2010 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Crew Cab Pickup 4-door 5.7l Lots Of Aftermarket Add. on 2040-cars

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Tempted by the Demon, dealers find way to thwart Dodge, jack up prices

It's the eternal story of short supply, big demand - and car dealers eager to exploit that dynamic, especially when it involves a hot car. A few weeks ago, when Dodge announced that it devised a way to attempt to prevent price-gouging on those 840-horsepower 2018 Dodge Demons, you just knew the dealers would dream up some devilish end-run. And sure enough, despite the manufacturer's best intentions, Demon order slots are being offered with five-figure markups. Here's how things were supposed to work: With a run of just 3,000 cars, Dodge knew it had to do something to address dealer greed, so it announced an allocation system: Cars purchased at or below the $86,090 MSRP would be the first orders filled and delivered. If a dealer sells an allocated Demon for more than sticker, that car goes to the end of the line for production and delivery. Dodge also ensured dealers wouldn't stockpile or hoard Demons by limiting the number of orders a dealer can submit and allocating cars to dealers based on how many Challenger and Charger Hellcats the dealer has sold. But Automotive News reports that some dealers are using intermediaries to auction off their Demon allocations on eBay. Three sellers last week said they were representing dealers in South Carolina, Tennessee and Louisiana, and auctioning off the right to buy a car in one of the priority spots at MSRP. The minimum bid for the right to buy the car at sticker? From $10,000-25,000. And previous transactions on eBay might have run as high as $75,000. So early buyers are definitely paying an upcharge - but it's a thing apart from the bottom line on the order form, where it appears they are paying MSRP. In other words, a scheme that violates the spirit of what FCA tried to do. A source at FCA told Automotive News the automaker was monitoring the practice but could do little to stop it. And the report quoted a Hellcat owner who said his dealership was ignoring Dodge's strictures altogether and offered him a Demon at MSRP plus $60K. But take heart. Not all car dealers are cynically opportunistic - or rather, some see an opportunity for doing good, not making buck. Automotive News says Bill Marsh Chrysler in Traverse City, Mich., plans to sell its single allocated Demon for $1 under MSRP - and is auctioning off the right to buy it, with the dealership's existing customers eligible to bid. The auction's proceeds will benefit four Traverse City charities.

Chrysler recalling 31k SUVs and vans

Chrysler is issuing recalls covering roughly 31,700 vehicles worldwide due to two separate problems. In both cases the company believes that most of the affected vehicles are either still on, or in transit to, dealer lots.
One recall covers roughly 10,700 Dodge Durango, Jeep Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Grand Cherokee SRT models from the 2014 model year built between January 16 and April 17, 2014. The SUVs need a software update for the cruise control. It's possible that when the cruise is on and the driver presses on the throttle, the acceleration could last a second after the pedal is released or two seconds for the SRT. Afterward, they return to the speed originally set by the driver.
Chrysler says it isn't aware of any accidents, injuries or even reported incidents of this happening in the real world. Also, in all cases, if the driver presses on the brake, the cruise shuts off. The automaker believes that there are about 6,100 affected SUVs in the US, 950 in Canada, 425 in Mexico and 3,200 outside of North America. The software upgrade will be ready shortly, the company says.

Trump tells Detroit 3 CEOs he wants more US jobs, calls environmentalists 'out of control'

As expected, President Donald J. Trump met with top executives from FCA, Ford, and General Motors this morning as part of a larger push to generate jobs in America. "I want new plants to be built here for cars sold here!", Trump said in a tweet ahead of the meeting. Not everything said in the meeting was made public, but the President later tweeted that he had a "Great meeting with automobile industry leaders." FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne, Ford chief Mark Fields, and GM's Mary Barra all echoed the positive vibes after the meeting. In a statement, Barra called the discussion "very constructive and wide-ranging," adding that it focused on "policies that support a strong and competitive economy and auto industry," and "that supports the environment and safety." That's noteworthy, because Trump is reported to have said "I am to a large extent an environmentalist. I believe in it, but it's out of control." Fields, speaking to reporters after the meeting, said, "We're excited about working together with the president and his administration on tax policies, on regulation and on trade to really create a renaissance in American manufacturing." The Ford CEO was specifically talking about Trump's withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. "We've repeatedly said that the mother of all trade barriers is currency manipulation, and TPP failed in meaningfully dealing with that, and we appreciate the president's courage to walk away from a bad trade deal," he said. Marchionne focused on American manufacturing in his statement after the meeting. "I appreciate the President's focus on making the US a great place to do business. We look forward to working with President Trump and members of Congress to strengthen American manufacturing." Perhaps equally as interesting as what was said and who was invited are what wasn't said and who wasn't invited. Trump has been very vocal about his distaste for US automakers' plants in Mexico, but no mention was made of the North American Free Trade Agreement by Trump or any of the Detroit CEOs after the meeting. We also have to wonder if Trump plans to meet with representatives from German, Japanese, and Korean automakers that have made massive investments into American plants and produce a large number of cars in this country. Related Video: News Source: Reuters, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automotive, Donald J.