2005 Chrysler Town & Country Base on 2040-cars

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Dodge shows can-do attitude with grand Can'avan sculpture

There are lots of ways to celebrate an important birthday, and all of them are well deserved. You can throw a big party, buy yourself something nice, or - if you're the altruistic type - do something for others in need. The latter is how Chrysler has opted to mark the 30th anniversary of its Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.
Together with hunger-advocacy organization Canstruction, the Chrysler Foundation has built a full-scale replica of the Grand Caravan out of 30,000 food cans in the square at the corner of Yonge and Dundas in Toronto, a ways down the highway from where the real vans are built in Windsor. The sculpture was built over the course of 10 hours by 30 volunteers and was displayed earlier this week.
Now the installation is being taken down, and the cans of food are being donated to the Daily Bread Food Bank, which will assemble them into 2,000 food baskets to be distributed to those in need through its network of 200 food banks across the Canadian metropolis. Check out a neat time-lapse video of the build and the press release below.

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.

Marchionne says electric Maserati may debut by 2019

Ask Sergio Marchionne's opinion on the prospects of making a profit on producing electric-vehicle versions of Fiats or Chryslers, and he's likely to shoot the concept down. Bring that price point up into Maserati range, though? That apparently may be in the works, according to Bloomberg News. The famously EV-averse Marchionne says the company may start work on an electric vehicle for its hoped-for Maserati Alfieri model. Additionally, a hybrid version of the Maserati Levante SUV may also be developed during the next few years. The EV may be available by 2019, while the hybrid may start sales shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Fiat may also be working on an electric city car, which would be its first in Europe. The key, of course, is the price point. The Maserati brand means that a new EV may be a legitimate competitor to Tesla Motors because such a badge could approach the $100,000 threshold where the Tesla competes. Marchionne has long professed that it's nearly impossible to make money on electric vehicles. Earlier this month, Marchionne, speaking with UK's Car magazine, suggested that Tesla Motors is the best example of this theory, because, for all the demand for and growth of the California-based company, Tesla has never made an annual profit. And while the Fiat 500e electric vehicle has been feted for its style and performance, Marchionne has always insisted that the model was produced strictly to comply with California's zero-emissions policy, and that the company loses about $10,000 on each 500e it sells. Related Video: Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Sergio Marchionne