1977 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham Hardtop 4-door 7.2l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Which car companies are creating new jobs in America?

Since January, automakers have announced investments totaling $9.5 billion in U.S. plants, creating or retaining more than 12,000 jobs. Some of those companies have yet to announce just how many jobs will be created given their investments, with the location of many of those jobs still to be determined. Specifically, the 4,000-job Toyota-Mazda joint venture plant still hasn't announced its location, with numerous states jockeying for it. Hyundai has plans to invest $1 billion but has not announced a jobs number yet. And likewise Ford is investing $1.2 billion in Michigan without specifying a number of jobs. Volvo this week announced plans to add a second line to its factory under construction in South Carolina, spending another $500 million and adding 2,500 jobs to the 2,000 it was already trying to fill. Then Thursday, Daimler announced a $1 billion expansion to its facility in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to produce EV batteries and electric SUVs, a move that will add 600 jobs to its hiring this year. Above, we've created a handy pie chart showing you which companies have announced new jobs and how many there will be. Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit News Source: Reuters Plants/Manufacturing BMW Chrysler Ford GM Honda Hyundai Mazda Mercedes-Benz Toyota Volvo jobs

Worker crushed to death at FCA's Jefferson North Assembly Plant [UPDATE]

Tragedy has struck a Fiat Chrysler factory. According to emerging reports, a worker was killed at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant early this morning in Detroit. The incident reportedly occurred in the waste water treatment facility at the plant, just after 7 a.m. this morning. The 53-year-old worker, whose name has not yet been released, is said to have been crushed in a press and was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident is currently under investigation to determine the exact circumstances. Jefferson North is where FCA assembles the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango. The plant is located on Conner Street near East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. We've reached out to FCA US for the official statement, and will update you as soon as more details are available. Our condolences go out to the late worker's family and friends. UPDATE: Official statement from FCA added below. FCA US has had a tragic accident at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant during the first shift this morning. A plant employee died at the waste water treatment plant. The Company is currently working with local officials to investigate the incident. The name of the employee is not being released at this time. All of the FCA family extends its deepest sympathies to the employee's family during this difficult time.

Jeep Cherokee faces on-sale delay

A report in The Wall Street Journal looks at some of the obstacles to the 2014 Jeep Cherokee that go beyond its mootable yet "very contemporary" looks, almost all of them based on Fiat's financial position. Starting with that sheetmetal, in defense of it SRT president Ralph Gilles and Jeep design head Mark Allen said they wanted to "make sure the design still looks modern five years from now."
The WSJ piece doesn't cite longevity as a factor, instead saying that its features originated in a design for an Alfa Romeo, the transformation into a Jeep design meant allowing Chrysler get it to market more quickly and save "hundreds of millions of dollars" in engineering.
The need for Fiat to save money while it weathers the European situation has cut budgets for development, engineering and the pace of retooling the Toledo, Ohio plant to build the Cherokee. In a familiar case of snowballing at work, among the effects will be pushing back the Cherokee's volume sales date and delaying updates to some of Chrysler's other products.