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Chrysler Recalls Jeep SUVs For Ignition Switches

The ignition switch defects that engulfed General Motors are now a rapidly growing problem at Chrysler. Chrysler said Tuesday it is recalling up to 792,300 older Jeep SUVs worldwide because the ignition switches could fall out of the "run" position, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags as well as power-assisted steering and braking. That's the same problem that has forced GM to recall more than 15 million cars over the last six months. Chrysler's recall covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees and 2006-2007 Commanders. The company said it is not sure exactly how many will be recalled, but said it will notify customers by mid-September. Chrysler said an outside force such as a driver's knee can knock switches out of the "run" position. Engineers are working on a fix. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said it knows of no related injuries and only one accident. But it said owners should keep clearance between their knees and keys until repairs are made. Chrysler has now recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles for ignition-switch problems. In June, the company added 696,000 minivans and SUVs to a 2011 recall to fix faulty ignition switches. Those recalls covered Dodge Journey SUVs and Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan and Volkswagen Routan minivans - which Chrysler made for the German automaker - from the 2007 to 2010 model years. Tuesday's recall is the outgrowth of two investigations opened by U.S. safety regulators last month as part of a broader probe into ignition-switch and air-bag problems across the auto industry. The agency wouldn't say Tuesday whether its investigation could lead to recalls at other automakers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in June that it was investigating Jeep Commanders and Grand Cherokees after getting 32 complaints that a driver's knee can hit the key fob or key chain, causing the ignition switch to move out of position. The federal investigation is still open. The agency said Tuesday that it is requesting additional information from Chrysler to ensure that its repairs will be effective. The investigations and recalls come after GM bungled an ignition-switch recall of older small cars. GM acknowledged that it knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade but failed to recall the cars until earlier this year, when it recalled 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Ferrari and FCA are officially separated

It's been a long time in the making, but it's officially happened: Ferrari is no longer part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Following the Italian automaker's initial public offering, it has officially split off from its former parent company. As part of the spin-off, FCA's stakeholders will each receive one common share in Ferrari for every ten they hold in Fiat Chrysler. Special voting shares will be distributed in the same proportions to certain shareholders as well. Those shares being distributed will account for 80 percent of the company's ownership. Another ten percent was floated as part of the company's IPO, while the remaining 10 percent is held by Enzo's son Piero Ferrari (pictured above at center), who serves as vice chairman of the company. The shares will continue to be traded under the ticker symbol RACE on the New York Stock Exchange, and will begin trading this week as well under the same symbol on the Mercato Telematico Azionario, part of the Borsa Italiana in Milan. Since the extended Agnelli family headed by chairman John Elkann (above, right) holds the largest stake in FCA, expect it to continue controlling the largest portion of Ferrari shares as well. Between them, nearly half of the shares in the supercar manufacturer – and we suspect a little more than half of the voting rights – will be controlled by the Agnelli and Ferrari families, who are expected to cooperate to ensure the remaining shareholders don't attempt a takeover of the company. Similar to its former parent company, which operates out of Turin and Detroit, the Ferrari NV holding company is nominally incorporated in the Netherlands, but the automaker will continue to base its operations in Maranello, Italy. That's where it's always been headquartered, on the outskirts of Modena. For the time being, Sergio Marchionne (above, left) remains both chairman of Ferrari and chief executive of FCA – a position to which he is not unaccustomed, having previously headed both Fiat and Chrysler before the two officially merged. Related Video: Separation of Ferrari from FCA Completed LONDON, January 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. ("FCA") (NYSE: FCAU / MTA: FCA) and Ferrari N.V. ("Ferrari") (NYSE/MTA: RACE) announced today that the separation of the Ferrari business from the FCA group was completed on January 3, 2016. FCA shareholders are entitled to receive one common share of Ferrari for every 10 FCA common shares held.

Bob Lutz, UAW rep commend Chrysler for not bowing to NHTSA recall pressure [w/poll]

Bob Lutz, the well-known executive with a range of automakers including both General Motors and Chrysler, says he supports Chrysler for not caving under federal pressure to issue a recall on 2.7 million Jeep vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is arguing that the plastic fuel tanks positioned behind the axles of certain 1993-2004 Grand Cherokee models and 2002-2007 Liberty models may become punctured in a collision and potentially catch fire, so it has called upon Chrysler to recall the vehicles. 15 deaths and 46 injuries have been attributed to the issue. For its part, Chrysler has maintained that its models "met and exceeded" all safety applicable mandates when they were manufactured, and furthermore, they argue that the government agency's own data proves that the vehicles are no more dangerous than similar SUVs produced by other automakers at the time. As a result, it is taking the unusual step of refusing to recall the vehicles.
According to The Detroit News, Lutz says Chrysler is right to push back when the government is out of line. Lutz also said that he wished he could have done the same when NHTSA urged Chrysler to issue a recall on certain minivans back when he was with the automaker 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, United Auto Workers Vice President General Holiefield also defended Chrysler by saying, "Our legendary Jeeps are crafted with pride by our dedicated UAW American workforce who work tirelessly to ensure the utmost quality of each Jeep that is produced for customers."