Ferrari Testarossa 1986 on 2040-cars

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Weekly Recap: FCA hit with record fine as NHTSA crackdown continues

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with a record fine this week that could reach $105 million. The punishment comes after NHTSA found problems with the automaker's execution of 23 recalls that affect more than 11 million vehicles. The consent agreement, announced Sunday, calls for FCA to pay a $70-million cash fine and requires the company to spend at least $20 million over a three-year period on industry outreach programs and to beef up old recall campaigns. Failure to comply will result in another $15-million fine. FCA also agreed to federal oversight, which includes an independent monitor to oversee the company's recalls. The $70-million cash fine equals a penalty NHTSA levied on Honda in January. "Fiat Chrysler's pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers and the driving public at risk," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. "This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture." FCA called the deal a "consensual resolution," but admitted that it "failed to timely provide an effective remedy" during certain recalls. "We are intent on rebuilding our relationship with NHTSA and we embrace the role of public safety advocate," the company said in a statement. The announcement kicked off a busy week for the automaker. NHTSA agreed FCA did not need to recall 4.7 million vehicles after an investigation failed to find defects with a power module used in some Jeep, Dodge, and Ram vehicles. A Georgia judge also reduced a civil verdict involving a death in a Jeep Grand Cherokee crash. Amid all of that, the company reported net profit of about 333 million euros, or $364 million in the second quarter on Thursday. OTHER NEWS & NOTES FCA ramps up Hellcat production Despite a decidedly legal and financial week for FCA, there was still time for the performance side of the business to briefly grab the spotlight. The automaker is more than doubling its production of the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats in response to strong demand. The order bank opens the second week of August and production begins in September. FCA will finish up its scheduled 2015 model-year Hellcat builds, and cancel any "unscheduled" versions, though customers will get discounted pricing for 2016.

Ferrari F50s duel in world's most improbable tug-of-war

If it wasn't obscene enough to go off-roading in a Rolls-Royce Phantom or rally driving a Ferrari Enzo, the Tax The Rich crew has gotten its hands on a pair of ultra-rare Ferrari F50 models to perform a tug-of-war battle, which we usually see reserved for pickup trucks. Only 349 F50s were ever built, but this video pits two of them against each other by attaching a rope to the front ends, throwing the shifter into reverse and punching the throttle.
As we've come to expect from this video troupe, the action starts off with plenty of gravel-chucking, dirt-road drifting before the two cars finally meet head-to-head. Scroll down to watch the 520-hp V12s screaming in reverse as the tires smoke away.

Ferrari dips into its parts bin to test a Dino, or something

"It's a when not an if. We know that it [Dino] is an under-used resource, but that's why we need to get it right." – Sergio Marchionne We know Ferrari is thinking about bringing back the Dino. This might be it. Or not. Spy shooters snapped this prototype during winter testing in Sweden, sparking speculation the long-hoped for Dino could return. Witnesses said the mule didn't sound like it had a V8, suggesting the 2.9-liter V6 turbo developed by Ferrari for the Alfa Romeo Giulia was instead providing power. Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne said back in 2015: "It's a when not an if. We know that it [Dino] is an under-used resource, but that's why we need to get it right." He also suggested a 500-hp V6 would be the right fit for a new Dino. That Alfa engine makes 505 ponies in the Giulia's Quadrifoglio trim But those comments are nearly two years old, when Ferrari was owned by Fiat Chrysler. Ferrari was spun off in the fall of 2015, though Marchionne remains head of the supercar maker in addition to leading FCA. But what are we actually looking at here? There's bits of both the 488 GTB and its predecessor, the 458 Italia, Frankensteined together onto the prototype. There are huge tailgun exhausts in back. The car is testing on a snowy road. Could in fact Ferrari be shaking down an all-wheel-drive 488 variant? A high performance version? On the other hand, the Dino was a mid-engine car, and the similar layout of the 458/488 line makes for a fitting testbed. Perhaps Ferrari is using that body style to conceal the identity of an all-new project like the Dino. Or perhaps... Related Video: