2012 Chrysler 200 Lx on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ward's Automotive Ten Best Engines of 2014 dominated by diesels, turbos

With the Car and Driver Ten Best decided, the North American Car and Truck of the Year finalists announced and Cadillac, Ram and Subaru chalking up wins with Motor Trend, it's fair to say that the automotive awards season is in full swing. The next set of trophies to be handed out will be from Ward's Automotive, which has announced the winners of its 2014 10 Best Engines.
The latest contest was marked by the widespread emergence of diesel power and the continued success of turbocharged engines. There was even an electric motor on this year's list. In fact, only three of the ten winners were naturally aspirated and only two winners returned from last year.
"We weren't looking to throw the bums out, as they might say about an election. We were just really impressed with the flood of new powertrains," said Ward's Automotive Editor-in-Chief Drew Winter. Those new powertrains include the 83-kilowatt electric motor from the Fiat 500e, the 1.0-liter, EcoBoost three-cylinder from the Ford Fiesta and the 2.0-liter turbodiesel from the Chevrolet Cruze.

Chrysler Uconnect gets dealer-activated navigation, new infotainment features

Get in just about any mid-level Chrysler product these days, and you'll see a touchscreen head unit that would be perfect for a navigation system. The only thing is that some of these cars equipped with the head unit for Chrysler's Uconnect infotainment system were not optioned up with navigation at the time of purchase, leaving drivers looking for turn-by-turn directions relying on either an aftermarket nav system or a smartphone. Starting on select new Chrysler products, however, customers with Uconnect will now be able to upgrade to navigation as a dealer-activated option.
Announced at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show, this new element of Uconnect will allow owners to have an in-dash navigation system installed quickly and easily; Chrysler said that this will be a major benefit for used-car buyers. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like this system will be retroactive on previous Uconnect head units, but it will launch this year on the 2013 Ram 1500, 2013 SRT Viper and the 2014 Fiat 500L. Chrysler did not announce the expected MSRP to have dealers activate the navigation capabilities.
Another infotainment option for Chrysler buyers is the Uconnect Access system that can allow WiFi, voice text messaging, emergency assistance, remote vehicle operation (such as starting the engine or locking/unlocking the doors) and limited POI searches using Bing. Also introduced at CES, the new Uconnect Access via Mobile system builds on this by allowing users to add in-car apps such as iHeart Radio, Pandora and Slacker by connecting to the system via a smartphone. This system will first be offered on the 2013 Ram and Viper.

What will the next Presidential limo look like?

With recent news that the Secret Service has begun soliciting proposals for a new armored limousine, we've been wondering what the next presidential limo might look like. The current machine, nicknamed "The Beast", has a design based on a car that's no longer sold: the Cadillac DTS. If General Motors gets the job again, which wouldn't be a surprise considering the government still owns a chunk of the company, the next limo's shape would likely resemble the new XTS (below, left). But Cadillac hasn't always been the go-to car company for presidential whips.
Lincoln has actually provided far more presidential limousines throughout history than Cadillac. In fact, the first car modified for Commander-in-Chief-carrying duty was a 1939 Lincoln K-Series called "Sunshine Special" used by Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the last Lincoln used by a president was a 1989 Town Car ordered for George H.W. Bush. If President Obama wanted a Lincoln today, it would likely be an amalgam of the MKS sedan and MKT crossover, as illustrated above.
And what about Chrysler? The only record we could find of a President favoring the Pentastar is Nixon, who reportedly ordered two limos from the company during his administration in the '70s, and then another one, known today as the "K-Car limo," in the '80s after he left office. Obama, however, has a personal - if modest - connection to Chryslers, having owned a 300 himself before he took office. A 300-based Beast (above, right) would certainly earn the U.S. some style points.