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2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Long-Term Update | Recall!

Our long-term 2018 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid has been in the fleet for about six months now and is quickly accumulating more miles than most of our long-term vehicles do in a full year. Thanks to a couple of recent road trips, one to New England and one to Florida, our Ocean Blue Metallic minivan has racked up about 15,000 miles. I personally hope we can cross the 25,000-mile mark before we're finished. The Pacifica Hybrid has garnered near universal praise from the Autoblog staff, especially those of us who have kids or pets. While it's mostly been hiccup free, one recall had us a bit on edge. NHTSA campaign number 18V740000 was issued last fall, but we didn't get the notification until early this year. Blame the delay on the weird ownership situation of long-term vehicles. NHTSA's basic description is short. "After the vehicle has been operating in PHEV propulsion mode, the gas-fueled engine may not restart properly resulting in unburned fuel entering the exhaust catalyst." Basically, the engine may not restart correctly after running in EV mode, and the fuel being fed to the engine could make its way past the exhaust manifold to the catalytic converters and ignite, possibly starting a fire. Obviously, that's bad. We scheduled a visit to the dealer as soon as we got the news. Chrysler's fix is to update the computer, visually inspect the cats and replace them if needed. We hadn't noticed any issues with the Pacifica's powertrain, and the inspection came back clean, so our Pacifica was back in our hands in a few hours. The service sheet says the left and right cats were inspected by borescope and the powertrain control module was updated. All in, the Pacifica was out of our hands for about half a day. Related Video:

Car dealership in East Texas destroyed by tornado

Few things are as fundamentally and unconditionally destructive as a tornado. These cataclysmic phenomena pass through towns, leaving nothing in their wake but ruin and despair. According to an NBC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, a car dealership in nearby Canton was hit by a tornado Saturday night. No employees were hurt. Four other people in the area weren't so lucky. Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Canton's new showroom and service center were pounded by the storm, leaving dozens of cars in various states of ruin. Some merely lost windows, while others were flipped and left on their sides or roofs. Photos show piles of cars stacked up like Hot Wheels dumped on the ground. According to a statement from the National Weather Service, winds reached speeds of up to 140 mph. Two other tornadoes were reported in the region. The area has been declared a disaster zone and first responders from up to 100 miles away have swarmed in to help out those in need. According to Reuters, the storms Saturday killed 11 people nationwide. Related Video: News Source: NBC DFW, National Weather Service, Reuters via Automotive NewsImage Credit: Reuters Chrysler Dodge Jeep RAM tornado

Fiat, PSA poised to win EU approval for $38 billion Stellantis merger

BRUSSELS/MILAN — Fiat Chrysler and PSA are set to win EU approval for their $38 billion merger to create the world's No.4 carmaker, people close to the matter said, as they strive to meet the industry's dual challenges of funding cleaner vehicles and the global pandemic. The green light from the European Commission would formalize the creation of Stellantis, a carmaking group that could tap hefty profits from selling Ram pickup trucks and Jeep SUVs to U.S. drivers to fund the expensive development of zero-emission vehicles for sale in Europe and China. The all-share merger announced late last year would unite brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Maserati with the likes of Peugeot, Opel and DS — while targeting annual cost cuts of 5 billion euros ($6 billion) without closing factories. The Commission and Italian-American group Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) declined to comment. France's PSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PSA and FCA shares reversed losses after the Reuters story was published. PSA stock was last up 2% at 16.83 euros, while FCA shares were 1.9% higher at 11.31 euros. To allay EU antitrust concerns, PSA has offered to strengthen Japanese rival Toyota Motor Corp, with which it has a van joint venture, by ramping up production and selling it vans at close to cost price, the people said. FCA and PSA will also allow their dealers in certain cities to repair rival brands. Following feedback from rivals and customers, the carmakers only had to tweak the wording of their concessions, with no changes to the substance, the people said. The companies did not have to use the COVID-19 pandemic to argue for the merger, they added. FCA and PSA have said they hope to complete the merger in the first quarter of 2021. The challenge of switching to electric cars has been complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Just last month, FCA and PSA restructured the terms of their deal to conserve cash and raised their targeted cost savings because of the economic fallout from the health crisis. The companies have said about 40% of the savings will come from product-related expenses, 40% from purchasing and 20% from other areas, such as marketing, IT and logistics.