2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit Records Fastest-Ever Lap Time at Michigan Evaluation Test

The ongoing bragging war among Detroit's big three and their newly launched police vehicles continues without an end in sight.

Today, the Chrysler Group announced that the 2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit V8 with 370HP set the fastest lap time ever reordered at Michigan State Police’s (MSP) annual Police Vehicle Evaluation tests earlier this week at the Grattan Raceway in Belding, at 1:33.70.

Read more »

Dodge Mulling Super Durango SRT8 with 465HP Hemi V8

Chrysler already a high-performance SUV in its arsenal, namely the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 that comes fitted with a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 pushing out 465 HP and 630 Nm (465 lb-ft) of torque and which can complete the quarter mile sprint in the mid-13 seconds range.

But now, the Detroit carmaker it also considering giving the Durango the SRT8 treatment in 2013. This would be an easy task, since both models are based on the same platform.

Read more »

Chrysler Touts New 300's 8-Speed Automatic in New Imported from Detroit Commercial

The Chrysler Group continues to roll out new advertisements that communicate the “Imported from Detroit” message, albeit without the success of the original commercial starring Eminem that in our opinion should have been about the new 300 instead of the 200, but that is another tale for another time.

The new 60-second commercial is titled, “If You’re Gonna,” and it begin to air on national and cable networks last Friday, September 16.

Read more »

IAA 2011: Lancia Displays its Stars and Stripes

If anything else, and with a few exceptions such as the Ypsilon supermini, the aging Musa and theDelta compact hatchback, Lancia's range is beginning to look eerily similar to that of the Chrysler brand.
At this week's 64th International Auto Show in Frankfurt, the Italian company displayed its entire lineup including the Thema sedan, Flavia Cabrio and the Voyager MPV, which are rebadged versions of the Chrysler 300, 200 Convertible and Town & Country respectively.
The rear-wheel drive Thema will go on sale in Europe in October with a choice of V6 diesel and gasoline units. The Voyager will also reach dealerships at the same time with buyers having the option of either a 287HP 3.6-liter V6 petrol linked to an automatic transmission or a 163HP 2.8-liter Multijet diesel with a manual gearbox. .
Lancia has not yet clarified when the Flavia Cabrio will enter production, but it is believed that it will go on sale in Europe early next year. The roofless model shown in Frankfurt is equipped with a 175HP 2.4 litre petrol engine matched to a 6-speed automatic gearbox.
Even though Lancia exhibited a sedan variant at the Geneva Show earlier this year, the company decided against offering it in Europe due to the high cost of adding a necessary diesel engine option.

PHOTO GALLERY

Read more In Cars

Alfa Romeo Won't Come to the States Until 2013, Cancels SUV Plans

In what has become something of a joke for those closely following the Fiat Group's plans to re-introduce Alfa Romeo to the States, the Milanese firm's CEO Harald Wester told journalists in Frankfurt that the company has once again pushed back the U.S. presentation of several key models.

Wester also said that Alfa Romeo has canceled plans to build a mid-sized SUV at Chrysler Group's factory in Ohio.

In July, and following a string of delays that began in 2000, Fiat and Chrysler Group head honcho Sergio Marchionne said that Alfa Romeo would enter the U.S. market with the 4C sports car before the end of 2012, and launch a compact crossover model in 2013.

Now, Marchionne is claiming that the current debt crisis in Europe is forcing the company to reevaluate the timing of its new vehicle introductions.

"We are reviewing volumes and the timing of new products to see when it is really necessary to launch them," Marchionne said.

Under the new plan –which could very well be reassessed in a couple of months […]- Alfa will bring the 4C to the States in the first half of 2013, and the Ford Fiesta-sized MiTo hatchback in the second part of the same year.

In addition, the latest plan ditches the Jeep Liberty-based Alfa Romeo crossover and instead calls for a large rear-wheel drive sports sedan, loosely based on the next generation Maserati Quattroporte which will appear sometime after 2014.

Read more In Cars

U.S. Fiat Dealers Disappointed by New Decision to Delay Alfa Romeo's Return

American fans of the Alfa Romeo brand are not the only ones to be upset by the Fiat-Chrysler alliance's most recent decision to delay the scheduled return of the Italian automaker to the States. So are the company’s newly launched Fiat dealerships that were expecting the brand to launch in late 2012.

While Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne never put it in ink, the company had told its 130 Fiat dealers in the USA that they would likely get Alfa Romeo cars as part of their franchise.

The Fiat-Chrysler alliance appointed a total of 130 Fiat dealers across the States, most of which already had a Chrysler store. The company gave dealers the permission to incorporate temporary showrooms in their existing Chrysler facilities, but required them to build separate and permanent stores by the end of 2012.

Read more »

The Manchurian Candidate: Jeep capitalizes on Fiat’s Chinese Operations, Wants to Build SUVs locally

Now that Sergio Marchionne has consolidated Fiat-Chrysler management into a smaller, leaner unified team, its members are working full force to maximize the group’s capabilities.

Jeep CEO Mike Manley travelled to China last Wednesday to negotiate the local production of Jeep models with Guangzhou Automobile Group Co Ltd., which already has a joint venture with Fiat.

Read more »

Chrysler Slows Down Production Due to a Lack of Carpets

A lack of carpets after one of Chrysler’s suppliers on the East Coast was hit by the tropical storm Lee has forced the automaker to slow down production and cancel shifts this week at three of its plants.

The carpeting shortage has hampered production at the Sterling Heights Assembly in Michigan, Toledo North in Ohio and Brampton Assembly in Ontario.

Read more »

Another Month, Another Delay: Alfa Romeo Won't Come to the States Until 2013, Cancels SUV Plans

In what has become something of a joke for those closely following the Fiat Group's plans to re-introduce Alfa Romeo to the States, the Milanese firm's CEO Harald Wester told journalists in Frankfurt that the company has once again pushed back the U.S. presentation of several key models.

Wester also said that Alfa Romeo has canceled plans to build a mid-sized SUV at Chrysler Group's factory in Ohio. Read more »

Brand New Chrysler Group Cars Driven at Warp Speed

While we are no strangers to offbeat incidents involving new cars and transporters, we'll admit that we've never seen anything like this – that is, if the video you're about to watch is original and has not been altered in any way as understandably, we can't be 100 per cent sure.

The clip appears to have been shot by someone standing on the top level of a double decker transporter train and it shows five allegedly brand new vehicles (all Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, if we're not mistaken) shooting out of the deck at warp speed.

The surroundings suggest the train is located at a parking lot terminal. Follow the break to watch the video for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments area below.

VIDEO

Read more In Cars

IAA 2011: Lancia Displays its Stars and Stripes in Frankfurt

If anything else, and with a few exceptions such as the Ypsilon supermini, the aging Musa and the Delta compact hatchback, Lancia's range is beginning to look eerily similar to that of the Chrysler brand.

At this week's 64th International Auto Show in Frankfurt, the Italian company displayed its entire lineup including the Thema sedan, Flavia Cabrio and the Voyager MPV, which are rebadged versions of the Chrysler 300, 200 Convertible and Town & Country respectively.

Read more »

Brand New Chrysler Group Cars Driven at Warp Speed out of Transporter Train…

While we are no strangers to offbeat incidents involving new cars and transporters, we'll admit that we've never seen anything like this – that is, if the video you're about to watch is original and has not been altered in any way as understandably, we can't be 100 per cent sure.

The clip appears to have been shot by someone standing on the top level of a double decker transporter train and it shows five allegedly brand new vehicles (all Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs, if we're not mistaken) shooting out of the deck at warp speed.

The surroundings suggest the train is located at a parking lot terminal. Follow the break to watch the video for yourself and tell us what you think in the comments area below.

Read more »

Chrysler to Sell Fiat Doblo in the U.S. and Canada under the Ram Brand

In a move that perhaps shows more than anything else how intertwined the automotive industry is today, the Fiat and Chrysler Alliance announced today plans to sell the Fiat Doblo van in the U.S. and Canadian markets under the Ram brand.

You may recall that GM's European division Opel, will debut its own rebadged version of the Fiat Doblo called the Combo at next week's Frankfurt Motor Show .

Read more »

Jeep Launches Special Edition 2012 Wrangler "Call of Duty:MW3"

The Chrysler Group has once again collaborated with the makers of the popular Call of Duty gaming franchise for the development of a special edition version of its Jeep Wrangler.

The new model is based on the 2012 Jeep Wrangler powered by the 285HP 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 and is dedicated to the upcoming game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (abbreviated as MW3), which will be the third chapter in the Modern Warfare series, and the eighth Call of Duty installment.

Read more »

Report: Fiat Group Mulling to Build Jeep and Alfa Romeo SUVs in the U.S. Instead of Italy

If there's one car company that's notorious for making promises and/or premature announcements on decisions only to have the projects cancelled, delayed, altered, or even postponed for years (Alfa Romeo's return to the U.S. is a typical example), it's the Fiat Group.

In late 2010, the Italian company that also controls the Chrysler Group, revealed plans to update its Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, in order to produce larger segment passenger cars and SUVs for the Jeep and Alfa Romeo brands.

Less than a year after the announcement, Bloomberg is now reporting that Fiat is considering moving planned production of the upcoming Jeep and Alfa Romeo SUV models from Turin to a factory in North America, due to the strengthening euro against the dollar.

Read more »

Lancia Flavia Cabrio Coming to Frankfurt Show

The Fiat Group may have exhibited both the sedan and convertible variants of the Chrysler 200 re-branded as the Lancia Flavia at the Geneva Salon in March, but at the Frankfurt Motor Show, the Italians will only bring the open top model.
Citing inside sources from the Fiat Group,Autonews reported that only the convertible version of the Flavia will make it into production as the cost of adding an essential diesel engine wiped out the business case for the sedan model in Europe.
Fiat insiders claim that while the absence of a diesel option would kill any chances of success for the saloon, the convertible can attract buyers with a gasoline-engine only.
At the Frankfurt show, the Lancia Fulvia Convertible will be displayed with a 2.4-liter gasoline engine that generates 175-horsepower and is hooked up to a 6-speed automatic transmission.
Lancia said that its version of the Chrysler 200 Convertible comes with a "wealth of standard equipment" including leather upholstery, electronic stability control (ESC) and traction, numerous airbags (front multi-stage, side and window bags), the Uconnect multimedia system complete with satellite navigation system, and a “Boston Acoustic Sound System.

PHOTO GALLERY

Read more In Cars