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2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Quick Spin | Dad tested, kid approved

The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is a compelling minivan, which feels less weird to say the more we say it (and the more we drive it). Adding a plug-in powertrain to an already solid family hauler makes it more interesting, and leaves the world just a little less greenhouse-gassy for those children you'll be carrying around in it. So, when we had the chance to actually take one home with us, we strapped in the car seat and put it through some real-world usage. For reference, the non-hybrid Pacifica comes with the standard Pentastar 3.6-liter V6, connected to a nine-speed automatic transmission. It provides 287 horsepower and offers 19 miles per gallon city, 28 highway, and 22 combined. The Pacifica Hybrid adds two electric motors and a variable transmission to its more efficient, less powerful Atkinson cycle V6, providing a total of 260 horsepower. The Hybrid also has a 16-kWh battery pack to power its electric driving. It's rated at a combined 84 miles-per-gallon equivalent. Our test kid, Wolfgang, loved the Pacifica Hybrid. He repeatedly asked for rides, which is not unusual, but seemed to prefer the Chrysler to his other options. He even got upset the one time we put him in Mama's Mercedes GLK while the Pacifica was in the driveway. Wolfgang especially loved the buttons to open and close the automatic doors. After heading indoors, he'd occasionally point out the window toward the minivan saying, "Button." He also thought the horn was hilarious. He's heard his fair share of car horns so far in his young life, but none have ever gotten the same belly laughs that the horn in the Pacifica evoked. We have no idea why. It sounds like a normal car horn to us. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Getting the car seat in and out of the Pacifica Hybrid was super easy. The captain's chairs make it even easier. The LATCH anchors were prominent, and easy to find by feel when reaching over the seat. It also helps that you can access the inside anchor by hopping to the other side of the vehicle, and the openness of the second row provides more room to work with. Once in the car, the huge door openings made it easy to get the little guy in and out of the rear-facing seat. While driving, the quietness of the cabin helps facilitate the sort of rudimentary conversation a toddler can hold.

FCA and Peugeot reportedly agree on merger

Citing a Wall Street Journal report, the Detroit Free Press says "Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe have agreed to merge." The Journal reported on talks between the two car companies only yesterday. It's said that Peugeot's board met yesterday to approve the deal, FCA's board met today, and an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow, Thursday. Both automakers have released statements, but neither company has released any information beyond admitting to ongoing talks. If the merger happens, the combined entity would become the world's fourth-largest carmaker with a $50 billion valuation, slotting in behind Toyota, the Volkswagen Group, and the Renault Nissan Mitsubishi alliance. Among the merger options possible, "an all-stock merger of equals" is the one analysts and Moody's seem to give the best grade. The reported merger would come about four months after FCA walked away from merger talks with Renault. FCA said the French government scuppered those talks over the role of Nissan in a reformed entity, but there were also brewing issues with French unions, and ongoing turmoil among Renault and Nissan leadership thanks to continuing fallout from ex-CEO Carlos Ghosn's arrest last year. FCA makes most of its revenue in the U.S. and rules Italy, while Peugeot is the second-best-selling automaker in Europe with its own brand in France and Opel in Germany. The two companies already have a partnership in Europe making vans, one that FCA CEO Mike Manley has spoken highly of. Among the list of obvious benefits in a potential merger, FCA would get access to Peugeot's small, modern platforms, $10.2 billion in cash, and electrified and hybrid architecture developments, the latter especially important to FCA as those are fields where it lags. Peugeot would get much easier access to the U.S. market, and the money-printing brands Jeep and Ram. A merged carmaker would have combined sales of nearly 9 million a year, based on 2018 results. By comparison, both Volkswagen and Toyota sell over 10 million cars a year, while the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance almost 11 million. Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares has proved he knows how to do turnarounds and mergers. After leaving a position as Carlos Ghosn's right-hand man in 2012, Tavares took over Peugeot in 2014, navigated a bailout from the French government and China's Dongfeng Motors in 2015, and turned PSA into a regional powerhouse.

Chrysler patents smarter minivan folding seats

It's frightening to think of how quickly the mice would have overtaken us if we hadn't stayed one step ahead of them with better mousetraps. We'll never have to worry about that in our relentlessly re-engineered world, though. Case in point: Chrysler has been granted a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for an improved design of the already wondrous Stow 'n' Go seating found in the automaker's Town and Country and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans.
Introduced in 2005, the Stow 'n' Go was improved in 2008, and based on the drawings of this third-generation improvement, the new design appears to allow stowage of the second row of seats without having to move the front-row seats forward as much. It look like it also involves fewer operations and moving parts, with a portion of the seatback being incorporated into the flat floor when the seats are stowed, as opposed to having a completely separate cover.
It's possible that the innovation may appear on the next-generation minivans expected in 2015, but Chrysler isn't commenting on the patent.