2007 Dodge Charger R/t Sedan 4-door 5.7l on 2040-cars

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FCA seeks partner to keep building Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200

Mere weeks after FCA announced it was shutting down production of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200, new hope emerges to give the sedans a stay of execution. Speaking at the Geneva Motor Show last week, Sergio Marchionne said that the company was looking for a partner "who is better at it than we are and who has got capacity available" in order to continue building the models on its behalf. "There are discussions going on now," said Marchionne, according to Motor Trend. "I think we will find a solution. We continue to talk. It's both a technical solution and an economic one. We need to find a solution that works economically." Contracting vehicles to be manufactured offsite is more common practice among European automakers than it is with American ones. Chrysler's former patron Mercedes, for example, has the G-Class built for it by Magna Steyr in Austria, the A-Class by Valmet in Finland, and the R-Class by AM General in Indiana (even though it's no longer sold in the US). This arrangement would, on the surface at least, appear more similar to the deal that Toyota struck with Mazda to build the Scion iA, drawing on the contractor's expertise and capacity to build the small sedan on the client company's behalf. Only rather than basing a new model on one of the partner's existing ones, this deal would ostensibly continue building FCA models on FCA platforms using FCA components. We'll have to wait to find out with whom FCA strikes up the manufacturing deal, but we wouldn't be surprised to see Marchionne turn to a partner he already knows. The company is, after all, at the center of an intricate web of joint ventures and manufacturing contracts. The Fiat 124 Spider, for example, is built by Mazda. The Fiat Sedici that preceded the 500X was built by Suzuki. Models like the Dodge Stealth and Eagle Talon were built in Illinois at the Diamond-Star Motors joint venture before Mitsubishi took it over altogether. And Dodge continued selling the Mercedes-made Sprinter long after DaimlerChrysler split. The Ram ProMaster, though built by FCA in Mexico for the North American market, stems from a partnership in France with PSA Peugeot Citroen. And the ProMaster City is built in a joint-venture plant in Turkey, from which it's also sold by GM as an Opel in Europe and a Vauxhall in the UK. With all those deals coming and going, after all, what would one more add to the complexity?

Australian consumer activists destroy a Dodge Journey with a tank

An Australian couple held an event where they crushed their unreliable and frustrating Dodge Journey with a retired army tank. According to Drive, Kate and Joe Masters owned an infuriating 2010 Dodge Journey that they claim was plagued by mechanical and electrical issues. After numerous failed attempts on their part to get the issues fixed by Fiat Chrysler and Dodge Australia, the couple decided that they'd had enough. Working with Queensland consumer advocate Ashton Wood, the Masters held an event where they smashed the Dodge with a sledgehammer and fired arrows at it. Finally, they rolled out a retired Centurion Mk.V tank and proceeded to crush the doomed Dodge monster truck-style. Fiat Chrysler issued a statement refuting many of the Masters' claims about both its vehicle and the steps taken to remedy the situation. The company claims that the vehicle was serviced outside of its dealer network and that the Masters did not work through established consumer complaint channels established by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. "We had attempted to work proactively with this customer, offering free service work and free genuine parts after their warranty had expired," FCA said in a statement. "While Dodge Australia was keen to resolve this issue, we weren't in the position to issue the demanded refund of $43,000 for a vehicle purchased in 2011, that was driven for more than 100,000 kilometers (62,137 miles) and that has no known manufacturing defects, nor had any evidence provided by the owners to substantiate these claims. Queensland senator Glenn Lazarus, who was involved with the tank event, stated that Australian motorists need better consumer protections against automotive dealerships and manufacturers. "Countries around the world have successfully implemented lemon laws to provide consumers with protection and I believe it's about time we did the same in Australia," he said. Destroying cars in a public act of frustration is nothing new. In China, a Lamborghini Gallardo owner smashed his luxury ride with a sledgehammer after he felt he wasn't given a premium experience at the dealership. Related Video: News Source: Drive.com Auto News Government/Legal Weird Car News Dodge SUV Military Videos viral video dodge journey tank queensland crushed publicity stunt

Dodge offers 100 years of solid advice in new ad

This is a cool ad. Dodge, which is celebrating its centennial this year, recruited some of its peers to see what you should and shouldn't do in life. Of course, some are obvious - don't complain, learn from your mistakes and live for now.
Then again, some are less obvious. Some, actually, are downright awesome. Towards the end, each piece of advice is interspersed with clips of Dodge's redesigned Challenger smoking its tires. Really, this ad feels like it'd be worthy of a Super Bowl spot. This commercial's personal nature is really in keeping with some of the big game's most interesting ads, like the Imported From Detroit commercial, the Farmer ad and Maserati's surprise clip from this year's game.
Take a look below and let us know what you think.