2014 Fiat 500 Pop 18 Actual Miles White With Ivory And Rosso Interior Auto on 2040-cars

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Mopar maneuvers into SEMA with a multitude of modified models

As the aftermarket and performance arm of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Mopar has a duty to extract everything from the company's models that it can, and there's no better place to show all of its work off than the annual SEMA Show.
Dodge really gets in on the act this year with several customs to show off different parts of the brand's performance heritage. Perhaps the most interesting among them is the track-prepped Viper ACR Concept (pictured above). It wears a custom body kit to produce even more downforce, thanks in no small part to a monstrous wing at the back. To shed weight, most of the interior is stripped out, as well. Next up, the Challenger T/A Concept takes inspiration from '70s Trans-Am racing in a livery of Sublime Green and matte black paint. The center scoop in the hood keeps the 6.4-liter V8 fed with cool air, and the special's 20-by-9.5-inch matte black wheels keep it planted in the corners.
Also getting the once-over from Mopar is the Charger R/T. It wears the division's body kit, and under the hood, a cold-air intake keeps the 5.7-liter V8 breathing. The suspension is retooled to hold the road better with a coil-over kit, upgraded sway bars and strut tower braces for the front and rear. The company is also showing off a snazzy blue Charger with a mean look. The final Dodge getting work from Mopar is the Dart R/T Concept with bright, O-So-Orange paint and a matte black hood with a scoop hooked directly to the air intake. The performance-oriented design is finished off with a coil-over suspension and big brake kit, as well.

KSPG testing low-noise EV range extender engine

If you're going to add a gas-burning engine to an electric vehicle, it makes sense to have it be whisper quiet. We haven't heard the engine ourselves, but supplier KSPG AG said during the Detroit Auto Show this week that the range extender it put into a Fiat 500 for test purposes introduced "barely perceptible noise and vibration" levels. The engine, a two-cylinder V-type with something called "FEVcom vibration compensation" that allows the engine to kick on and power the vehicle without the cabin occupants really being able to notice. The whole unit - including a vertical crankshaft, two generators and gear wheel drive - comes in a ready-to-install support frame, KSPG says. Installed in the 500, it certainly looks tiny (click the image above to see what we mean). KSPG says the range extender is "largely universally mountable" and could be made cheaply if it were used in a variety of vehicles. KSPG worked with FEV on the project. Read more in the press release below. Low-noise range extender dispels battery runtime angst January 13, 2014 Together with FEV GmbH, KSPG is currently and successfully testing a range extender developed for electric vehicles. The test vehicle, based on the FIAT 500, has already undergone comprehensive tests at KSPG. Customer response to tests conducted at various OEMs underscore the targets achieved in the development of this extender where emphasis was on barely perceptible noise and vibration from the 2-cylinder V-type engine fitted with FEVcom vibration compensation. Thanks to its dedicated design features including active vibration compensation and convenient mounting location, the system on show performs excellently in the noise- vibration-harshness discipline. As a consequence, the impression of low-noise electric propulsion hardly suffers whenever the extender goes about its work. The range extender allows vast flexibility in the configuration of its operating strategy. Depending on the timing and load conditions for when it starts up, the unit's "operating philosophy" can be very closely adapted to any given conditions. The extender's advantages are to allow a reduction in battery size and cost and in the related weight. Also, the car can maintain its customary travel range without having to stop for lengthy recharging. It dispels "runtime angst," a phenomenon not to be underestimated when introducing electric mobility.

Jeep still working to improve Cherokee's 9-speed auto

Fiat Chrysler is hoping an upcoming software update will stem the tide of consumer complaints surrounding its nine-speed automatic transmission. Owners of the 2014 Jeep Cherokee have reported a number of problems on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's SaferCar.gov website, since the new model and its troubled gearbox arrived way back in October 2013. The software update is "intended to keep the vehicle performing as intended, and to prevent durability issues from occurring in the future," an FCA spokesperson told Automotive News, and will be available to owners of both the 2014 to 2015 Jeep Cherokee and the 2015 Chrysler 200, which also uses the 9AT. While FCA will be notifying consumers of the update, owners can also request the software reflash if they happen into their dealer before then. Despite the widely documented problems with the transmission, the only complaints on NHTSA's website relate to the 2014 Cherokee – neither the 2015 Jeep nor the 200 have received any complaints. That bodes well as FCA prepares to begin deliveries of the 2015 Jeep Renegade and launch the Fiat 500X, both of which pair the 9AT with the 2.4-liter Tigershark four-cylinder. "We have had to do an inordinate amount of intervention on that transmission, surely beyond what any of us had forecast," FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne told Automotive News. "There are things that we have done – that we continue to do. Our proactive customer care intervention has actually increased in intensity on these vehicles in 2014, especially in the second half." What's fascinating about the 9AT's problems are that they haven't been the fault of manufacturer ZF, but have related to software that wasn't "mature" and had "teething problems," Marchionne has said previously, AN reports. With the lack of criticism for the 9AT in 2015 models and this pending software update, though, here's hoping that FCA has finally figured out its fuel-sipping gearbox. Related Video: