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2015 Chrysler 200 nets 10,000 orders in first day

Chrysler is having a "crazy impressive" launch for its 2015 200, claims company spokesperson Rick Deneau. Within the first two days of opening the order books, the Pentastar took over 17,000 requests for its swoopy new family sedan - 10,000 of them in the first day. The company says that's enough to keep its Sterling Heights, MI, factory running at full capacity through mid-July.
Deneau tells Autoblog that the last time he saw such an immediate popularity for a model was when Ram launched its 1500 EcoDiesel pickup. That truck sold out of its initial order allocation in just three days earlier this year. As you'd expect, "most of these are dealer orders," Deneau admits. In other words, they're not necessarily coming at the behest of individual customer, but that's standard operating procedure as dealers look to fill up their showrooms.
For the moment, it's too early to know which trim or engine will prove most popular in the new 200. At present, most of the ordered models are highly optioned. That's normal for a new vehicle launch, as early adopters tend to want all the bells and whistles and dealers want to show off their new stock by putting their best foot forward.

Court ruling to delay Fiat's Chrysler buyout?

We've already reported on the attempts of Fiat to purchase the remaining 41.5-percent stake in Chrysler, currently owned by the United Auto Workers' VEBA healthcare trust. And while the issues still aren't resolved, Fiat has received both a bit of good news and a bit of bad news from a Delaware judge.
The good news is that the court ruled in favor on two key arguments of Fiat's, relating to what is a fair price for the Chrysler shares. The rulings essentially slash half a billion dollars off the price of the 54,000 shares owned by VEBA, according to a report from Reuters.
The bad news is that this makes the UAW an even more difficult opponent in negotiations. Its VEBA fund is meant to cover ever escalating retiree healthcare costs, so naturally, the UAW wants to get as much money as possible. Losing a big chunk of cash isn't likely to make the union more cooperative.

NHTSA investigating Harman Kardon for software vulnerabilities

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating infotainment units from Harman Kardon, which produces FCA's Uconnect, to determine if Harman Kardon systems used by other companies are also vulnerable to hackings. Researchers discovered a hole in the cellular connection to the Uconnect infotainment in a Jeep Cherokee. They were able to exploit it to gain access to the vehicle's brakes, radio, and other systems. In the wake of the hack, FCA pledged to send out 1.4 million USB drives to update the software. Politicians also attacked the automaker for not reporting the problem sooner, and NHTSA opened an investigation to find whether the fix worked. INVESTIGATION Subject : Software security vulnerability Date Investigation Opened: JUL 29, 2015 Date Investigation Closed: Open NHTSA Action Number: EQ15005 Component(s): EQUIPMENT All Products Associated with this Investigation Equipment Brand Name Part No. or Model No.Production Dates HARMAN KARDON R3R4 - Details Manufacturer: HARMAN INTERNATIONAL SUMMARY: On July 23, 2015, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) submitted a safety recall report to NHTSA concerning a software security defect condition in approximately 1.4 million model year (MY) 2013 through 2015 vehicles equipped with Uconnect 8.4A (RA3) and 8.4AN (RA4) radios manufactured by Harman Kardon (Recall 15V-461). According to FCA, software security vulnerabilities in the recalled vehicles could allow unauthorized third-party access to, and manipulation of, networked vehicle control systems. Unauthorized access or manipulation of the vehicle control systems could reduce the driver?s control of the vehicle increasing the risk of a crash with an attendant increased risk of injury to the driver, other vehicle occupants, and other vehicles and their occupants within proximity to the affected vehicle. This EQ is being opened to obtain information from the supplier of Chrysler Uconnect units to determine the nature and extent of similarities in other infotainment products provided to other vehicle manufacturers. If sufficient similarities exist, the investigation will examine if there is cause for concern that security issues exist in other Harman Kardon products. Related Video: