6 of the Camry, which returns 21 mpg city and 31 mpg highway. Again, though, the 200 is noticeably more powerful.