2012 Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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FCA and UAW deal could mean huge production shakeups

The big labor contract between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the United Auto Workers is likely to lead to some very serious production shakeups across the company's North American manufacturing operations. That's according to a new report from Automotive News, which details the sweeping changes at no fewer than five production facilities in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Mexico, and Poland. So without further ado, here's what's going where, presented in easy to digest bullet form. Ram 1500 production would move from Warren, MI to Sterling Heights, MI Warren, MI would be retooled for unibody production and would handle the Jeep Grand Wagoneer and could potentially build Grand Cherokees to ease the strain on Detroit's Jefferson North factory Chrysler 200 production would move from Sterling Heights, MI to Toluca, Mexico Dodge Dart production would move from Belvidere, IL to Toluca, Mexic Fiat 500 production, which is currently handled by Toluca, would be concentrated in Poland, where the Euro-spec Cinquecento is built Jeep Cherokee production would move from Toledo, OH to Belvidere, IL to make room for Wrangler and Wrangler Pickup production Like we said, those are some big changes. But, as FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne said in an earlier interview with Automotive News, this kind of shakeup would make a lot of sense. In that August interview the exec said that automakers moved truck production to Mexico because they were "threatened" by the UAW. "The only thing [the UAW] want is to move the truck back. Which is right. If you move the truck back here, which is [the UAW's] domain, [and move] all the cars that we get killed on somewhere else, we could actually make sense of this bloody industry and actually increase the number of people employed in this country and really share wealth because we are making money," Marchionne told AN. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing UAW/Unions Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Sergio Marchionne FCA toluca warren sterling heights

2013 Ram 1500 earns Truck of Texas honors

Auto writers around the country tend to specialize in different vehicles based on the trends of our respective home markets. The New England Motor Press Association, for example, presents an award every year for the best winter vehicle. With that in mind, it is fitting that the Texas Auto Writers Association doles out an annual truck award. This year, the TAWA "Truck of Texas" is the 2013 Ram 1500.
In a announcement from TAWA, the new Ram took top honors based in no small part on, "a new 3.6-liter V6 that boasts 42 percent more power, improved fuel economy, infotainment upgrades and available eight-speed automatic transmission and air suspension." And according to Ram CEO Fred Diaz, "Automotive reporters have reacted extremely favorably to the new 2013 Ram 1500, and our research tells us that resonates with truck buyers." The Ram 1500 unseated the previous Truck of Texas, the 2012 Ford F-150.
The Texas Auto Writers Association Truck Rodeo was also an occasion for journalists to award an SUV of Texas, and thankfully, the distinction is made between SUV and CUV. The Jeep Grand Cherokee took top honors in the SUV department, with TAWA pointing to models like the off-road-ready Trailhawk and feature-laden Overland Summit. It is the third consecutive year that the Grand Cherokee has achieved this accolade. The award for top crossover went to the 2013 Buick Enclave, which is in its first year of a new design. To read more on the Truck of Texas award and all the finalists, check out the press release below.

Chrysler recalls 2013 Ram pickups, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Chrysler's spate of successful products is about to be marred by a trio of recalls. The Pentastar is recalling 51,477 Ram trucks and Jeep SUVs. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there have been no reported accidents, injuries or deaths related to the affected vehicles.
The largest action covers the Ram 1500, which is seeing 45,961 trucks being recalled. Models built between June 26, 2012 and February 5, 2013 are being recalled due to a potential software issue in the electronic stability control. Apparently, the system can be randomly deactivated upon vehicle startup.
Chrysler is also recalling 4,458 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee models. Covering everything but the SRT models, the potentially defective SUVs were built between January 14 and March 20, 2013. This recall focuses on "premium headlights," which means cars equipped with LED running lights. During the switch from the bright daytime running lamp setting to the low-intensity parking light setting, an electrical spike can cause one of the Jeep's computers to go into a safe mode, turning off the LEDs. This violates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.