2023 Chrysler 300 Series Touring on 2040-cars

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2015 Chrysler 200S AWD

I love road trips. Honestly, one of the best parts about this job is the freedom we're given to experience the open road, whether at new car launches or while bombing around with whatever we're testing on our home turf. But the longer-form road trip is equally special to me, and it's something I'm always eager to do. Air travel stinks - that's not news. So if I can drive, I will. And without our dear TSA to fight with, I can pack all the chainsaws and gallon jugs of chocolate milk that I want.
So when it came time to attend the 2014 New York Auto Show this past April, I thought, "Why not drive?" Typically, the route from downtown Detroit to Manhattan is something like 10 hours, but I decided to bake some extra time into the journey and planned for the vast majority of my travels to be off the beaten path. Doing the "avoid expressways" route allows you to see parts of America you've never encountered before, and to meet people with stories and opinions that you've never heard. It's a great way to travel if you have the time. There's something uniquely serene about seeing the country in a great car on a great road.
Let's talk about that "great car" line for a moment. Ideally, long stretches of backroads are best done in something fast, comfortable and involving - a Porsche 911 comes to mind. Or, another school of thought says to pick some fun little spitfire like the always-lovely Mazda MX-5 Miata, for top-down, sun-drenched fun. But for this trip, I chose the 2015 Chrysler 200, in fully loaded S guise with all-wheel drive. Now, settle down; I'm not about to compare it to either the Porsche or Mazda. The point I'm making is this: after 1,500 test miles under my butt, I can emphatically state that the new 200 is indeed a great car in its own right.

Almost 70 percent of FCA-PSA Groupe models to ride on two PSA platforms

With the merger between PSA Groupe and Fiat Chrysler having been officially announced this week, we still don't know where everything will settle once the process concludes. We covered the catalog of models herded by the combined company's 12 brands, all of which will remain for now. Profound changes must be afoot somewhere, though, else there'd be no reason for the tie-up. Automotive News has a report on one of the big moves, writing that "more than two-thirds of [PSA-FCA] production would be concentrated on just two platforms." Around 2.6 million cars built by the combined company would sit on PSA's Common Modular Platform, also known as the EMP1, for B-segment city cars, entry-level and mid-range C-segment sedans, and compact crossovers. Three million vehicles would ride on the EMP2 architecture intended for C- and D-segment cars and higher-end crossovers. Those figures account for around 5.6 of the 8.7 million vehicles the combined company expects to sell annually. AN didn't mention the Giorgio platform that's already spread throughout the FCA kingdom to support numerous current and future offerings like the next-gen Jeep Grand Cherokee, but did write that "larger Jeep models will continue to use FCA underpinnings." The body-on-frame chassis' under Ram trucks and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator should hold pat. We'll wait for word on the fate of the Compact U.S. Wide platform carrying the Chrysler Voyager and Pacifica and Jeep Cherokee. Dodge products with questionable futures are anyone's guess; we've heard the Dodge Durango, still built on a Mercedes-derived platform it shares with the current Grand Cherokee, could go body-on-frame for the next generation, or die and have the Giorgio-based, three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee take its place. More mystery comes with the long-lived LA and LD platforms in the big sedan and coupe trio Chrysler and Dodge still milk quite successfully. And if there were ever a time for the Dodge Journey – last reported as a Giorgio recipient – to modernize or die, we don't know when that time is. Although FCA platforms have been designed with alternative powertrains in mind, AN says the PSA Groupe architectures "are more modern than FCA's equivalent platforms." After PSA acquired GM's Opel/Vauxhall division, the French company didn't waste time moving the Anglo-German products to in-house platforms, helping to put the formerly money-losing operations into the black in just 18 months.

Small number of 2013 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger models recalled

A small number of units of the 2013 Chrysler 200 (inset) and 2013 Dodge Avenger are being recalled over a broken control valve in the fuel tank assembly. The potential 1,785 sedans were manufactured late last year, and if affected with a broken control valve could suffer from stalling or fuel leakage.
A bulletin from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration notes that the recall should begin next month, at which time owners can take their cars to dealers for repair free of charge. The full release with more information is just below.