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Chrysler taking big risk snubbing NHTSA

Maker Insists Feds Overstate Risk Of Fires With Grand Cherokee, Liberty Models
It's not often that recall stories make it above the fold, in that old newspaper parlance, but when one shows up as the lead story on the network evening news programs, you know it's something big.
And so it is with Chrysler snubbing its nose at a request by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to recall 2.7 million Jeeps the feds insist are at risk of potentially catastrophic fuel tank fires in a rear-end collision.

Junkyard Gem: 1977 Chrysler Cordoba with Corinthian Leather

The Chrysler Cordoba has become emblematic of an era full of underpowered, overdecorated Detroit land yachts, stuffed with plasticky heraldic crests and allusions to classy European vacation destinations. In fact, the 1975-1979 Cordoba was a pretty decent car by the standards of Malaise Era America, based on the same well-proven (if increasingly antiquated) platform used by the '69 Charger and the Plymouth Superbird, and it sold like crazy. Of course, what we remember these days is the name of the optional leather upholstery used in the Cordoba. Yes, soft ( not rich) Corinthian leather, which was a brilliant marketing name given to a cheap grade of leather from Newark, NJ. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Naturally, we must now watch the 1975 TV commercial that started it all. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The Corinthian Leather jokes began quite soon after the Cordoba went on sale, as we can see in this 1980s Ricardo Montalban interview. This car, which I photographed a couple of weeks ago in a San Francisco Bay Area self-service wrecking yard is completely used up, and it shows signs of having spent a good decade or two abandoned in a field somewhere. Still, from the purple paint to the once-snazzy "leather" landau roof (note the molded-in stitches) to the "golden" (plastic, in fact) Cordoba medallions on the taillights, door panels, and steering wheel, the Cordoba was the closest thing to the "Super Fly" Cadillac you could buy new from Detroit. This one has the LA-series 360-cubic-inch V8 engine, which made 155 horsepower. That's 23 fewer horses than the weakest engine you can get in the US-market 2017 Toyota Camry... but try getting a Camry with soft Corinthian Leather! Related Video: Featured Gallery Junked 1977 Chrysler Cordoba View 32 Photos Auto News Chrysler Automotive History question of the day malaise era chrysler cordoba

Michigan ponders its automotive future in the connected age

Few people take cars more seriously than Michiganders. I've been to the home of BMW in Germany. I've been to Kia's HQ in Korea. I've seen Honda's goods in Japan. No one, from the factory worker to the executive in her pinstriped suit, is more obsessed with cars than Michigan Inc. That's why it was interesting this week to see the state have a moment of introspection four hours north of the Motor City on a scenic island called Mackinac. Ironically, cars are not allowed here. Normally a tourist trap, it played placed host to the Mackinac Public Policy conference this week. While politics took center stage ( I may be the only person here not considering a run for governor) the evolution of the industry through connectivity and data was a theme of the conference. If you're reading this in New York, Silicon Valley, or one of the automotive heartlands listed above, you do care about this. If Michigan rethinks its approach to the car business – and makes moves to become more competitive – that affects you the consumer and enthusiast. It's jobs. It's technology, and it's a competition to see who's going to be the leader. More than a century after Henry Ford made mass production a thing, more than 70 years after Detroit's Arsenal of Democracy helped win World War II, and nearly a decade after the historic bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler, the car business is on solid footing again and looking to the future. What's next? Michigan is still home to thousands of auto workers, tech centers (including gleaming facilities built by Toyota and Hyundai), and the headquarters of the three American carmakers. Just because the economy is good doesn't mean it's a given connected cars and mobility advancements are going to come from this state. A lot of it's not. Tesla, Uber, Lyft, Faraday Future, and other transportation mediums have spouted up other places. Michigan leaders and Detroit's carmakers understand this reality. Reflecting on the past means admitting the future is not a given, a key undertone this week in Mackinac. It's about using existing resources, like skilled labor, to move forward. "We do have the number of technicians and technical expertise here in this state," says Stephen Polk," conference chair and former CEO of auto data firm R.L. Polk & Co. To that end, Ford is placing increased emphasis on a division called Smart Mobility, which is an in-house unit focusing on autonomy, connectivity, and forward-looking ideas.