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Dodge hoping Fast & Furious appearance gives Dart a sales jolt [w/video]

According to Automotive News, Chrysler is hoping Fast & Furious 6 will be kind to the Dodge Dart. While the compact sedan doesn't actually show up in the film, Dodge has partnered up with the movie franchise for a new ad featuring the Dart.
Chrysler hasn't exactly seen the high sales numbers it was originally hoping for with the new sedan, thanks in part to a couple of missteps. For starters, most early-production vehicles were only offered with a manual transmission. Analysts believe Chrysler squandered around 95 percent of potential Dart sales because automatic transmission options weren't immediately available.
Right now, the Dodge Dart rakes 19th among compact cars, pulling down 31,064 sales through April. Last month was the company's strongest, with 8,099 units moving off of dealer lots. Unfortunately, the model has also been handicapped by its older sister, the Avenger. With Chrysler throwing heavy incentives at the aging sedan, many consumers have taken advantage of a better deal with the slightly larger, more powerful Avenger.

Is America's last cheap minivan worth it?

Take a good look at this beauty. Because once she's gone there may be no turning back. The minivan market has been completely decimated over the past fifteen years. I could list all the former brands (dead and alive) that once formed the lynchpin of parenthood for this inherently conservative market. But that would involve at least fourteen commas, three sets of parentheses, and possibly even one 2000s-style recount. Back then, middle-class America loved these people-movers and even the well-to-do were glad to load them up with unique luxuries such as power sliding doors, captain's chairs, integrated child seats, and DVD players that entombed cacophonous kids into a temporary silence. Back in the '90s, the minivan market regularly realized well over a million sold units a year. In 2000, minivans finally hit their familial peak of 1.4 million vehicles in a year with the help of two top-20 bestsellers: the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country. Today the minivan just isn't popular. This year it'll likely represent only a half-million in annual sales, with not a single minivan hitting America's top 30 in overall volume. But as I always tell folks, "If you want a deal, you have to hit 'em where they ain't." So you want a cheap and affordable minivan for cash money that isn't a 15-year-old Plymouth in purple? Does it have to be new? Really? Well, if you're married to that type of person, this Grand Caravan with the American Value Package is the cheapest thing going. Deals can also be had on the mini-minivan Mazda5, but since it's been discontinued due to low demand, let's focus on the still-popular Chrysler minivan. The cost for this 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan according to TrueCar is right around $19,500 depending on where you live in the USA. But let's take a look at the 2015 models instead since they tend to have even stronger discounts during the wintertime thanks to manufacturers and dealers who are busy shoveling out all this older inventory. If you opt for a 2015 model instead, you're looking at a market price right around $17,800 and luckily these minivans are still sitting in multitude. Wanna click those rebate and incentive buttons? If you currently lease or finance a FIAT or Chrysler product, have AAA coverage, and finance the car with FCA, you can make off like the proverbial bandit for a price of only $15,229 before the dealer inflicts their bogus fee money dance.

Recharge Wrap-up: LA Auto Show may feature updated Cadillac ELR, Uber expands Chicago HQ

A Kentucky man has converted his 1939 Dodge pickup to an electric vehicle. Al Gajda of Lexington built the electric truck, which he now uses as his daily driver. "I take advantage of any excuse to drive it; just banging around town, errands, short runs on the interstate, delivering my granddaughter to school in the morning," he says. It is powered by a lithium-ion phosphate battery, which is mounted in a wooden box on the truck bed, and gets about 100 miles per charge. Read more at the Lexington Herald-Leader. Elon Musk will speak at the Automotive News World Congress in January. The Tesla CEO is a featured speaker for the program, "Setting the Pace in a Thriving Market." The event takes place in Detroit, which could lead to an interesting mix of people in the audience, and Musk will speak on January 13. Read more at Automotive News. Production of the Toyota Rav4 EV has ended. The shipment of the final Toyota EVs concludes Toyota's deal to source batteries from Tesla. Of the 2,600 Rav4 EVs to be produced, there are probably just a few hundred left to be sold, most of which are likely to be gone by the end of October. Read more at Inside EVs. Cadillac will likely show an improved version of the ELR at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. The 2016 ELR will include unspecified "engineering enhancements," according to Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell. There will be no 2015 model, as the 2014 model will be sold until the 2016 ELR goes on sale in the first half 2015. Read more at Edmunds. Uber executives, along with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, have announced a major expansion of the ride-hailing company's Chicago headquarters. Uber also plans to add 420 jobs by the end of 2016. "Uber's new expanded headquarters will allow the company to continue its rapid growth and serve its riders and drivers throughout Illinois," says Governor Quinn. Last month, Quinn vetoed legislation that would have put restrictions on companies like Uber in the state. Read more in the press release below. Governor Quinn and Uber Announce Major Chicago Headquarters Expansion Innovative Ridesharing Company to Add 420 Jobs by End of 2016 CHICAGO, Sept. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Pat Quinn and Uber executives today announced that the ridesharing giant is moving forward with creating 420 new jobs by the end of 2016 in a major expansion of its Chicago regional headquarters.