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Auto blog

Marchionne wants to nearly double Jeep sales by 2018

Jeep just keeps breaking its own sales records. A couple of weeks ago, the off-road brand announced its worldwide sales exceeded one million units for the first time, marking its third consecutive global record and the fifth straight year of sales increases here in the US. But FCA isn't about to stop there. TheDetroitBureau.com reports that chief executive Sergio Marchionne, speaking to the media at the Detroit Auto Show, has announced a new sales target for the Jeep division: By 2018, he wants to see Jeep sell 1.9 million units in a single year, nearly doubling its all-time record. The expansion will surely encompass new products, with the all-new Renegade just warming up, a next-generation Wrangler on the way and a reborn Grand Wagoneer in the pipeline, as well. But the focus of FCA's preparations to reach the new target is on production capacity. While it's not clear whether the Toledo, OH plant where half of all the Jeeps sold around the world are currently built will continue to host the next Wrangler, FCA is expanding production overseas. The Renegade is already being built alongside the Fiat 500X in Italy, where another 1,000 workers are being re-hired and where another factory is set to start producing Jeeps, as well. A Renegade-based variant for the South American market will soon be built in Brazil, and by the end of this year, Jeep aims to start local production in China.

NHTSA closes probes on Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey

The Detroit News reports the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has officially closed its investigations into 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2004-2005 Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey models. The separate probes found no issues that pose safety concerns. NHTSA began investigating certain Grand Cherokee SUVs over complaints that power steering hoses could detach during operation, thereby increasing the risk of a vehicle fire. Of the 24 reports of failure, none alleged smoke or fire in the engine bay, and Chrysler has since modified the power steering cooler assembly to reduce the likelihood of the failure.
Meanwhile, certain Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey vehicles garnered a government probe after receiving complaints that the models were equipped with faulty scissor jacks. The agency had received six reports of the jacks failing or causing injuries, including one incident that resulted in a fatality. But NHTSA says the jack failure rate is similar to those found in other vehicles. In those six cases, the government agency found the jacks were being used for something other than changing a tire, and investigators could not determine whether the emergency brake was set or the rear tires were properly chocked.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles recalls nearly 750k vehicles in two campaigns

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is recalling a total of 747,817 vehicles in the US in two separate campaigns recently added to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration database.
The first one covers about 434,581 units of the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger, Challenger, Durango, and Jeep Grand Cherokee from the 2011-2014 model years with electric hydraulic power steering, the 3.6-liter V6 engine and a 160 amp alternator, according to FCA. In the affected vehicles, it's possible for the alternator to fail without warning and possibly cause the car to stall. According to the documentation submitted to NHTSA, the automaker began investigating the problem in August 2014 and has found possible evidence of one crash caused by the failures but no known injuries.
Customers will begin receiving notification about the recall next month, and obviously the repairs will be done at no cost to them.