Auto blog

Dodge restores Brass Monkey wheels to Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcat

For the first part of 2020, Dodge removed the option of its Devils Rim aluminum wheel design in Brass Monkey finish for the Hellcat-powered Challenger and Charger models. Mopar Insiders reports the wheels will return to the menu once Dodge starts production of its two muscle cars again, tidings to please forum members asking why they couldn't order the rims. The standard fit on the regular cars is a 20-inch Low Gloss Black Performance wheel, the options either a 20-inch Machined w/Granite Pocket wheel or a 20-inch Matte Vapor SRT aluminum wheel. On the widebody cars, standard fit is a 20-inch Carbon Black Aluminum wheel, one option being a 20-inch Warp Speed Granite wheel that's the same design as the Matte Vapor but with a different finish. The 20-inch Brass Monkeys are the second option on widebody versions of the Charger Hellcat and Hellcat Redeye, replacing the 20-inch Matte Vapor SRT Aluminum rim available on the non-widebody.   Those choices are on the Dodge configurator. At the time of writing, what's missing from the online tool are the Brass Monkey options for the standard Challengers and the Charger Hellcat Widedody models that MI says are coming. The wider versions of the Challenger Hellcat bolt on a set of 20-inchers that are 11 inches wide; we're told the standard cars will offer Brass Monkey rims in 20 x 9.5 inches. The Charger Hellcat only comes in two widebody versions, so it should get the 20x11-inch Brass Monkey wheels, but the options haven't showed up on the configurator. The sole choices at the moment are the Carbon Black Aluminum and Warp Speed Granite wheels. The other difference to note is that wheres the optional wheels on the Challenger all cost $1,095, the Charger's upgrades cost $1,295. Whenever production begins in Brampton, Ontario, again, the coveted wheels will bring another extra with them: Exterior badges done in a Black and Dark Bronze finish. Related Video:    

Dodge Grand Caravan to live in fleets through 2017

After a hard-working career of hauling around families for decades, the Dodge Grand Caravan name was set to retire in 2016 under FCA's five-year plan for the US. The decision would have put all of the automaker's focus behind the next-generation Chrysler Town & Country, but that original strategy might have changed. Now, Dodge's minivan may have to work just a few more years before it can finally shuffle off. There are set to be 2016 and 2017 model year examples of the current Grand Caravan, according to an internal FCA production document obtained by Automotive News. This report suggests no changes in the minivan between those two years, and there's no mention of the company's intentions deeper into the future. "While we've announced the Grand Caravan will eventually be the minivan that goes away, we're not going into more detail at this time," a Dodge spokesperson said to AN. For the next Town & Country, production would start in Windsor, Ontario, in late February 2016. This document also suggests a brief run of 2016 Chrysler minivans based on the current model from August 2015 until February 2016. Automotive News speculates that the reprieve for the Grand Caravan could allow that model to focus on fleets and the Canadian market while the new Town and Country gets up and running. The latest generation T&C will reportedly debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show and will possibly carry a higher price to befit a vehicle with a more modern platform and improved tech.

Feds accuse Fiat Chrysler, UAW of conspiring to break labor laws

DETROIT — Top officials of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the United Auto Workers union conspired to violate U.S. labor laws, federal prosecutors alleged in a court document, saying a former executive at the automaker knew bribes paid to union leaders were designed to "grease the skids" in labor negotiations. U.S. Justice Department officials for the first time called the company and the union "co-conspirators" in a document related to a guilty plea agreed by former Fiat Chrysler director of employee relations Michael Brown. The document was filed with the U.S. District Court in Detroit on May 25. Its contents were reported by the Detroit News on Wednesday. Brown pleaded guilty to one count of concealing a felony. The plea agreement stated that he knew Fiat Chrysler executives authorized $1.5 million in improper payments and travel, liquor, cigars and other goods for UAW officials who served on the union's negotiating committee. Prosecutors say FCA executives paid UAW representatives to influence union business. including collective bargaining on contracts ratified in 2011 and 2015. The government contends money was run through the UAW-Chrysler National Training Center, via false charitable donations and training center credit cards. Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has said in the past that the misconduct "had nothing whatsoever to do with the collective bargaining process" and the "egregious acts were neither known to nor sanctioned" by the company. Fiat Chrysler had no further comment Monday. Outgoing UAW President Dennis Williams told union leaders at a conference in Detroit on Monday "our leadership team had no knowledge of the misconduct — which involved former union members and former auto executives — until it was brought to our attention by the government." Brown pleaded guilty on May 25, according to court documents, and will be sentenced on Sept. 20. Five other people have pleaded guilty in the government's ongoing investigation into the UAW and Fiat Chrysler, including the wife of a late UAW official, two other former UAW employees, former Fiat Chrysler vice president Alphons Iacobelli and another former Fiat Chrysler employee. Reporting By David Shepardson and Nick CareyRelated Video: Government/Legal UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM FCA