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MotorWeek relives '80s coupes with Dodge Daytona, Ford Escort EXP

Get ready for a wave of nostalgia and the rapid realization of the huge progress in performance cars over the last 30 years. For its latest Retro Review, MotorWeek takes a look back at two, front-wheel drive coupes from the '80s that seem to have entirely vanished from the roads today. Both the 1986 Dodge Daytona CS and the 1986.5 Ford Escort EXP were considered affordable, sporty options in their day, but the passage of time hasn't been kind to either of their specs. The Daytona certainly looks the part of a performance machine with a body that's reminiscent of other '80s coupes, like the third-gen Chevrolet Camaro. However with 146 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque from a 2.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, acceleration wasn't exactly a strong suit. MotorWeek complained about copious torque steer, as well. The optional CS suspension upgrade package on this Daytona was apparently a nod to Carroll Shelby who was working with Dodge at the time. If anything, the Escort EXP withstands the test of time even worse. As a two-seat coupe, you might have expected Ford's engineers to really turn up the performance to fit the sporty image that the exterior conveyed. That didn't really happen, and depending on which model buyers ordered, they got either 86 horsepower with a 1.9-liter engine or the "high-output" version of that mill with 108 hp.

Dodge closes Caravan order books at the end of this month

After being introduced as the Dodge Caravan in 1983, after debuting a long wheelbase Grand Caravan in 1987, after entering its fifth generation in 2007 and going almost unchanged since then to become the oldest minivan in the segment, after being publicly sent to the slaughterhouse in 2011, again in 2013, and again in 2015 before being pardoned thrice by the automotive governor, this month it's over for good for the best-selling Dodge and best-selling minivan in the U.S. and Canada. At least, according to Mopar Insiders, which credits dealer sources for the news that "the end of the month" will be a car shopper's last chance to order the Dodge Grand Caravan in the states that don't adhere to California emissions. Since the Grand Caravan's 3.6-liter V6 can't clear CARB mandates, Dodge pulled the model from the 13 so-called ZEV states in March this year.  Last summer, an analyst at AutoForecast Solutions told Automotive News that Dodge would cease Grand Caravan production at the Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada in May this year. The brief reprieve is said to be related to the coronavirus standstill, Fiat Chrysler not alone in revising its plans to make up for two months of lost production. The new 2020 Chrysler Voyager is the official replacement for the Dodge, being a de-contented Pacifica that returns an old Chrysler nameplate to circulation and is built in the same plant as the Pacifica and Grand Caravan. The Grand Caravan's numbers have come down this year, but Dodge still sold a strong 24,931 units through the first quarter of the year; the kid-hauler has sold less than 100,000 units in a year in the U.S. only twice since 1985, topping six figures for the last four years. In 35 years on sale here, the minivan has hurdled the 200,000-unit marker 19 times. With the order books open until the end of the month and Windsor plant working a single shift and still finding its feet, Grand Caravans will continue to trickle off the lines after May, but not for long. 

Fiat Chrysler CEO says final merger talks with Peugeot going well

BRUSSELS — Fiat Chrysler's chief executive Michael Manley said on Wednesday that merger talks with Peugeot owner PSA  to create the world's No. 4 carmaker are progressing well and he hopes to have a deal within 12-14 months. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of an industry meeting, he said he doesn't expect any major obstacles that could delay a final agreement. "Talks are progressing really well," Manley said about negotiations with the French carmaker ahead of a briefing by the European automotive association (ACEA), of which he is president. His comments come a month after the two carmakers agreed to a binding deal worth about $50 billion to combine forces in response to a slowdown in global demand and mounting costs of making cleaner vehicles amid tighter emissions regulations. Manley's timeline for completing the deal by early 2021 is in line with a forecast made by the companies in December. Fiat and Peugeot are now getting into the details of how the merger will work, including choosing which vehicle platforms — the technological underpinnings of a vehicle — will fit which products in a combined company. Because customers in different locations still prefer vastly different cars, there is room for multiple platforms in a combined group, Manley said. "That global platform is an elusive beast," he added. "This concept of a massive global platform in my mind is almost a myth, but that doesnÂ’t mean to say weÂ’re not going to recruit significant volume." Related Video: