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FCA and Cummins named in diesel emissions class-action lawsuit

Chrysler is now the first United States-based carmaker to be sued for allegedly skewing emissions results. In a move that sounds eerily similar to the troubles of European manufacturers, Chrysler is claimed to have hid diesel engine characteristics causing emissions as much as 14 times higher than permitted by regulations. According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit alleges that Chrysler, together with its diesel engine partner Cummins, has concealed the nitrogen oxide output of certain Ram vehicles produced between 2007 and 2012. The NOx pollutants were meant to be broken down in a process called regeneration in the truck's NAC system, or NOx Absorption Catalyst, which predated the 2013-introduced SCR, or Selective Catalytic Reduction system. By design, the NAC captures and stores NOx emissions, converting them to nitrogen and oxygen through a catalytic process. The lawsuit claims the Cummins engine's system has a limited capacity to store the emissions, and as a result the pollutants escape, increasing emissions, worsening fuel consumption and wearing down the catalytic converter. The later, cleaner SCR system uses a urea-water injection, and it gradually replaced the NAC on Cummins 6.7-liter engines, as it was first implemented in 2011 and made standard in 2013. As Bloomberg notes, the model years of Ram trucks involved in the lawsuit predate the earliest Volkswagen "Dieselgate" models by two years. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 500,000 truck owners, accuses Chrysler and Cummins of fraud, false advertising and racketeering. As an underlying motive, the filing mentions a 2001 change in EPA emissions standards. Announced to become effective in 2010, the EPA requirements drove Chrysler and Cummins to try and reach those already by 2007. However, the NAC system is said to have fallen short of these goals, and the filing claims that Chrysler and Cummins chose to "rig" the engines instead. The affected vehicles predate the 2014 merger of Chrysler and Fiat. FCA US has released a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying it will contest the lawsuit "vigorously". News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Getty Editorial Government/Legal Green Chrysler Dodge RAM Emissions Diesel Vehicles FCA cummins diesel

Dodge Charger and Challenger go Plum Crazy for Woodward Dream Cruise

Dodge will be rolling through a purple haze at the 2015 Woodward Dream Cruise on August 15 with the reintroduction of Plum Crazy to the color options on most trims of the 2016 Challenger and Charger. To premiere the latest use of the wild shade, the brand's display at the annual Detroit-area automotive event will be showing off violet versions of the 2016 Dodge Challenger 392 Hemi Scat Pack Shaker and Charger R/T Scat Pack. The brash tone originally debuted in 1970, but Dodge has kept the lavender hue special in recent years by limiting the option to specific trims. It was last offered during the 2014 model year on R/T and SRT trims of the two vehicles. Practically any buyer will be able to go Plum Crazy if they want. On the Challenger, the color will be available on the SXT Plus, R/T models, Hemi Scat Pack Shaker, SRT 392, and SRT Hellcat trims. The choices for the Charger will be similarly broad, including the SXT when ordered with 20-inch wheels, R/T versions, SRT 392, and SRT Hellcat. Customers desperately wanting a vehicle in the insanely violet shade will be able to place the first orders in September, and dealers will get the chance from October through the end of the year. Production of the lavender muscle cars will then commence in November. Dodge Debuts Plum Crazy Heritage Hue for 2016 Challenger and Charger at Woodward Dream Cruise, Provides Collector-demanded Production Numbers for High-impact Paint Colors New 2016 Dodge Challenger 392 HEMI Scat Pack Shaker and Charger R/T Scat Pack Models in Plum Crazy Will Be Shown at the Dodge Display at 13 Mile and Woodward Ave in Royal Oak, Mich.

Legacy Classic Power Wagon First Drive

Shortly before the US entered World War II, Dodge supplied the military with a line of pickups internally codenamed WC, those letters designating the year 1941 and the half-ton payload rating. From 1941 to 1945 Dodge built more than a quarter million of them, and even though "WC" came to refer to the Weapons Carrier body style, the WC range served in 38 different configurations from pickup trucks to ambulances to six-wheeled personnel and weapons haulers. The story is that soldiers returning from active duty badgered Dodge for a civilian version of that indefatigable warhorse, so Dodge responded with the Power Wagon in 1946. Even for those no-nonsense times the truck was so austere that the first three names Dodge gave it were "Farm Utility Truck," "WDX General Purpose Truck," and "General Purpose, One Ton Truck." "Power Wagon" was the fourth choice, not finalized until just before it went on sale. Nothing like today's Power Wagon, the original could be seen as either a glorified tractor or a slightly less uncouth military vehicle – hell-for-leather meant going 50 miles per hour. But it would go nearly anywhere. The civilian version was still built like it had to survive, well, a world war; power take-offs (PTOs) ran all manner of ancillaries; multiplicative gear ratios helped it produce enough torque to make an earthquake envious. Said to be the first civilian 4x4 truck made in America, any organization that needed a simple, sturdy mechanized draught animal knew it needed a Power Wagon. If history, the aura of war, and ruthless functionality attract you but mean comforts and 70-year-old manners don't, then you need to get in touch with Legacy Classic Trucks. If that history, the aura of war, and the ruthless functionality attract you but the mean comforts and 70-year-old manners don't, then you need to get in touch with Legacy Classic Trucks. The Jackson Hole, WY, restorer retains every ounce of the Power Wagon's orchard-work aptitude, decorated with present-day amenities and the best components. Each job starts with having to find a usable donor. The city of Breckenridge, CO, bought the red truck in our gallery in 1947 and used it as a snowplow for the next 30 years. In 1977 a log-home builder bought it from the city and used it for another decade as a company hauler. That's the kind of grueling longevity that lets Ram put a five-figure premium on the 2500 Power Wagon pickup it sells today. Legacy Classics founder Winslow S.