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FCA recalling 63k Jeeps, Vipers and Ram ProMaster City vans

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has announced a pair of recalls cover nearly 63,000 vehicles. The bigger of the two actions covers manual-transmission-equipped vehicles from 2006, including the Jeep Liberty and Wrangler, as well as the Dodge Viper. FCA engineers uncovered that the clutch ignition interlock switches use a kind of wire that was part of a previous recall campaign. Because of this, the company said that affected vehicles may not start, although in rare cases, "if recommended starting procedures are not followed," the affected vehicles may lurch forward after turning the key. Those recommended starting procedures "include activating the parking brake, placing the shift lever in neutral and pressing the clutch pedal before turning the vehicle's ignition key." Recall number two affects the company's 2015 Ram ProMaster City cargo and passenger vans. Owners will need to report to dealers to have a piece of tape removed from the side-curtain airbags. The tape is added during assembly and in some cases, may not have been removed. That could prevent the airbags from deploying in the event of a crash. Just under 59,000 vehicles are included in the first recall, including 43,874 in the United States, 11,309 outside of North America, 2,944 in Canada and 706 in Mexico. The ProMaster City recall includes just over 3,900 vehicles. FCA claims it's unaware of any injuries, fatalities or accidents related to either recall and will perform repairs free of charge. Scroll down for the official press release on both campaigns. Related Video: Statement: Clutch Ignition Interlock Switch April 23, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is launching a voluntary recall of an estimated 43,874 older-model U.S.-market cars and SUVs equipped with manual transmissions. The Company will replace their clutch ignition interlock switches at no charge to customers. The action follows an investigation by FCA US engineers that discovered these vehicles are equipped with switches that contain a certain type of wire implicated in a previous campaign. The wire, which was temporarily substituted by a supplier for the specified material, may break. As a result, the vehicles may not start, and in rare cases – if recommended starting procedures are not followed – a vehicle may exhibit unintended movement when its ignition key is turned. FCA US is unaware of aware of any related injuries or accidents involving this population of vehicles.

Jeep Renegade signed by the Rolling Stones brings in $46k for charity

What do Jeep and the Rolling Stones have in common? Well, they've both have been around for longer than most of us, they seem just about indestructible, and not long after one shipped out from America to help save Britain, the other lead the British Invasion of America. But the two enduring icons also came together this past summer as one sponsored the other's European tour. And while they were in Rome, Jeep had the members of the legendary rock group sign a new Renegade that just went up for auction. Bearing the signatures of the immortal Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts, this star-studded, pint-sized off-roader – the first Jeep to be built in Italy – sold for an impressive $46,000 to an anonymous bidder. That's about two-and-a-half times what the new pebble-crawler is expected to sell for when it reaches showrooms. Proceeds from the sale, handled by Charitybuzz.com, will benefit Community Links, a social-inclusion organization based in London. View 56 Photos

Coronavirus shakes up America's truck market: GM outselling Ford and Ram

FCA, Ford and General Motors joined the rest of the U.S. auto industry in taking heavy volume hits due to coronavirus-related shortages of both cars and customers. The saying goes that a rising tide lifts all boats; it stands to reason, then, that a falling one would have the opposite effect.  However, as we learned Thursday, the automotive market can behave in unpredictable ways. While the F-Series remained the best-selling nameplate in Q1, GM's full-size trucks are now outselling Ford's again for the first time in years, and with this upward thrust from the General, FCA's Ram was unceremoniously booted out of a hard-earned second place.  While late-March sales declines hit just about every major automaker in one way or another, the model-by-model results weren't nearly so uniform. And because the market tends to be a zero-sum game, for every winner, there generally has to be a loser.  In this case, that winner was GM, and its rise had to come at the expense of another automaker, in this case, Ford. F-Series sales dropped 13.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020, while sales of GM's full-sized Silverado and Sierra surged nearly 28% in the same period. FCA's Ram lineup managed a steady-as-she-goes 7% increase. All-in, GM finished the quarter with 197,743 full-size trucks sold to Ford's 186,562. Here's the full breakdown: Ford F-Series: 186,562  Chevrolet Silverado*: 144,734 Ram P/U: 128,805 GMC Sierra: 53,009 *includes 1,036 Medium Duty sales Things are a but murkier in the midsize segment, where the Chevy Colorado slipped 36% to just 21,430 units sold — just a few hundred better than the slow-selling Ford Ranger's Q1 numbers. The GMC Canyon experienced an almost identical slide, finishing the quarter with just 4,483 units sold. For perspective, Jeep sold more than 15,000 Gladiators and Toyota's midsize Tacoma slipped less than 8%, finishing the quarter with nearly 54,000 sales.  We suspect this discrepancy in full- and mid-size truck sales comes from shifting incentives. Ford, GM and FCA would like to keep selling bigger trucks because there's far more profit margin built into their list prices. Even with tens of thousands of dollars in manufacturer money on the hood, big trucks still make money.  Since these automakers report quarterly, we won't get another good look at these numbers until July, but if you thought that 2019 represented the new normal for U.S. auto sales, well, think again.