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FCA to recall nearly 900,000 vehicles that don't meet emissions standards

WASHINGTON — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will recall 862,520 gasoline-powered vehicles in the United States that do not meet U.S. emissions standards, the Environmental Protection Agency said on Wednesday. The recall was prompted by in-use emissions investigations conducted by the EPA and in-use testing conducted by Fiat Chrysler as required by U.S. regulations, the agency said. EPA said it will continue to investigate other Fiat Chrysler vehicles that are potentially noncompliant and may become the subject of future recalls. The recall includes 2011-2016 Dodge Journeys, 2011-2014 Chrysler 200s and Dodge Avengers, 2011-2012 Dodge Calibers and 2011-2016 Jeep Compass/Patriots. Fiat Chrysler said in a statement the EPA announcement "has no safety implications. Nor are there any associated fines." "The issue was discovered by FCA during routine in-use emissions testing and reported to the agency," the company said. "We began contacting affected customers last month to advise them of the needed repairs, which will be provided at no charge." Its U.S.-traded shares were down 1 percent. "EPA welcomes the action by Fiat Chrysler to voluntarily recall its vehicles that do not meet U.S. emissions standards," EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. "We will provide assistance to consumers navigating the recall and continue to ensure that auto manufacturers abide by our nation's laws designed to protect human health and the environment." Fiat Chrysler owners can continue to drive their vehicles, the government said. Due to the "large number of vehicles involved and the need to supply replacement components — specifically to the vehicle's catalytic converter — this recall will be implemented in phases during the 2019," the EPA said In January, Fiat Chrysler agreed to a settlement worth about $800 million to resolve claims by the U.S. Justice Department and state of California that it used illegal software to produce false results on Ran and Jeep vehicles. But that incident involved diesel engines. It is awaiting the outcome of a criminal probe. The hefty penalty was the latest fallout from the U.S. government's stepped-up enforcement of vehicle emissions rules after Volkswagen AG admitted in September 2015 to intentionally evading emissions rules.

2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat revealed [UPDATE]

Almost immediately after we drove the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, we began wondering: what's next? Pumping 707 horsepower into the Challenger seemed so crazy - and so intoxicating - we just assumed that Dodge would try that trick again.
Rumors swirled about a Charger Hellcat. Frankly it makes even more sense than the Challenger version. The Charger is a bigger car, and Dodge has never been shy about dropping monster engines under its hood. Hell (cat), we've seen Charger mules running around town that appeared to be the super sedan.
And finally, it's here. The 2015 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat was revealed today at a preview event near Detroit, and it will be a centerpiece of the Chrysler display this weekend at the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Five automakers now being investigated by NHTSA for airbag woes

It appears that Toyota's renotification to owners of recalled vehicles from last year is just the tip of the iceberg for what could potentially be a much larger industry-wide recall. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation investigation into roughly 1.1 million vehicles from Chrysler, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Toyota and parts supplier Takata regarding faulty airbag inflators in several models.
NHTSA has received six reports - three directly, two from Takata and one from Toyota - of vehicles with ruptured airbag inflators from 2002-2006, which resulted in three injuries. So far, all six incidents have occurred in high humidity areas like Florida and Puerto Rico. According to Toyota's latest recall announcement, the inflators may have an improper propellant that could cause it to rupture in a crash and the bag to deploy abnormally.
This new investigation follows a previous recall from April 2013 of about 3.4 million vehicles worldwide for the airbag inflators from Takata. As Autoblog reported, Toyota jumpstarted the new situation when it found that the original list of serial numbers for the faulty part was incomplete and discovered more cars in need of replacement. Honda and Nissan told us that they were investigating whether further models would need called in again as well. Mazda told Autoblog: "Regarding the current Takata situation, we're working closely with NHTSA and investigating the situation, but nothing else to report at this time." Chrysler Group responded to us with the statement: "Chrysler Group engineers are conducting the appropriate analysis. The Company will cooperate fully with the National Highway Traffic Administration."