1955 Chrysler Newport Imperial Hemi on 2040-cars

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MotorWeek reviews '83 American Motors lineup

The 30th anniversary of American Motors' 1987 sale to Chrysler by Renault is just a few years away. AMC is long dead, but for its latest peek in the archives, MotorWeek winds back the clock to somewhat happier times. Take a look at the entire AMC lineup from 1983, including its models from Jeep and Renault. The Jeeps, and to a lesser extent, the AMC Eagle, enjoy a cult following today, but it's amazing how many of these other vehicles are now practically forgotten. Even the big debut in '83 of the Renault Alliance is largely ignored. Although with a ludicrous amount of body roll and a 55-horsepower 1.4-liter engine, it's probably rightly buried. Related Video: News Source: MotorWeek via YouTube Design/Style Chrysler Jeep Renault Classics Videos amc

Chrysler dealers terminated in bankruptcy still stuck in court

Part of the deal for the federal bailouts of Chrysler and General Motors was that both organizations were required to trim their vast array of dealerships. This move did not sit well with the people that would be losing out on franchises, though, and in Chrysler's case, 148 of the shuttered dealers have fought for money they feel they are entitled to.
These dealers believe that they should be compensated by the federal government, as Chrysler wouldn't have trimmed its sales centers had it not been ordered to by Uncle Sam. Now, thanks to the ruling of three judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the dealers will get a chance to argue their point.
According to Automotive News, the dealers argue that the mandatory shuttering of dealers was unconstitutional, because the federal government was taking property without compensation. If the dealers are victorious, not only would the government be out millions of dollars, but a precedent could be set that would allow similarly closed GM dealerships to cash in.

FCA facing class-action lawsuit over Grand Cherokee shifters

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is now facing a multi-million-dollar class-action lawsuit over the recalled shifter design in the 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, and the 2012 to 2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300. Grand Cherokee owners, galvanized by Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin's fatal accident, filed the suit. According to The Wall Street Journal, the owners allege that FCA concealed the shifter's problems. On top of restitution, the class action suit is demanding a court order force FCA to issue a do-not-drive warning to owners of affected vehicles until it fixes the problem. FCA started distributing a software fix to dealers last week – according to the WSJ, the update will add more warnings about the shifter's position and will automatically kick the vehicle into park if the driver steps out. FCA's shifter problems have been bubbling under the surface as part of the company's recall issues. The US government dinged FCA with a $105 million fine last year for its recall practices (or lack thereof) last year, but things have exploded this week after Yelchin's death. The 27-year-old, best known for playing Ensign Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek film series, was killed after his 2015 Grand Cherokee rolled down his driveway and pinned the actor against a security gate. According to Jeep CEO Mike Manley, the company will dispatch engineers to analyze Yelchin's vehicle. Related Video: