2013 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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NHTSA looking into non-Takata airbag shrapnel case

The global airbag inflator recall from Takata has been one of the biggest topics in auto safety for months. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation into the components from Arc Automotive to investigate whether two reported ruptures and two injuries signal a wider problem. So far, only the 2002 Chrysler Town & Country and 2004 Kia Optima are believed to be affected. If a safety campaign is deemed necessary, it could cover an estimated 420,000 of the minivans and 70,000 of the Korean sedans. NHTSA first noticed these ruptures in December 2014. The agency received a complaint of a 2009 case in Ohio about the bursting of the driver's side inflator in a 2002 Town & Country. According to the report, the incident broke the woman's jaw and sent shrapnel into her chest. The government investigated the case, and this was found to be the only known occurrence in these vehicles. The analysis indicated the part's gases were possibly blocked somehow and caused the component to explode. FCA US spokesperson Eric Mayne told Autoblog that the company is "cooperating fully" with NHTSA. "Also, we no longer use that inflator," he said. A second incident came to NHTSA's attention in June 2015 with the driver's side rupture in a 2004 Optima in New Mexico. The agency lists fewer details about the case, and a root cause isn't known. This is also the only currently known example in a Kia vehicle. According to a statement from Kia to Autoblog, "We are taking this matter very seriously and support NHTSA's action and will continue working cooperatively with the agency and suppliers throughout the process." Arc's components are sealed within a steel housing that's meant to protect them from "external atmospheric conditions," according to NHTSA. Multiple suppliers also use them. In the Chrysler, the airbag module came from Key Safety Systems and from Delphi in the Kia. In a statement to Autoblog the company said, "We have received NHTSA's notification and are cooperating fully with its Preliminary Evaluation." At this time, NHTSA admits that it doesn't know for certain whether these two cases are linked. The agency is conducting this preliminary evaluation to learn more.

Chrysler and Hyundai join Pepsi and Coke as top Super Bowl spenders [w/ video]

Super Bowl XLVIII is barely a week away, and some of the early ads are already leaking out. It's timely then that The Street has released rankings of the top five Super Bowl advertisers since 2009, showing Chrysler and Hyundai/Kia taking two of the spots with $131.7 million in cumulative spending.
Since 2010, the cost to air a 30-second Super Bowl ad has risen from $3 million in 2009 to about $4 million in 2014, and about a fifth of advertisers opt for a one-minute ad, which doubles costs. Last year, the ads brought in $292 million, and they have brought in roughly $2 billion since 2010.
Chrysler has spent $64.3 million since 2009 to make it the fourth highest spending company in the last five years. In that time, the company has rebranded itself as it emerged from bankruptcy with the Imported from Detroit ad campaign that premiered in 2011 and last year's God Made a Farmer Ram Trucks ad. Its 2012 Halftime in America sparked national debate about whether it was also a reference to the upcoming presidential election.

Chrysler 100 hatchback caught cruising around Santa Monica

A coming hatchback said to be called the Chrysler 100 has been caught on video traipsing around Santa Monica by Autoblog reader Zach Dillman. Still wearing the scrapyard assemblage of Alfa Romeo Giulietta body panels as it was when spy photographers began capturing it last summer, its arrival date is still a question mark: some outlets have reported that it will go on sale this year, others have said it won't be in showrooms until 2016.
In fact, quite a few questions remain. Based on Fiat's Compact US Wide (CUSW) platform that supports the Dodge Dart and expected to be about the same size, the 100 is thought to be a small premium hatchback that will be priced above the Dart and below the Chrysler 200, with the idea that it can challenge the Ford Focus and Hyunda Elantra at the value end and the Buick Verano and Acura ILX at the premium end. Word is that there will be no sedan version.
It looks like there'll be plenty of gewgaws inside, with buttons for Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Departure Warning, Forward Collision Warning and a button to toggle the traction control.