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Bob Dylan to star in Chrysler Super Bowl spot [w/videos]

Billboard reports that Bob Dylan will be working with Chrysler again, this time starring in a Super Bowl ad expected to showcase the company's new 200 sedan. The rock icon first tied up with the Chrysler Group late last year when a commercial for the new 2014 Jeep Cherokee used Dylan's unreleased cover of Blind Willie Johnson's "Motherless Children" for its soundtrack.
The last big-game commercial for the 200 used Eminem in 2011 to introduce us to the outgoing 200 and the tagline-turned-mini-movement, "Imported from Detroit." Since then, Clint Eastwood, Berry Gordy, Jr., and America's farmers have taken turns impressing us with Chrysler Group's wares. It isn't yet known what song will be used for the spot. Speaking of the coming ad, company CEO Sergio Marchionne said, "Someone made the comment to me that I had the right commercial in 2011 and the wrong car. I think we now have hopefully the right commercial and the right car."
It's not Dylan's first outing with a carmaker, having starred in a spot to promote the Cadillac Escalade in 2007. Nor will it be the only Dylan music we get during the Super Bowl, the singer having licensed a track that's used in a one-minute commercial for Chobani Greek yogurt.

Chrysler, Nissan minivans earn 'dire' crash test results, says IIHS [w/video]

First introduced in 2012, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's small-overlap frontal crash test has become the bane of many auto engineers' existence. It's a particularly steep design challenge because it forces just 25 percent of a vehicle's front end to take the brunt of a 40-mile-per-hour impact. The newly released results of four family-minded minivans underscore just how difficult the crash test is: only one scored an Acceptable rating, and the other three did very poorly. The 2008-2015 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, plus the 2011-2015 Nissan Quest, all received Poor ratings in the test, the IIHS' lowest possible score. The three of them showed significant crash intrusion into the driver's area. The dummy in the Nissan actually had to be cut out of the vehicle, with an IIHS spokesperson remarking, "the structure collapsed like a house of cards." In the Fiat Chrysler Automobile vans, the steering wheels moved out of the way, making the airbag less effective and letting the driver's head hit the dashboard. While it was not actually crashed, the agency is also giving the 2009-12 Volkswagen Routan a Poor score because it shares a structure with the FCA models. The newly released results of four minivans underscore just how difficult the small-offset crash test is. The refreshed 2015 Toyota Sienna (shown), conversely, earned an Acceptable rating and is also a Top Safety Pick+ because of its optional forward collision warning and automatic braking system. While the crash test dummy moved around during the impact more than the agency would have liked, sensors showed a low risk of injuries. The IIHS tested the Honda Odyssey last year, and it earned a Good overall score, the agency's best ranking. It's also a Top Safety Pick+ vehicle. The only member of the minivan segment left to test is the latest Kia Sedona, and the Institute is reportedly waiting a little longer for Kia to make changes to improve the model's performance. When reached for comment, Nissan spokesperson Steve Yaeger provided Autoblog with the following statement: "Nissan is committed to vehicle safety and believes that consumers should have information about crash protection so they can make educated buying decisions. Nissan is proud of the 2014 Quest's "good" rating in the IIHS front moderate overlap and side impact tests as well as a "good" head restraint rating.

Chrysler recalling 49K Chargers for headlight components

Chrysler has issued a recall for about 49,375 2011 and 2012 Dodge Chargers with halogen headlamps due to a problem with the lights. The automaker says that there could be an issue with the jumper harness and other related components.
The automaker says that 43,450 cars are affected in the US, 2,850 in Canada, 375 in Mexico and 2,700 outside of North America. The vehicles will have their headlight assemblies, including the jumper harnesses and bulbs, inspected and potentially replaced. Dodge says that its engineers investigated reports of that were similar to what was found when it recalled about 10,000 police Chargers in 2012 for overheating light components. There have been no injuries or accidents related to fault, according to Chrysler.
The automaker will be in contact with affected owners, and schedule the service. Naturally, any repairs will be free of charge. Scroll down for the company's full announcement.