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25,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango SUVs recalled over brake feel

Chrysler has announced that it is recalling over 25,000 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs from several markets over concerns about brake feel under hard braking. The affected models are from the 2012 and 2013 model years, although the actual dates of production aren't available. 18,700 are in the US, while 825 are in Canada, 530 are in Mexico and a further 5,200 outside of North America.
According to a statement, Chrysler was informed of the issue by a component supplier for the Ready Alert Braking system, which primes the brakes in anticipation of an emergency stop. A component in the system was restricting the flow of brake fluid too much.
As Chrysler is quick to point out, the way the brakes functioned was in compliance with regulations and there are no reported cases of drivers losing braking power. Instead, the issue rests with what Chrysler calls a pedal feel that "was not consistent with customer expectations." So it would seem Chrysler is being proactive and fixing a problem not because there's a legal issue at work, but simply because it doesn't feel the way the manufacturer wants it to. Well done.

FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?

Fiat/PSA's dominance in small vans hangs up EU's merger approval

BRUSSELS — EU antitrust regulators are concerned about Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot / PSA's combined high market share in small vans and may require concessions to clear their $50 billion merger, people familiar with the matter said. The companies, which are seeking to create the world's fourth biggest carmaker, were told of the European Commission's concerns last week. If Fiat and PSA fail to dispel the European Commission's doubts in the next two days and subsequently decline to offer concessions by Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, the deal would face a four-month-long investigation. The EU competition enforcer, which has set a June 17 deadline for its preliminary review, declined to comment. Fiat was not immediately available for comment while PSA had no immediate comment. Hiving off overlapping businesses, usually a regulatory demand to ensure more competition, could prove tricky for the carmakers because of the technicalities. Fiat and PSA are looking to merge to help offset slowing demand and shoulder the cost of making cleaner vehicles to meet tougher emissions regulations. The deal puts under one roof the Italian carmaker's brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Maserati and the French company's Peugeot, Opel and DS. Related Video: Government/Legal Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Opel Peugeot