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Junkyard Gem: 1994 Dodge Spirit

Under Lee Iacocca's watch, Chrysler began selling the first of the modern new K-Cars for the 1982 model year, and American sales of Ks and K-derived cars and minivans continued all the way through 1995. While these vehicles saved Chrysler from near-certain doom after the agony of a government bailout in 1979, the platform had become pretty outdated by the middle 1990s (though GM didn't hesitate to sell its similar-vintage J-Cars well into our current century). The Spirit replaced its aging Aries cousin starting in 1989, and has become very tough to find today. Here's a late Spirit with the optional Mitsubishi V6 engine, found in a Denver self-service yard recently. For the 1991 and 1992 model years, the Spirit R/T was the fastest new four-door car you could buy in the United States. With 224 horsepower from a very nervous turbocharged 2.2-liter engine, the Spirit R/T could run the quarter-mile in 14.5 seconds and hit a top speed of 141 mph. Today's Junkyard Gem isn't one of those cars, unfortunately. The base engine in the 1994 Spirit was a 2.5-liter Chrysler straight-four rated at 100 horsepower, but this car has the optional 142-horse Mitsubishi 6G72 V6 engine. The 6G7 family of engines remains in production to this day, 35 years after the first one went into a Galant, and members of this engine family have powered everything from the Diamante to the Sonata. On Chrysler vehicles of all-Mitsubishi design from this era, the engines tended to have big Mitsubishi emblems prominently displayed. For a Chrysler-designed car, though, it made more sense to badge the engine as a Chrysler. Note the British spelling of the unit of displacement here; GM and Ford started that trend back in the 1960s, with the "6.5 litre" Pontiac GTO and "7.0 litre" big Fords. With the big engine plus power windows, decklid luggage rack, and other luxurious (for a Spirit) options, I'm pretty sure this car didn't start life in a fleet. It drove more than 175,000 miles during its time on the road. The resale value of a 26-year-old Detroit sedan with high miles can't be much, even if the interior still looks nice enough, so any mechanical problem (or just a trade-in) spells doom for cars such as this one. The gold insets in the aluminum wheels look very stylish. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 117 out of 200 Americans preferred the Spirit to the Honda Accord! This content is hosted by a third party.

2018 Dodge Charger Pursuit ambush prevention system enhanced to protect cops

For the 2018 model year, Dodge has rolled out some minor but useful updates to the Charger Pursuit police car. It now features a larger infotainment screen standard. It moves from 5 inches to 7 inches. But if police departments wish, they can opt for a massive 12-inch touchscreen that can replace a cumbersome laptop computer. The new standard 7-inch screen will also be handy for using the now standard rear-view camera, as well as the "Officer Protection Package," which is a no-cost option. This package, like last year, uses the rear-view camera and parking sensors to monitor whether someone is approaching behind the car. It's main use is preventing ambushes. When something is detected, an audible alert is sounded, and the camera sends video to the screen for the officer to see what's behind the car. It can also trigger the lights to go on, the doors to lock, and the windows to roll up. Selecting the "Officer Protection Package" also adds the "Fleet Safety Group," a new feature for the Charger Pursuit. This group of options adds blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. Finally, a new color "IndiGo Blue," will be offered. It joins an array of factory and police-only colors for the Charger Pursuit. Interestingly, a Charger Pursuit can also be had in very bright colors such as "Go Mango" orange, and "TorRed" red. Related Video:

Fiat Chrysler's profit boosted by Ram and Jeep in North America

MILAN/DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler took the market by surprise by sticking to its full-year profit guidance on Wednesday after a strong performance from its Ram pickup truck in North America helped it defy an industry slowdown. Chief Executive Mike Manley, in FCA's first earnings release since a failed attempt to merge with France's Renault, also left the door open to that or other deals. "We are open to opportunity," Manley said on a call with analysts. "I have no doubt why there still would be interest in it," he added, when pressed on what it would take to revive talks with Renault. Manley declined to comment further. FCA last month abandoned its $35 billion merger offer for Renault, blaming French politics for scuttling what would have been a landmark deal to create the world's third-biggest automaker. Manley said a merger was not a must-have and Fiat Chrysler's business plan was strong. The company said it remained confident its adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) would top last year's 6.7 billion euros ($7.5 billion). Given disappointing forecasts from other automakers this earnings season, FCA's confirmation of the outlook sent Milan-listed shares in the Italian-American automaker, whose other brands include Jeep, up over 4%. A broad-based auto sales downturn has rattled the sector, forcing FCA's competitors — including Renault, Daimler and Aston Martin — to cut their sales forecasts after second-quarter results, while U.S. carmaker Ford gave a weaker-than-expected 2019 profit outlook. Japan's Nissan, a long-term partner of Renault, said it would cut 12,500 jobs by 2023 after its earnings collapsed. In the second quarter FCA's adjusted EBIT totaled 1.52 billion euros, versus analysts' expectations of 1.43 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. FCA's U.S. shipments were down 12% in the second quarter but the group said that the successful performance of its Ram brand resulted in an enhanced share of the large pickup truck market of 27.9%, up 7 percentage points from last year. Adjusted EBIT margin in North America rose to 8.9% from 6.5% in the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for the heavy-duty Ram and the new Jeep Gladiator pickup. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer also said FCA expected to report up to 10% margins in the region in both the third and fourth quarters.