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Fiat Chrysler expands Takata airbag recall to 3.3M vehicles

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is expanding its recall of vehicles equipped with Takata airbags, moving beyond Florida, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands to the greater US, as well as Mexico, Canada and beyond. The affected vehicles, some 3.3 million in total, were built between 2004 and 2007, with many models, including the Dodge Ram 1500, 2500 and 3500, Durango and the Chrysler 300, having been affected by Chrysler's previous recall. Despite the somewhat alarming nature that comes with a recall of this many vehicles, it seems that Chrysler is moving more out of an abundance of caution (and federal pressure) than anything else, saying: "Neither FCA US, nor Takata Corporation, the supplier, has identified a defect in this population of inflators. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers. More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components. All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the Company's current production vehicles." Owners of affected vehicles will be notified and asked to report to dealers for a free replacement driver's side airbag. Scroll down for the official press release from FCA. Statement: Global Air-Bag Inflator Replacement December 19, 2014 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC will replace driver's-side air-bag inflators in an estimated 3.3 million older-model vehicles worldwide, in an expansion of an ongoing regional field action. Neither FCA US, nor Takata Corporation, the supplier, has identified a defect in this population of inflators. These components also are distinct from Takata inflators cited in fatalities involving other auto makers. More than 1,000 laboratory tests have been performed on these components. All deployed as intended, but FCA US continues to study the suspect inflators, which are not used in the Company's current production vehicles. Outside of Florida, one of the areas covered by the original action, no FCA US vehicle has been linked to an air-bag deployment of the type that has raised public concern. Nevertheless, the Company is replacing the Takata components tied to that concern. FCA US is aware of one related injury involving one of its vehicles, an older-model sedan. It occurred in a southern Florida region marked by persistent, high, absolute humidity – a condition believed to be a contributing factor in the air-bag deployments under investigation.

Top torque-to-weight ratios under $100k, $50k and $25k

Horsepower may steal a lot of headlines, but the always-more-complex torque figure is often a critical one for both the workingman and the motoring playboy. The measure of rotational force represents the twist that can liquefy one's tires or haul one's horse trailer. Good stuff.
It follows then, that as with the horsepower-to-weight list that we assembled for you a few months ago, a list of cars that offer the most pound-feet with the fewest pounds to carry, is an interesting one to break down. Sure, there's a big difference in how the torque is applied from a turbocharged six-cylinder in a Swedish luxury sedan and a massive heavy-duty truck's turbo-diesel. But being the car/stat geeks that we are, we think it's kinda neat that those two vehicles rank near each other where torque and weight intersect.
As with the horsepower list, we've given you figures as pounds per every one pound-foot. Again broken down into broad price categories, we've got a mixed bag of 2014 and 2015 models here, too. Every effort has been made to select the most up-to-date prices and specs, and we've also to omitted some '14 cars that won't be re-upped after the ongoing yearly changeover.

The EPA has alleged that FCA installed undisclosed emissions software in about 100k Ram and Jeep diesel models [UPDATE]

Update: The text has been updated with official information from the EPA given in a press release and a conference call. Although an initial report from Reuters said the EPA will accuse Ram and Jeep of using emissions defeat devices today, that isn't quite the case. In a press release and a conference call, the EPA stated that the notice of violation sent to FCA is for the installation of eight undisclosed auxiliary emissions control devices on 2014 to 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram 1500 models with the 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6. The violation applies to about 104,000 vehicles in total. The agency also explained that auxiliary emissions controls on vehicles are not necessarily illegal, but installing them without disclosing them to the EPA when having the vehicle certified is. Though this initial notice of violation is for installing undisclosed software, the EPA may soon also classify these emissions devices as defeat devices, as it did with the software Volkswagen used. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, there could be fines of up nearly $45,000 per vehicle involved in the notice of violation. The agency revealed that the software alters how the emissions system performs in certain situations. In controlled testing, the vehicles are compliant, but in conditions such as high speed operation, the EPA found the vehicles would produce much higher levels of NOx emissions. The EPA is continuing to investigate, and is waiting for FCA to explain why these emissions control devices are not cheating or defeat devices. In an official statement, FCA stated it is looking forward to explaining that the software does not constitute a defeat device, and has also proposed software updates to achieve compliance. During the conference call, EPA representatives also noted that the vehicles are still safe and legal to be driven, and that owners do not need to take any action yet regarding their cars. It should be noted there is no stop-sale on current models at this time. Additionally, 2017 versions of the 3.0-liter diesel FCA vehicles have not been emissions certified yet. Related Video: News Source: Reuters, Environmental Protection Agency Government/Legal RAM