1997 Viper Rt/10 Blue/white- 1 Of 53 on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler to get $105M fine from NHTSA for recall woes

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is about to send a powerful message to automakers doing business in the United States, assuming reports of an upcoming $105 million fine against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles comes to fruition. In addition to the record-setting monetary fine, according to The Wall Street Journal, FCA will have to accept an independent auditor that will monitor the company's recall and safety processes and will be forced to buy back certain recalled vehicles. In other cases, such as with Jeep Grand Cherokee and Liberty models with gas tanks that could potentially catch fire in certain types of accidents, FCA will offer financial encouragement for owners to get their recall work done or to trade those older vehicles in on new cars, according to the report. FCA could reportedly reduce its fines if it meets certain conditions, though those remain unclear at this time. These actions against FCA are being taken after NHTSA began a probe into the automaker over almost two dozen separate instances where the government claims FCA failed to follow proper procedures for recalls and safety defects. Included in those safety lapses are more than 11 million vehicles currently in customer hands. These penalties and fines are separate from the investigation over security problems with Chrysler's Uconnect system that allowed hackers to obtain remote access into key vehicle systems in 1.4 million vehicles. Related Video: Image Credit: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Recalls Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Safety fiat chrysler automobiles fine

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.

2020 Dodge Charger pricing starts at $31,390

We've been talking about the 2020 Dodge Charger for three months, and it's finally time to start doing the math on trade-in values and loan payments. The 2020 Charger lineup starts with the SXT in rear-wheel-drive trim priced at $29,895, plus a $1,495 destination charge for a total of $31,390. That's a $425 bump over the 2019 model. The rest of the range doesn't get a price bump higher than $250 save for the Hellcat Widebody. The 2019 Charger didn't offer Widebody variants, so those are new for 2020. The lineup with MSRP changes from 2019: Charger GT RWD $33,390 ($150 more than 2019) Charger SXT AWD $35,090 ($25 more) Charger R/T $37,890 ($150 more) Charger Scat Pack $41,490 ($250 less) Charger Scat Pack Widebody $47,490 (brand new model) Charger SRT Hellcat Widebody $71,140 ($2,150 more than 2019 non-widebody) Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition $75,635 (brand new model) There's a price differential of $44,245 from bottom to top. Even more relevant to the Charger faithful, there's a displacement and power differential from the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 in the SXT with 292 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque to the 6.2-liter supercharged Hemi V8 in the Charger Hellcat Widebody Daytona 50th Anniversary Edition with 717 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. Dodge plumps the Scat Pack in the middle as having the "most horsepower per dollar," with its 392-cubic-inch Hemi V8 pumping 485 hp and 475 lb-ft. In the amusement park business, this is what's called "Fun for everyone." The Scat Pack Widebody makes a break from its standard sibling with stiffer springs, larger sway bars, and shocks, and retuned dampers. Changes throughout the rest of the lineup save for the SXT center on new wheel and tire options, and an updated Performance Handling Group on the GT and R/T trims. The 2020 Charger order book opens in the fall, but America's family-friendly muscle car won't start hitting dealer lots until early 2020.