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Weekly Recap: FCA hit with record fine as NHTSA crackdown continues

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with a record fine this week that could reach $105 million. The punishment comes after NHTSA found problems with the automaker's execution of 23 recalls that affect more than 11 million vehicles. The consent agreement, announced Sunday, calls for FCA to pay a $70-million cash fine and requires the company to spend at least $20 million over a three-year period on industry outreach programs and to beef up old recall campaigns. Failure to comply will result in another $15-million fine. FCA also agreed to federal oversight, which includes an independent monitor to oversee the company's recalls. The $70-million cash fine equals a penalty NHTSA levied on Honda in January. "Fiat Chrysler's pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers and the driving public at risk," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. "This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture." FCA called the deal a "consensual resolution," but admitted that it "failed to timely provide an effective remedy" during certain recalls. "We are intent on rebuilding our relationship with NHTSA and we embrace the role of public safety advocate," the company said in a statement. The announcement kicked off a busy week for the automaker. NHTSA agreed FCA did not need to recall 4.7 million vehicles after an investigation failed to find defects with a power module used in some Jeep, Dodge, and Ram vehicles. A Georgia judge also reduced a civil verdict involving a death in a Jeep Grand Cherokee crash. Amid all of that, the company reported net profit of about 333 million euros, or $364 million in the second quarter on Thursday. OTHER NEWS & NOTES FCA ramps up Hellcat production Despite a decidedly legal and financial week for FCA, there was still time for the performance side of the business to briefly grab the spotlight. The automaker is more than doubling its production of the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats in response to strong demand. The order bank opens the second week of August and production begins in September. FCA will finish up its scheduled 2015 model-year Hellcat builds, and cancel any "unscheduled" versions, though customers will get discounted pricing for 2016.

Dodge engineers trying to shoehorn Pentastar into Dart?

The fact that the Dart's launch has been a pretty dismal affair isn't what we'd call secret. Judging by its mounting inventories and poor critical reception, Dodge's successor to its unloved Caliber has struggled since it hit the market. And while both of those are difficult problems to address, at least their cause is well known - the powertrain.
Even Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has acknowledged that the powertrain options in the Dart are substandard, admitting at January's Detroit Auto Show that the powertrains are "less than ideal." Leading with the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder found in the Fiat 500 Abarth left a bad taste in the mouths of consumers thanks to the laggy engine and dead throttle response (to say nothing of the manual and dual-clutch gearboxes that needed more refinement). The addition of the 184-horsepower 2.4-liter Tigershark in the Dart GT has helped matters some, but apparently Auburn Hills doesn't think it's quite enough.
If rumors are to be believed - get that salt ready - a possible solution may be in the works. A report from Allpar is claiming that Dodge is considering fitting a Pentastar V6 into the Dart's engine bay. As the Mopar-obsessed website points out, the critically acclaimed Pentastar is available in three different sizes - 3.0 liters, 3.2 liters and the original 3.6 liters. We don't get the 3.0 here in the US, but the 3.2 can be found in the new Jeep Cherokee and the 3.6 has been seemingly fitted to every model Chrysler can shoehorn it into.

Autoblog Podcast #393

Episode #393 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, and Michael Harley talk about Monterey Car Week, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Dodge Charger Hellcat, and the latest round of mid-engine Corvette rumors. Dan also had the chance to speak with Jeffrey Rothfeder, author of Driving Honda, a new book that takes a look inside the automaker. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the new rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #393: Topics: Monterey Car Week Jeffrey Rothfeder (Driving Honda) interview Woodward Dream Cruise + Dodge Charger Hellcat Mid-Engine Corvette rumors just won't die In The Autoblog Garage: 2014 Jaguar F-Type V6 S Convertible 2015 Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD 4X4 CNG 2014 Nissan NV200 SV Hosts: Dan Roth, Steven Ewing, Michael Harley Runtime: 02:10:41 Rundown: Intro and Garage - 00:00 Monterey Car Week - 37:08 Jeffrey Rothfeder - 52:17 Woodward 2014 - 01:28:11 Mid-Engine Corvette - 01:44:30 Q&A - 01:56:53 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Podcasts Rumormill Chevrolet Dodge Jaguar Nissan Pebble Beach mid-engine corvette dodge charger hellcat