2005 Pt Cruiser Conv Touring Edition Charcoal Gray Black Top And Interior on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler exec talks up the future of fuel cells

When it comes to a belief in the viability of electric vehicles, you can put automotive folks like Nissan's Carlos Ghosn and Tesla Motors' Elon Musk on one side of the proverbial wall and Fiat Chrysler Chief Technology Officer Harald Wester on the other. Because while the two former executives are staking much of their companies' respective future on plug-in electric drivetrain technology, Wester sees no such future in it at all, according to an interview in Motor Trend. Oh, sure, the Fiat Chrysler technology chief does give the idea of an electrified powertrain some quarter, saying he sees standard hybrids as a solution for the "intermediate" future in addressing both higher gas prices and need to meet progressively more stringent European greenhouse gas-emissions standards. But Wester, who also oversees Fiat Chrysler's Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, ultimately views hydrogen fuel-cell technology as the way to go for advanced powertrains and minimal emissions. As for battery-electric vehicles? Wester pretty much shoots them, citing everything from a typical EV battery's weight to the challenge of finding electric recharging stations to the fact that much of the electricity needed for those cars is produced via CO2-emitting sources. He forgot to say anything about the CO2 required to bring gasoline or hydrogen to market. Wester's "bah humbug" is actually pretty consistent with the company's party line. Last year, Fiat Chrysler head honcho Sergio Marchionne, in an interview, famously told the general public not to buy the Fiat 500e electric vehicle. That's because he estimated that the company takes a $14,000 loss on each unit sold of Fiat Chrysler's only production EV. News Source: Motor Trend via Green Car Reports Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Hydrogen Cars harald wester

2015 Chrysler 200 looks to put Pentastar's cars back on track [w/videos]

It's fair to say that Chrysler Corporation has been on a major perception upswing with its new products, but that rise has largely been centered around its trucks and utility vehicles - the car side has been somewhat left out. The outgoing 200 (previously skinned as the Sebring) never garnered any laurels, the Dart has suffered a rather cool reception both critically and in terms of sales, the second-gen 300 is a nice car yet it hasn't sold as well as its predecessor, and even the mighty SRT Viper has had its V10 bark muted by the less costly and multi-talented Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Resurgent Chrysler could use a hit car, and the 2015 200 may just be it.
It looks great here under the lights at the Detroit Auto Show.
For one thing, it looks great here under the lights at the Detroit Auto Show. Eschewing today's oversized headlamp and grille trend, the sleek 200 (with a coefficient of drag of just .27) displays a 'four-door coupe' sensibility with a sense of style that the old 200 with its gawky greenhouse and forced details never did. The new 200's exterior may look a bit like a greatest hits compendium of other high-style cars (see also: Audi A7, Tesla Model S, etc.), but it doesn't come off as a pastiche, it's all well-integrated and organic all the same.

Chrysler recalling 31k SUVs and vans

Chrysler is issuing recalls covering roughly 31,700 vehicles worldwide due to two separate problems. In both cases the company believes that most of the affected vehicles are either still on, or in transit to, dealer lots.
One recall covers roughly 10,700 Dodge Durango, Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT models from the 2014 model year built between January 16 and April 17, 2014. The SUVs need a software update for the cruise control. It's possible that when the cruise is on and the driver presses on the throttle, the acceleration could last a second after the pedal is released or two seconds for the SRT. Afterward, they return to the speed originally set by the driver.
Chrysler says it isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or even reported incidents of this happening in the real world. Also, in all cases, if the driver presses on the brake, the cruise shuts off. The automaker believes that there are about 6,100 affected SUVs in the US, 950 in Canada, 425 in Mexico and 3,200 outside of North America. The software upgrade will be ready shortly, the company says.