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Marchionne defends FCA recalls, says Wrangler won't be all-aluminum

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne recently received the 2015 Industry Leadership Award from the SAE Foundation. While speaking with the press after the event, the boss discussed his thoughts about some key issues regarding the company's future. One of the big regulatory issues facing FCA at the moment is the upcoming public hearing by the National Highway Traffic Safety into the automaker's handling of 20 recalls. Marchionne has no intention of testifying there, according to The Detroit News. The CEO also thinks that the government regulator is becoming much more aggressive in how it handles safety campaigns, but the Feds aren't necessarily doing a very good job of communicating that. "We need to work with the agency in a very cooperative and open way to make sure that we can meet their requirements for their new stance," he said, according to the newspaper. "We have no option but to comply with their requirements and we will. I have nothing to hide in this process. I just want clear rules." Marchionne also dropped the news that the company has changed its mind about making the next Jeep Wrangler totally from aluminum. "Because of the difference in cost, not just the new material but the actual assembly process, I think we can do almost as well without doing it all-aluminum," he said to The Detroit News. This seemingly opens the door for the model to remain in production in Toledo, OH, but only just a crack. Marchionne says that the new Wrangler would still use a large amount of aluminum, and there are "at least" two sites in contention for the assembly. The company doesn't have too long to make a decision because the model reportedly launches in 2017.

2019 Jeep Renegade reveals front fascia details

Over the past few months, details of the new 2019 Jeep Renegade subcompact crossover SUV have been trickling out via spy shots. This latest batch show that the front fascia, specifically the front bumper, is getting a number of subtle changes. Among the more noticeable tweaks are the new side vents in the bumper. They've been given a triangular design. Besides offering a nice chunky look, they also encompass the turn signals. This is a cleaner, better integrated look than the current model, which just leaves those indicators in their own little spots in the bumper. The foglights have changed, too. They're now significantly larger, and sit farther inboard in the main grille in the bumper. Moving up in the fascia, we see that the Renegade is getting some new headlights. At least on this model, there's an LED daytime running light halo in the headlamps. It also has a horizontal insert that appears to house an LED headlight element just like that on the new Wrangler. We've seen other prototypes with conventional halogen reflector headlights like on the current model, and we expect they will continue to be used on lower-spec models. There aren't many other changes to see. The rear of the truck looks roughly the same, as do the flanks. From past prototypes, we know that it will continue to have a massive touchscreen option for the infotainment. There also may be a hybrid model. It could be a very mild electric-assist like that on the four-cylinder Wrangler and the V8 and V6 Ram 1500s, or it could be something more. We expect to see the new Renegade revealed by the end of the year at the earliest, and certainly by the end of the next auto show season. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Featured Gallery 2019 Jeep Renegade Spy Shots View 9 Photos Image Credit: KGP Photography Spy Photos Jeep Crossover SUV Off-Road Vehicles jeep renegade

Most American Cars | Honda Makes the Top 10 List

The car built with the most American/Canadian parts content is the 2021 Ford Mustang GT – with the manual transmission, specifically, no less – giving Ford a second consecutive year atop the American University Kogod Business School annual "Made in America Auto Index. We already knew that it doesn't get much more American than a V8 pony car, but now we've got the numbers to prove it.  Ford's iconic coupe takes the number one slot pretty convincingly this year, with 88.5% of its components coming from U.S. or Canadian sources. Appropriately, though perhaps confusingly, 21 models made the top 10 list in 2021. As you may have surmised, this is the result of multiple ties. Note also that many models appear more than once to account for variants built with parts from different sources. The top-ranked Mustang is a perfect example; The automatic drops into into a tie for 10th, right next to the EcoBoost model and Ram's 1500 Classic with the 3.6L V6.  The "America" theme runs pretty strongly through the top "10," with the Chevrolet Corvette sitting pretty in second place, followed by all three variants of Tesla's Model 3 electric car. Honda also makes several appearances thanks to its rather significant U.S. manufacturing footprint. Here are the 21 vehicles that make up the top 10 this year – don't worry, it feels just as weird to type as it does to read. Last year's winner, the midsize Ford Ranger pickup, cratered to 16th place, dropping from 70% American parts content to just 45%. Keep in mind, however, that the pandemic has forced automakers to source parts outside of their normal supply chains, and such drops should be taken with a grain of salt. Kogod noted that the overall proportions of content between manufacturers remained relatively unchanged despite what appear to be significant shake-ups such as this one.  "While the trend TDC for cars assembled in the US is consistent over time, both Daimler and Subaru saw significant drops in their average US content," the summary said. "This may be the result of US shortages of parts and components as the impacts of the covid pandemic created significant disruptions in automotive supply chains." Watch Ford Build a Bronco: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.