1985 Jeep Cj7 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chrysler Recalls Jeep SUVs For Ignition Switches

The ignition switch defects that engulfed General Motors are now a rapidly growing problem at Chrysler. Chrysler said Tuesday it is recalling up to 792,300 older Jeep SUVs worldwide because the ignition switches could fall out of the "run" position, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags as well as power-assisted steering and braking. That's the same problem that has forced GM to recall more than 15 million cars over the last six months. Chrysler's recall covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees and 2006-2007 Commanders. The company said it is not sure exactly how many will be recalled, but said it will notify customers by mid-September. Chrysler said an outside force such as a driver's knee can knock switches out of the "run" position. Engineers are working on a fix. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said it knows of no related injuries and only one accident. But it said owners should keep clearance between their knees and keys until repairs are made. Chrysler has now recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles for ignition-switch problems. In June, the company added 696,000 minivans and SUVs to a 2011 recall to fix faulty ignition switches. Those recalls covered Dodge Journey SUVs and Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan and Volkswagen Routan minivans - which Chrysler made for the German automaker - from the 2007 to 2010 model years. Tuesday's recall is the outgrowth of two investigations opened by U.S. safety regulators last month as part of a broader probe into ignition-switch and air-bag problems across the auto industry. The agency wouldn't say Tuesday whether its investigation could lead to recalls at other automakers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in June that it was investigating Jeep Commanders and Grand Cherokees after getting 32 complaints that a driver's knee can hit the key fob or key chain, causing the ignition switch to move out of position. The federal investigation is still open. The agency said Tuesday that it is requesting additional information from Chrysler to ensure that its repairs will be effective. The investigations and recalls come after GM bungled an ignition-switch recall of older small cars. GM acknowledged that it knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade but failed to recall the cars until earlier this year, when it recalled 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt.

Hybrid and Electric Jeeps, Fiats, and Alfa Romeos to be built in Poland

WARSAW - Fiat Chrysler will invest more than $200 million in its plant in Tychy in Poland, where new hybrid and electric Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo models will be built, Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Gowin said on Tuesday. The investment comes as a boost to emerging Europe's largest economy, which is hoping a switch to electric vehicles can help its auto sector catch up with regional rivals including the Czech Republic and Slovakia. "Modern, hybrid and electric cars of the Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands will start to leave the factory in Tychy in 2022," Gowin wrote on Twitter. Gowin said there could be further investment in the plant in future but gave no details. Fiat Chrysler, which is planning a $38 billion merger with French rival PSA to create the world's No.4 carmaker, said in a statement that early preparations for the expansion and modernization of the plant started in late 2020. The plant in Poland's industrial southern region of Silesia is one of the company's largest and currently employs around 2,500 people. Fiat Chrysler confirmed that new hybrid and electric Jeep, Fiat and Alfa Romeo models would be built in Tychy. It said the aim was to start mass production of the first of the three new passenger car models for the group's brands in the second half of 2022. Under a 2018-2022 plan, FCA pledged to invest 9 billion euros in electrification as part of investment plans totaling 45 billion euros. (Reporting by Alan Charlish and Agnieszka Barteczko in Warsaw, Silvia Recchimuzzi in Gdansk; editing by Jason Neely and Susan Fenton) Auto News Government/Legal Green Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Fiat Jeep Green Automakers Electric Future Vehicles Hybrid

Marchionne defends FCA recalls, says Wrangler won't be all-aluminum

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne recently received the 2015 Industry Leadership Award from the SAE Foundation. While speaking with the press after the event, the boss discussed his thoughts about some key issues regarding the company's future. One of the big regulatory issues facing FCA at the moment is the upcoming public hearing by the National Highway Traffic Safety into the automaker's handling of 20 recalls. Marchionne has no intention of testifying there, according to The Detroit News. The CEO also thinks that the government regulator is becoming much more aggressive in how it handles safety campaigns, but the Feds aren't necessarily doing a very good job of communicating that. "We need to work with the agency in a very cooperative and open way to make sure that we can meet their requirements for their new stance," he said, according to the newspaper. "We have no option but to comply with their requirements and we will. I have nothing to hide in this process. I just want clear rules." Marchionne also dropped the news that the company has changed its mind about making the next Jeep Wrangler totally from aluminum. "Because of the difference in cost, not just the new material but the actual assembly process, I think we can do almost as well without doing it all-aluminum," he said to The Detroit News. This seemingly opens the door for the model to remain in production in Toledo, OH, but only just a crack. Marchionne says that the new Wrangler would still use a large amount of aluminum, and there are "at least" two sites in contention for the assembly. The company doesn't have too long to make a decision because the model reportedly launches in 2017.