2002 Chrysler Sebring Lxi Convertible 2-door 2.7l on 2040-cars

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Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

Prosecutors indict three FCA employees in alleged emissions-cheating case

Federal prosecutors indicted three Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA, now Stellantis) employees as part of an investigation into alleged emissions cheating. Charges unsealed on April 20, 2021, accuse the defendants of helping rig the emissions control system fitted to the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 used in some models during the 2010s. Prosecutors claim Emanuele Palma, Sergio Pasini, and Gianluca Sabbioni played a determining role in developing a defeat device that allowed the V6 to obtain certification from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) while polluting too much in normal driving conditions. Jeep and Ram began making the engine available in the Grand Cherokee and the 1500, respectively, in 2014, but the charges state plans to game the EPA started in 2011. Palma, Pasini, and Sabbioni knowingly mislead federal regulators, the charges claim; they called it "cycle beating," according to The Detroit News. While the three men were part of FCA's research and development department, they started the project while working for an Italian supplier named VM Motori, which FCA purchased in 2013. Pasini and Sabbioni are each charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to violate the Clean Air Act, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and six counts of violating the Clean Air Act. They could spend several years behind bars if they're found guilty. Both are currently in their home country of Italy. Palma's legal troubles are more serious. He was charged with several counts in September 2019, though four wire fraud charges were dropped in November 2020. He lives in Bloomfield Hills, a city located on the far outskirts of Detroit. Prosecutors claim motorists spent over $4 billion on over 100,000 trucks and SUVs fitted with the non-compliant engine between January 2013 and September 2017. FCA has already agreed to pay $800 million to resolve civil claims from the Justice Department, state officials and customers, though it significantly has not admitted guilt. It stressed that "it did not engage in any deliberate scheme to install defeat devices to cheat emissions tests."

Junkyard Gem: 1993 Plymouth Sundance Duster

When Chrysler introduced the Plymouth Duster for the 1970 model year, it was a sporty-looking fastback coupe version of the Valiant, itself a twin to the Dodge Dart. The Duster looked cool, didn't cost much, and could be very quick with the right powertrain choices; it stayed in production until the Valiant got the axe in 1976. A few years later, the Duster name went onto a coupe version of the Plymouth Volare, and then the middle 1980s saw the Turismo Duster and its legendary "Cocaine Factory" television commercial. The very last use of the Plymouth Duster name took place during the 1992 through 1994 model years, when the name was applied to a factory-hot-rod version of the Sundance. That's what we've got for today's Junkyard Gem: a purple '93 found in a Denver self-service yard. Because this was the early 1990s, the Sundance Duster got a full complement of dramatic-looking decals in bright colors. Just as was the case with its Valiant, Volare, and Turismo predecessors, the underlying model name itself was downplayed on the car's badging. In fact, the only place I could find the word Sundance was on the dash and in the owner's manual. While technically hatchbacks, the Sundance and its Dodge-badged twin (the Shadow) had a three-box shape that hid frumpy hatchback lines. Sort of a trunk, sort of a hatch, like the hatchback-coupe Chevy Novas of the late 1970s. That made this car a hot hatch, and one that could keep up with the likes of the Volkswagen GTI and Geo Storm GSi. The 3.0-liter Mitsubishi 6G72 V6 engine made 141 horsepower, making this 2,727-pound member of the K-Car family very quick for its cheap sticker price of $10,498 (about $19,360 today). This one even has the five-speed manual transmission, for lots of tire-squealing, torque-steering fun. I've seen a few of these cars on race tracks, and they have no problem reeling in a same-era GTI on a road course. Of course, the 6G72 likes to blow up in spectacular fashion when abused, but you could— and should— say the same about 16-valve Volkswagen engines. The Sundance/Shadow got the axe after 1994, when the Neon appeared as a more modern replacement; that meant the end of Lee Iacocca's Chrysler-rescuing K family in North America. This car started out in Denver and will be crushed in Denver. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.