2003 Dodge Ram 2500 Quad Cab 4x4 Truck With Fisher Minute Mount Plow on 2040-cars

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Chrysler, Nissan minivans earn 'dire' crash test results, says IIHS [w/video]

First introduced in 2012, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small-overlap frontal crash test has become the bane of many auto engineers' existence. It's a particularly steep design challenge because it forces just 25 percent of a vehicle's front end to take the brunt of a 40-mile-per-hour impact. The newly released results of four family-minded minivans underscore just how difficult the crash test is: only one scored an Acceptable rating, and the other three did very poorly. The 2008-2015 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, plus the 2011-2015 Nissan Quest, all received Poor ratings in the test, the IIHS' lowest possible score. The three of them showed significant crash intrusion into the driver's area. The dummy in the Nissan actually had to be cut out of the vehicle, with an IIHS spokesperson remarking, "the structure collapsed like a house of cards." In the Fiat Chrysler Automobile vans, the steering wheels moved out of the way, making the airbag less effective and letting the driver's head hit the dashboard. While it was not actually crashed, the agency is also giving the 2009-12 Volkswagen Routan a Poor score because it shares a structure with the FCA models. The newly released results of four minivans underscore just how difficult the small-offset crash test is. The refreshed 2015 Toyota Sienna (shown), conversely, earned an Acceptable rating and is also a Top Safety Pick+ because of its optional forward collision warning and automatic braking system. While the crash test dummy moved around during the impact more than the agency would have liked, sensors showed a low risk of injuries. The IIHS tested the Honda Odyssey last year, and it earned a Good overall score, the agency's best ranking. It's also a Top Safety Pick+ vehicle. The only member of the minivan segment left to test is the latest Kia Sedona, and the Institute is reportedly waiting a little longer for Kia to make changes to improve the model's performance. When reached for comment, Nissan spokesperson Steve Yaeger provided Autoblog with the following statement: "Nissan is committed to vehicle safety and believes that consumers should have information about crash protection so they can make educated buying decisions. Nissan is proud of the 2014 Quest's "good" rating in the IIHS front moderate overlap and side impact tests as well as a "good" head restraint rating.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: The next five years

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you've no doubt read about all of the big future product news coming out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today. We had individual brand reports from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and even Ferrari, but in the interest of simplifying and summarizing, we're going to list out the hard facts once more. Of course, with all of this still off in the future, there's still the possibility that a few changes will be made. But as of what we know right now, here's what's coming, and what's going away.
Chrysler
2014: Refreshed 300/300C, debuting at Los Angeles Auto Show

Star Wars Episode VII ad is a force for Dodge

Happy Star Wars day! Some of you might be bleary eyed and begging for coffee after attending midnight screenings of Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens last night (*raises hand*) but the show must go on. And for Dodge, that show has been all about Star Wars. While the entirety of FCA joined the tie-in marketing campaign for the long-awaited JJ Abrams blockbuster, Dodge made out the best. According to Wards Auto, the brand's The Force Gathers spot took the top spot in this week's most engaging automotive ads, capturing nearly a quarter of share-of-voice ratings and garnering over a quarter-of-a-million earned online views. Since the ad began airing earlier this month, it's scored over 430,000 views on YouTube alone. The relatively simple ad evokes Darth Vader and his legions of storm troopers. In the 30-second spot, a black Viper leads six long columns of white Chargers, Challengers, and Durangos while John Williams' iconic Imperial March blares in the background. It ends at the stand of an overwhelmed pair of valets outside a screening for Episode VII. We've embedded the spot at the top of the page if you haven't seen it. Check it out, and may the Force be with you. Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens is in theaters today. Related Video: