2013 Ram 3500 Laramie Cab And Chassis With Cm "er" Hauler Bed on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

Work at a Chrysler dealership, get free college education

The cost of a college education in the US can put a student tens (hundreds, in some cases) of thousands of dollars into debt. FCA US wants to give its dealership employees a leg up, though, and the automaker is now offering a completely free education to them through a partnership with Strayer University. The workers can take any of the college's classes online or on campus through program called Degrees@Work. Currently, the offer is only available to employees Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Fiat dealers in the automaker's Southeast region, which includes Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. However, a national expansion will happen before the end of the year, Strayer spokesperson Cristina Henley tells Autoblog. The program will cover all of the students' expenses, including their books, according to Henley. FCA US sees this partnership as a way to improve the talent of its workforce, retain employees longer and possibly attract people wanting to take advantage of this free education. "Many of our dealers have expressed concern over the availability of talent to fill open positions due to business growth and turnover in their stores, especially in metro markets," Al Gardner, the company's Head of Dealer Network Development, said in the Degrees@Work announcement. Strayer has about 40 programs available, including in business administration, accounting, marketing, and more, and the university offers associate's, bachelor's, and master's degrees. It will also give FCA US employees credit for their work experience to get them a diploma even more quickly. FCA US Dealers to Offer Employees No-Cost, No-Debt College Education FCA US teams with Strayer University to develop first-of-its-kind dealer program Degrees@Work program open to all employees of participating dealerships Employees can earn no-cost, no-debt degree through Strayer University All Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships may participate First phase of program rollout begins with dealers in the FCA US Southeast Business Center National rollout expected later this year May 4, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - Employees of Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram and FIAT dealerships will have the unique opportunity to earn a no-cost, no-debt college degree through Strayer University's Degrees@Work program, developed in collaboration with FCA US LLC. FCA US is the only company in the automotive industry to offer the program.

Stellantis mega-merger gets approval from FCA, PSA shareholders

MILAN — Shareholders of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Peugeot decisively voted Monday to merge the U.S.-Italian and French carmakers to create worldÂ’s 4th-largest auto company. Addressing separate meetings, both PSA Peugeot CEO Carlos Tavares and Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann spoke of the “historic” importance of the vote, which combines legacy car companies that helped write the industrial histories of the United States, France and Italy. Before the merger is finalized, shares in the new company, to be called Stellantis, must the launched. It will be traded in Milan, New York and Paris. The marriage of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is built on the promise of cost-savings in the capital-hungry industry, but what remains to be seen is if it will be able to preserve jobs and heritage brands in a global market still suffering from the pandemic. The deal will create the worldÂ’s fourth-largest carmaker, with the capacity to produce 8.7 million cars a year, behind Volkswagen, Toyota and Renault-Nissan, and create 5 billion euros in annual synergies.  “We are fully aware of the fact that together we will be stronger than individually,'' PSA CEO Carlos Tavares told a virtual gathering of eligible shareholders. “The two companies are in good health. These two companies have strong positions in their markets.” The new company will put together under one roof French mass-market carmakers Peugeot and Citroen, top-selling Jeep and Italian luxury and sports brands Maserati and Alfa Romeo - pooling companies that have helped define the industry in the United States, France and Italy. While the tie-up is billed as a merger of equals, the power advantage goes to PSA, with Tavares running Stellantis and holding the tie-breaking vote on the 11-seat board. Tavares is set to take full control of the company early this year, possibly by the end of January. Fiat Chrysler chairman John Elkann, heir to the Fiat-founding Agnelli family and Fiat ChryslerÂ’s biggest shareholder, will be the Stellantis chairman. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley will head North American operations, which is key to Tavares' long-time goal of getting a U.S. foothold for the French carmaker he has run since 2014, and the clear money-maker for Fiat Chrysler. Such a deal was long wanted by Fiat ChryslerÂ’s long-time CEO Sergio Marchionne, who had predicted the necessity of consolidation in the industry. He was unable to find a deal before his sudden death in July 2018.