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2017 Chrysler Pacifica scores near top on minivan mpg

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica gets 28 miles per gallon fuel economy on the highway, 18 mpg city, and 22 mpg combined, according to the government's newly announced estimates. Those figures compare well to the 2016 Town & Country's EPA rating of 25 mpg highway, 17 mpg city, and 20 mpg combined. They also make the new minivan among the most efficient models in its class, although not quite the king. These fuel economy figures only apply to the 2017 Pacifica with the 3.6-liter V6, which makes 287 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque, and the nine-speed automatic. We will have to wait until the second half of the year to find out how the plug-in hybrid performs, but the brand believes at least 80 MPGe is possible. Chrysler also plans to make stop-start available later, which will increase real-world fuel numbers. Compared to the currently on-sale competitors, the 2017 Pacifica is among the top, but there are two clear rivals. The 2016 Honda Odyssey has EPA ratings of 28/19/22. Those figures match the Chrysler on the highway and combined, but beat it by one mpg in the city. The other challenger is the 2016 Nissan Quest at 27/20/23. The Nissan wins by two mpg in the city and one mpg combined, but the Pacifica wins by one on the highway. According to Fueleconomy.gov, the front-wheel drive Toyota Sienna and Kia Sedona match the Pacifica's 18 mpg city rating, but they can't beat its combined or highway numbers. Related Video: All-new Gasoline-powered 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Offers Unsurpassed Fuel Economy, Greener Ownership Experience 28-mpg highway unsurpassed in minivan segment; 12 percent better than model it replaces Combined-cycle rating of 22 mpg is 10 percent better Improved fuel efficiency contributes to nine-percent reduction in Global Warming Potential (GWP) All-new Pacifica's superior performance attributable to engineering enhancements, such as: Upgraded version of award-winning Pentastar V-6 TorqueFlite transmission; world's first minivan application of nine-speed automatic gearbox Best-in-class aerodynamics Aggressive weight-reduction strategies March 8, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The all-new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan has earned a highway-cycle fuel-economy rating of 28 miles per gallon (mpg) from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) – a benchmark unsurpassed by any minivan on the market. It is also 12 percent better than the vehicle Pacifica replaces.

Mopar teases four of 'nearly 20' SEMA Show concepts

Yesterday it was Chevrolet. Today, Mopar has dropped some SEMA knowledge, releasing a quartet of teaser images that give us some indication of what kind of cars, trucks, and crossovers Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram will be showing in Las Vegas. Like Chevy, Mopar's concepts utilize both production and concept accessories, although Fiat Chrysler has gone a bit more indepth on at least one of its concepts. Immediately, the most tantalizing teaser is the one shown above. Yes, that's the back of a Challenger, and aside from the bright orange accents on the gray body, you should take notice of the badge mounted on the spoiler – yes, that says "GT AWD." To be honest, such a vehicle wouldn't be a huge shock, as both the Challenger's LX platform-mates, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300, are offered with all-wheel-drive options. Still, adding such a vehicle to the production cycle would give Dodge a leg up on the rear-drive only Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. Aside from that concept, FCA has also released teasers of a Ram-based concept, a 300-based concept, and what we're guessing is a Fiat 500X. We can't wait to see what the actual Fiat concept has to do with kiteboarding. As for the 300 and Ram, there's not a lot of hints on what sort of styling details they'll contain. The Chrysler has additional LED accents and what we're guessing is matte blue paint, while the Ram is based on a Hemi-powered 1500 with Rebel styling cues. This is just a very tiny sample of Mopar's final SEMA roster, which include "hundreds" of parts. There should also be a total of 20 vehicles covering all four former Chrysler Group brands, as well as Fiat. Naturally, we'll have plenty to report on each vehicle once the SEMA show kicks off in the next couple weeks.

Pickup prices rising at 2x industry average

We've said it before, but bears repeating: Pickup trucks are the financial engines of America's automakers. Good thing, then, that the segment is in rude health - in fact, Automotive News is suggesting that pickup truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, even though the segment's volume is still significantly down from where it was before the bottom fell out of the US economy. That's because per-unit profits on full-size trucks are skyrocketing, outpacing the industry's average price increases by more than double since 2005. According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a full-size pickup is now $39,915 - a heady increase over the $31,059 average price in 2005 - a gain of over 8 percent after inflation is factored in.
Just how important are trucks to automakers' bottom lines? Automotive News quotes a Morgan Stanley analyst as saying the Ford F-Series is responsible for 90 percent of the company's 2012 profits, and General Motors isn't far behind, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins chipping in about two-thirds of the automaker's earnings.
Automotive News points out that Detroit's automakers now have the money to invest in modernizing their full-size truck offerings, in part because they don't have the same overhead and legacy costs that pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Certainly, the pickup segment has seen a lot of innovations as of late, including turbocharged V6s, coil-spring rear suspensions and active aero. Those improvements in important areas like fuel economy and ride comfort have given existing pickup buyers new reasons to upgrade. In addition, automakers are piling on the tech and luxury goodies, creating more and more high-content, high-profit models like the Ford F-150 King Ranch, Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn and Chevrolet Silverado High Country (shown).