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SEMA crowns Mustang, FR-S as this year's hottest cars in the building

After wrapping up the first day of the 2012 SEMA Show, organizers handed out awards for some of the trendiest vehicles on display. Since the whole point of SEMA is to show off new products available in the aftermarket world for use in cars, trucks and SUVs, each year, the show distinguishes the most popular vehicle in various segments. Not surprisingly, this year's Hottest Car and Hottest Sport Compact are the Ford Mustang and Scion FR-S, respectively, while the Ford F-Series brought home the Hottest Truck and the Jeep Wrangler was named the Hottest 4x4-SUV.
More than 2,000 companies are at this year's show, and the display booths represents a "vote" for each car to determing the trendiest vehicles in each of the four categories. It isn't clear if these awards also take cars brought by OEMs into account, but the Mustang and FR-S were definitely well represented by both OEM and aftermarket show versions.
As usual, the OEMs showed up in force at the this year's SEMA Show exhibiting a variety of cars ranging from production-intent cars like the beastly Ford Mustang Cobra Jet to much flashier rides like Scion's Carbon Stealth FR-S.

Next-generation Jeep Wrangler arriving at the end of 2017, diesel for 2019 model year

The folks at JL Wrangler Forums have come across some very juicy information regarding the next-generation Wrangler, thanks to an anonymous source who got the details from a dealer meeting. Among the information provided by the source is the timeline for the new Jeep's release. It will be fully revealed at this year's Los Angeles Auto Show, and it will hit dealers this December. At launch, the next-gen Wrangler will be available with both a 3.6-liter V6 with either a manual or automatic, and a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that can only be had with an automatic. We expect this engine to be turbocharged and pack as much as 300 horsepower. It also seems Chrysler is still making good on its promise of a diesel Wrangler for this generation. Photos taken by a JL Wrangler Forums user show what looks like a diesel exhaust fluid tank underneath one of the prototypes seen above. There could be a bit of a wait on that powertrain, though. According to the JL Wrangler Forums source, it won't be arriving until near the end of the 2019 model year, so potentially at the end of the 2018 calendar year, and possibly early 2019. The other big news is that the anonymous source confirmed that there will in fact be a hardtop with a power sliding opening. The feature was rumored years ago, and we may have had our first look at it thanks to earlier spy shots also taken by a JL Wrangler Forums member. The photos showed a mysterious set of switches on the windshield header that may have been controls for the power top. This feature won't be available at launch according to the anonymous source, and will instead debut near the end of the 2018 model year, so likely early- to mid-calendar year 2018. Some other minor changes to colors and equipment were revealed also, and can be seen at the forum website, here. Related Video:

FCA CEO Mike Manley will run Americas for Stellantis after PSA merger

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will run operations in the Americas when his company merges with FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot early next year. FCA Chairman John Elkann announced ManleyÂ’s new post on Friday in a letter to employees. ManleyÂ’s role in the merged company had been a mystery. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares will run the overall company, to be named Stellantis. Shareholders of both companies will vote on the merger Jan. 4 to seal the deal creating the worldÂ’s fourth-largest automaker. The merger is expected to be completed by the end of March. PSA will get six seats on the new companyÂ’s 11-member board, which will be chaired by Elkann. The Americas, especially the U.S., are key to the new companyÂ’s success. Fiat ChryslerÂ’s Jeep and Ram brands are highly profitable, and Tavares has long wanted to sell PSA vehicles in the U.S. Manley has been the Italian-American automakerÂ’s CEO for 2 1/2 years, taking over when Sergio Marchionne died in 2018. Stellantis will have the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, just behind Volkswagen, the Renault-Nissan alliance and Toyota. Related Video: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot Mike Manley Stellantis