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FCA recalls 1.1 million vehicles worldwide due to confusing shifter

Fiat Chrysler is recalling 1.1 million vehicles worldwide to address the problematic shifter used on cars with eight-speed automatic transmissions. The issue is that the console-mounted shifter acts like a rocker switch and always returns to the middle position after moved. This has been deemed confusing to drivers – confusing enough to cause some to exit their vehicles without first selecting Park and leading to the car rolling away. FCA says 41 injuries are related to the shifter problem, and no evidence of equipment failure has been found. The company will enhance warning chimes and alter the shift strategy, meaning alert messages will be displayed in case the driver door is opened while the engine is running. With the door open, the transmission will prevent the car from moving even if Park is not selected. The affected vehicles are certain model-year 2012–2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans, as well as model-year 2014–2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, an estimated 811,586 US vehicles in total. The recall also affects 52,144 vehicles in Canada, 16,805 in Mexico, and 248,667 vehicles elsewhere. The shifter is used with ZF-designed and ZF-built eight-speed automatic; Audi uses a similar shifter setup in some of its vehicles, including the current-generation, which predated Chrysler's use of it. Chrysler uses a different, a rotating-dial-type shifter on eight-speed-equipped Rams. The company moved away from the problem shifter design in 2015 for the Charger and 300, and the Grand Cherokee's shift lever was modified for 2016. Owners of affected vehicles will be notified of the recall when service is available. Fiat Chrysler urges customers to follow the instructions in the vehicle's owner's manual in the meantime. Related Video: News Source: FCAImage Credit: AOL Recalls Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM Ownership Safety SUV Sedan

Dodge Demon test mule spotted wearing unusual camouflage

The Dodge Demon apparently refuses to stay under wraps. The endless rollout of teasers continues each Thursday, but thanks to both Vin Diesel and our trusty spy photographer we have a whole suite of photos that show a nearly complete car in the flesh. This car appears to have been hiding in plain sight, as some of these photos were captured in the Detroit area. The car or cars in these photos is far less polished than the one shown in all of Dodge's teasers. The Air Grabber hood is unpainted, though it does come with some awesome hood pins. The same goes for the bolt-on fenders, as other pictures show a cleaner integration of the Demon's widebody modification. Despite the large Nitto logo on the top of the windshield, the cars in these photos are both wearing a set of Pirelli PZero All-season Plus tires on non-Demon wheels. It's as if drag radials aren't the best choice for winter driving. This car is fitted with two-piece Brembo brakes, but there's no telling if they're different than the standard Hellcat's. The decals on the side of the car may give clues to some of the Demon's equipment, but based on the LB Performance - commonly known as Liberty Walk- logo, the decals are likely more of a ruse than anything else. Liberty walk is famous in the tuning community for big, bolt-on body kits. The looks perfectly suit these test cars, though Borla exhaust and a Hurst shifter would be a wonderful addition to the Demon. Outside of that, there isn't much new to glean from these photos. Most of our questions about the Demon (horsepower, gearing, price) can't be had from pictures. Look for more news each Thursday in the lead up to the car's debut in New York in April. Related Video: Featured Gallery Dodge Demon Spy Shots View 14 Photos Related Gallery Dodge Demon Teasers View 17 Photos Image Credit: KGP Photography Spy Photos Dodge Coupe dodge hellcat

Hypermiling a Ram 1500 EcoDiesel to 38.1 mpg

You never quite know what Wayne Gerdes has up his sleeve. The man who coined the term hypermiling is always looking for adventurous ways to prove that anyone – even you... yes, you – can eke out more miles per gallon just by changing the way you drive. Saying that is easy. Proving it by going on outlandish cross-country drives is hard. But for Gerdes and his team of fuel economy fiends over at CleanMPG, hard is half the fun. Our latest adventure appeared, at first glance, to be nearly impossible. Which is why we always answer the phone when Gerdes calls. He likes to take journalists along on his drives, not only to try teach us how to hypermile but also to prove that we can be taught. The first time I 'helped' him and his team was when we got over 30 miles per gallon in a 2011 Ford F-150 XLT with the EcoBoost 3.5-liter V6. The EPA rated that truck with at just 16 mpg in the city and 22 on the highway. So, we'll count that trip as a success. Next up was a cross-country drive last fall in a trio of Audi TDI vehicles to prove that you don't need to drive extra slow to beat the EPA numbers. In fact, we made it from Los Angeles to New York City in just over 46 hours, cramped but not cranky. We had once again proven that how you drive is hugely important to your fuel usage. Our latest adventure appeared, at first glance, to be nearly impossible. The EPA says that the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel we would be driving gets just 22 combined mpg (19 city and 27 highway). Gerdes' idea was to drive it as far north from Houston, TX towards Detroit, MI as we could go on one tank. The day before we left, our itinerary got an extra stop. Instead of taking one of the official Shell Eco-marathon prototype vehicles to Detroit, it was decided to bring the winning diesel-powered prototype from the just-finished event to The Henry Ford Museum, where it had been arranged the car would be displayed. The winning car was built by a small team (just four students) from Sullivan High School in Sullivan, IN, who managed to beat a number of college teams with a score of 1,899.32 mpg. That target would be a bit out of reach for the Ram, but could we get 1,000 miles from the tank? Since the truck has a 26 gallon tank (officially, anyway), that would mean the EPA says we could only go 702 miles, assuming all highway driving. Could we make up 300 miles with careful driving? That spells both challenge and fun.