2015 Chrysler Town & Country Touring on 2040-cars

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2025 SRT Hellcat concepts as previewed by high schoolers

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has some very talented designers in its ranks. Like any good company, though, the automaker is always on the lookout for early talent. Even if they're still in high school. One of those talent-seeking initiatives is the company's Drive for Design contest, an event open to tenth-, eleventh-, and twelfth-grade students that are hoping for a future in design. For this year's event, students from across the country were given a shot to design their vision for a 2025 model-year Dodge SRT Hellcat. The results are impressive, as you can see in the gallery above. First place went to Ben Treinen, from Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Second place was the only award to go to a student outside the Rust Belt, with Macon, GA's Harrison Kunselman, a student at Mount de Sales Academy taking the silver. Third place was won by a metro Detroiter – Bloomfield Hills High School student Hwanseong Jang, while fourth went to Andrew Gombac of Loyola Academy in Wilmette, IL. According to FCA, all four winners will have their sketches on display at the 2016 Autorama at Cobo Center at the end of February. They'll also win some pretty nifty prizes. First place will get a new Apple MacBook Pro, while second, third, and fourth get the new Apple iPad Pro and Apple Pencil (arguably just as good of a prize for budding designers). All four finishers will also attend a three-week automotive design course at Detroit's prestigious College for Creative Studies, have dinner with FCA designers, and score three passes to Autorama. FCA will cover travel and lodging to Auburn Hills. Read on for the official blast from FCA. Related Video: FCA US Design Team Announces Winners of Drive for Design Contest January 19, 2016 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - The FCA US LLC Design team today announced four winners in this year's Drive for Design contest. The FCA US Drive for Design contest challenged U.S. high school students in grades 10-12 to design a Dodge SRT Hellcat for the year 2025. "The Drive for Design contest continues to be a great way for the FCA US Design team to connect with students that show an interest in art and design," said Mark Trostle – Head of Dodge and SRT Design, FCA US LLC.

Marchionne says electric Maserati may debut by 2019

Ask Sergio Marchionne's opinion on the prospects of making a profit on producing electric-vehicle versions of Fiats or Chryslers, and he's likely to shoot the concept down. Bring that price point up into Maserati range, though? That apparently may be in the works, according to Bloomberg News. The famously EV-averse Marchionne says the company may start work on an electric vehicle for its hoped-for Maserati Alfieri model. Additionally, a hybrid version of the Maserati Levante SUV may also be developed during the next few years. The EV may be available by 2019, while the hybrid may start sales shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Fiat may also be working on an electric city car, which would be its first in Europe. The key, of course, is the price point. The Maserati brand means that a new EV may be a legitimate competitor to Tesla Motors because such a badge could approach the $100,000 threshold where the Tesla competes. Marchionne has long professed that it's nearly impossible to make money on electric vehicles. Earlier this month, Marchionne, speaking with UK's Car magazine, suggested that Tesla Motors is the best example of this theory, because, for all the demand for and growth of the California-based company, Tesla has never made an annual profit. And while the Fiat 500e electric vehicle has been feted for its style and performance, Marchionne has always insisted that the model was produced strictly to comply with California's zero-emissions policy, and that the company loses about $10,000 on each 500e it sells. Related Video: Green Chrysler Fiat Electric Sergio Marchionne

Chrysler recalling 382k Ram HD diesel pickups, 184k SUVs

Between GM's ignition switches and Takata's airbags, it's been a big year for recalls, but they keep rolling in. The latest comes from Chrysler, which has announced a pair of recalls for certain heavy-duty pickups and SUVs.
The first issue revolves around the 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine available in the 2010-2014 Ram HD trucks, including 2500 and 3500 series pickups as well as 4500 and 5500 series chassis cabs. In the affected units, "a terminal connector near the fuel heater may be subject to friction-induced corrosion," according to the first of the two announcements from Chrysler below.
The problem could result in overheating and fuel leakage. Chrysler launched its investigation following cases of overheating, none of which actually started a fire, much less an injury or accident. As a precautionary measure, however, Chrysler is instructing service technicians to replace the terminals on an estimated 381,876 Ram units around the world - the vast majority of those (314,704) registered in the US, another 59,432 in Canada, 1,803 in Mexico and 5,937 abroad.