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China's Great Wall confirms its interest — in Jeep, or all of FCA

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI — Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor reiterated its interest in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV on Tuesday, but said it had not held talks or signed a deal with executives at the Italian-American automaker. China's largest sport utility vehicle manufacturer made a direct overture to Fiat Chrysler on Monday, with an official saying the company was interested in all or part of FCA, owner of the Jeep and Ram truck brands. Automotive News first reported the news, quoting Great Wall Motor President Wang Fengying as saying she planned to contact FCA to discuss acquiring the Jeep brand specifically. Those comments sent FCA shares higher but also raised questions over the ability of China's seventh-largest automaker by sales to buy larger Western rival FCA, or even Jeep, which some analysts value at as much as one-and-a-half times FCA. Great Wall sought to dampen speculation on Tuesday. It confirmed it had studied Fiat Chrysler, but said there was "no concrete progress so far" and "substantial uncertainty" over whether it would eventually bid. "The company has not built any relationship with the directors of FCA nor has the company entered into any discussion or signed any agreements with any officer of FCA so far," the company said in an English-language stock exchange filing. It did not give further detail. Fiat Chrysler stock dipped on the statement on Tuesday. Great Wall said trading in its Shanghai-listed shares would resume on Wednesday after having been suspended. Fiat Chrysler declined to comment on Great Wall's statement. On Monday, it said it had not been approached and was fully committed to implementing its current business plan. FLUSHING OUT RIVALS? Great Wall Motor, which was early to spot China's love of SUVs, had revenue of $14.8 billion last year and sold 1.07 million vehicles - but that compares with FCA's 2016 revenue of 111 billion euros ($130.6 billion). Analysts said Great Wall would need to raise both debt and equity to complete any deal, meaning its chairman Wei Jianjun could lose majority control. One possible scenario, according to analysts at Jefferies, would see Wei keeping a roughly 30 percent stake, while Great Wall would raise $10-$14 billion in debt and $10 billion in equity - hefty for a group currently worth just $16 billion. Ultimately, politics could be the clincher.

Best car infotainment systems: From UConnect to MBUX, these are our favorites

Declaring one infotainment system the best over any other is an inherently subjective matter. You can look at quantitative testing for things like input response time and various screen load times, but ask a room full of people that have tried all car infotainment systems what their favorite is, and you’re likely to get a lot of different responses. For the most part, the various infotainment systems available all share a similar purpose. They aim to help the driver get where they're going with navigation, play their favorite tunes via all sorts of media playback options and allow folks to stay connected with others via phone connectivity. Of course, most go way beyond the basics these days and offer features like streaming services, in-car performance data and much more. Unique features are aplenty when you start diving through menus, but how they go about their most important tasks vary widely. Some of our editors prefer systems that are exclusively touch-based and chock full of boundary-pushing features. Others may prefer a back-to-basics non-touch system that is navigable via a scroll wheel. You can compare it to the phone operating system wars. Just like some prefer Android phones over iPhones, we all have our own opinions for what makes up the best infotainment interface. All that said, our combined experience tells us that a number of infotainment systems are at least better than the rest. WeÂ’ve narrowed it down to five total systems in their own subcategories that stand out to us. Read on below to see our picks, and feel free to make your own arguments in the comments. Best infotainment overall: UConnect 5, various Stellantis products Ram 1500 Uconnect Infotainment System Review If thereÂ’s one infotainment system that all of us agree is excellent, itÂ’s UConnect. It has numerous qualities that make it great, but above all else, UConnect is simple and straightforward to use. Ease of operation is one of the most (if not the single most) vital parts of any infotainment system interface. If youÂ’re expected to be able to tap away on a touchscreen while driving and still pay attention to the road, a complex infotainment system is going to remove your attention from the number one task at hand: driving. UConnect uses a simple interface that puts all of your key functions in a clearly-represented row on the bottom of the screen. Tap any of them, and it instantly pulls up that menu.

2020 Dodge Challenger celebrates 50th anniversary with a golden special edition

Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the original Dodge Challenger. And obviously Dodge wouldn't let that significant date go by without a special version of the 2020 Dodge Challenger. Meet the limited production Dodge Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition. The package is offered on the V6-powered GT with rear-wheel drive, as well as the R/T, R/T Scat Pack and R/T Scat Pack Widebody. The Hellcat and Hellcat Redeye are left out, but every 2020 example will get special 50th Anniversary badges to make up for that. On the outside, the package features a matte black hood, roof and trunk lid. V8 models get a body-color Shaker scoop. This marks the first time the Shaker scoop has been available on a Widebody Challenger. Despite having a Shaker scoop, the special edition cars also get the air intake headlights pioneered by the Hellcat, and they have a "50" printed on them to go with the other 50th Anniversary badging. All models get 20-inch wheels. These are finished in what Dodge calls "Gold School." These Challengers can be painted in one of seven colors: Frostbite, Hellraisin, Sinamon Stick, Go Mango, TorRed, F8 Green or the all-new Gold Rush. Inside the Challenger 50th Anniversary Edition are Nappa leather and Alcantara-covered seats and "Sepia" stitching and embroidery. It's all matched by carbon fiber trim with copper threads woven into it. The instrument cluster and the air vent badge are finished in the car's exterior color. Dodge will build only 70 of each model in each color as a tribute to the original car's 1970 model year. This means that there will be 490 GTs, 490 R/Ts, 490 R/T Scat Packs and 490 R/T Scat Pack Widebody models for a grand total of 1,960 cars. Each model has a different price for the 50th Anniversary package. It costs $4,995 for the GT, $5,495 for the R/T, and $5,995 for the Scat Pack models. The cars go on sale this coming spring.