Section: DaimlerChrysler
Written By: Seyth Miersma
December 31st, 2007 11:20 AM
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While news of the new standards for the Corporate Average Fuel Economy regulation has been thick in the air since Congress passed the most recent update to the law, how those regulations get enforced has barely been touched.
That may be set to change as CAFE gets tougher and automakers struggle to keep up.
DaimlerChrysler was recently fined a record $30,257,920 for infractions in model year 2006, nearly doubling the $16 million and change that the now dissolved automaker paid for 2005. The huge tab for 2006 bests the previous record of $28 million that BMW was levied for 2001.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which collects the CAFE toll, is set to get a lot busier with a 35 mpg average on the horizon. NHTSA has collected a total of $735,422,635.50 since the original fuel efficiency standards first took effect.
+ AutoblogGreen: DaimlerChrysler gets record $30M CAFE fine
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
October 4th, 2007 1:44 PM
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No longer content to be saddled with the name recalls their ill-fated merger, DaimlerChrysler’s shareholders have official approved a name change to Daimler AG.
Following the sale of the Chrysler to Cerberus LLC earlier this year, holders of stock in the German automaker were asked to vote for a new company name.
(Click on the jump to read about the rest of the Daimler naming saga and to find out what happened to poor old Carl Benz.)
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Written By: Chris Paukert
August 26th, 2007 9:19 AM
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For those who need space but find Chrysler’s minivans a bit too staid, the Pentastar is hoping you’ll find that the joy is in the Journey. More specifically, that’s the 2009 Dodge Journey, the vehicle we’ve been referring to as “JC49″ and “Crew” for want of better terms. Well, in any case, the vehicle shown above will debut not in Los Angeles or Detroit, but at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show.
The Journey rides on a stretched Avenger platform, with a 4.9-inch longer wheelbase, enabling both the standard five-seat arrangement and optional “5+2” seating (the way back is suitable for Only The Young during shorter trips). As one might reasonably expect, the Journey arrives chocked full of storage nooks and features, including an available MyGig entertainment system, Chillzone glovebox, and a couple of in-floor bins that double as ice chests.
In the U.S., Journey buyers will get to chose from a 2.4-liter four, a 2.7-liter flex-fuel V-6, or a 3.5-liter V-6 matched to a six-speed Auto Stick transmission (the other engines receive a conventional four-speed). That’s pretty much Any Way You Want It, though forbidden fruitophiles will doubtlessly lament that an interesting driveline option is available outside of North America, in this case a 2.0-liter turbodiesel paired with a six-speed manual. Once again, Separate Ways (Worlds Apart).
Available in both front-and all-wheel drive variants, the Journey will be available early next year in SE, SXT, and R/T trims. Dodge will produce the crossover in both left- and right-hand drive variants for sale outside of North America beginning mid-next year.
Editor’s Note: Our apologies for all of the low-hanging fruit Eighties arena rock song references. But we don’t know the next time we’ll get the opportunity to poke fun, especially since we don’t really believe Hyundai will name its pending rear-drive sedan “Genesis.” Just take solace in the knowledge that we couldn’t figure out a way to incorporate Wheel In The Sky into our schtick.
(Click through to the jump for Dodge’s complete press release, or on the thumbnails below to launch a massive high-resolution gallery)
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Written By: Chris Paukert
August 8th, 2007 11:31 AM
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According to a piece in this morning’s Detroit News, Chrysler employees fear a pending “brain-drain” as a result of its Cerberus sale and executive shuffling.
Currently, Chrysler is officially discouraging interview requests for positions at Daimler units and Chrysler Financial, and any workers looking to pursue such changing employers will require explicit approval, along with the intervention of the automaker’s human resources department.
The “moratorium” is apparently only a transitory item for the next few months, but some feel that the memo that communicated the procedures to Chrysler employees could in fact hasten the exit of certain employees.
+ Detroit News: Chrysler fears edgy executives will bolt
Written By: Chris Paukert
August 6th, 2007 3:08 PM
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Volkswagen is walking away from its oil-burning tie-up with DaimlerChrysler. VW had been planning to market Bluetec-branded diesels (as on the Concept Tiguan showtruck seen above), but instead it has decided to bring back its long-serving TDI moniker.
The change in strategy, first reported by German weekly Wirtschaftswoche, indicates that VW feared that as a brand, Bluetec is too closely associated with Mercedes-Benz, a perception issue that would be difficult for Wolfsburg to change. Additionally, the automaker already has some 800,000 TDI vehicles running around in the States (most with fiercely loyal owners—Ed), so it already enjoys a good amount of awareness among consumers.
+ AFX News Limited: Volkswagen to end cooperation with DaimlerChrysler on Blutec diesel branding (via CNNMoney.com)
Written By: Seyth Miersma
July 27th, 2007 11:37 AM
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Chrysler fired a major salvo in its fight to stay competitive yesterday, unveiling an industry-leading lifetime powertrain warranty plan, replete with logo.
Announced yesterday on the company’s Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep websites, the new service plan will affect all ’06-08’ models purchased and delivered on or after July 26.The warranty, a major upgrade on the existing 3-year/36,000 mile job, is non-transferable (available only to the original owner or lessee) and will exclude SRT and diesel variants. A further stipulation states that owners must bring vehicles in for powertrain checkups every five years, and within 60 days of the “anniversary” of the warranty’s start date.
With Chrysler’s sale to Cerberus Management imminent, and quarterly profit reports less than stellar, the lifetime warranty might just be the shot in the arm the automaker needs to keep buyers interested. With the commitment of forever, Chrysler claims underscore its ability to “produce quality, reliable and durable vehicles.”
Will the promise for a lifetime of service put you behind the wheel of a new Chrysler product? Yea or nay in ‘Comments.’
(Click on the jump below to read Chrysler’s official press release on their new lifetime powertrain warranty)
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Written By: Seyth Miersma
July 26th, 2007 5:12 PM
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Former Volkswagen brand chief and Chrysler product guru Wolfgang Bernhard has been tapped to take the reigns as chairman of the Chrysler group, pending its sale to Cerberus Capital Management later this year.
Best known for his “car guy” acumen and advocacy of the 300C at Chrysler, Bernhard has worked for Cerberus in an advising role from the inception of the acquisition talks.
The report, stemming from the German publication Manager Magazin, further notes that Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda and design chief Tom Gale (among other execs) have been retained by Cerberus as advisors.
What do you think, is Bernhard the right man for the post? Have your say in ‘Comments.’
+ Automotive News Europe: Report: Wolfgang Bernhard will be Chrysler chairman (subscription may be required)
Written By: Leo Levine
July 16th, 2007 10:11 AM
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German magazine auto, motor und sport reports that DaimlerChrysler (at the moment Chrysler is still part of the company, if only legally) plans to demonstrate the steps it is taking towards improving fuel consumption at September’s Frankfurt show.
The three principal Mercedes-Benz model lines will be shown equipped with an engine combination of Bluetec diesel and what is called a “mild” hybrid – no detailed explanation of the latter.
The C-class version, expected to go on sale in the 2011 model year, will do better than 47 miles per gallon; the E-class, scheduled for September 2009, better than 39 mpg, and the S-class, set for 2010, more than 34 mpg. E-class sales in Germany are currently running at 71 percent Bluetec diesel. All this from the same company that builds AMG versions, which will pass everything on the road except possibly a Ferrari and certainly a gas station.
(For readers finding conversion from liters per 100 kilometers to miles per gallon difficult, take the liter number and divide it into 235.24. In other words, 5 liters/100 km equals 47.048 mpg)
+ auto, motor und sport
Written By: Chris Paukert
July 4th, 2007 1:41 PM
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Ailing DaimlerChrysler continues to roll with the punches, as it announced Tuesday that it will call back some 80,000 2007 Jeep Wranglers and Dodge Nitros over a potential stalling issue.
DCX officials say that the brief power interruption can cause the vehicles to stall, but they noted that the engines “would immediately restart if the vehicle was in motion.”
Dealers are being asked to reflash a power module that is capable of interrupting electrical current to both the engine and instrument panel.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has thus far logged 180 stall complaints from Wrangler and Nitro owners, with one incident resulting in an accident, but no injuries.
Chrysler says that it will notify the 80,894 customers of the recall later this week.
+ The Associated Press: Chrysler recalls more than 80,000 Wranglers and Nitros (Via USA Today)
Written By: Chris Paukert
July 2nd, 2007 10:44 AM
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Despite reports to the contrary, Chrysler’s Crossfire will live to see the 2008 model year.
The controversially-styled coupe and convertible have been slow sellers, with Chrysler taking the unusual step of suspending North American orders for more than half the year to correct inventory levels in 2006. DaimlerChrysler officials went so far as to sell surplus inventory on the website Overstock.com, an innovative (if residual-crushing) move.
AutoWeek reports that Crossfire transaction prices are down, too. Average transaction prices in the second quarter of 2007 were just $27,526 after incentives—versus $32,460 over the same period in 2005.
For its part, Chrysler says that the Crossfire is “meeting expectations,” adding that the Karmann-built sports car is outselling Audi’s TT. For 2008, the Crossfire will get a few year-over-year changes, including a tire pressure monitoring system.
+ AutoWeek: Despite slow sales, Crossfire will be back in 2008
Written By: Chris Paukert
June 13th, 2007 6:26 PM
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Fifty years after it went into the ground, Tulsa has begun exhuming its 1957 Plymouth Belvedere –shaped time capsule. The now-classic car was unearthed early Wednesday morning, but worryingly, was found not clean and dry, but sitting in murky water rising up to mid-fender. It is thought that at some point, water may have in fact filled the entire concrete-lined vault.
As one might expect, hazmat crews were on the scene to check in on the condition of the drums of gasoline and motor oil, and as of this writing, the car hasn’t been pulled out and unwrapped from its plastic wrapper to see what sort of condition it is really in.
(Click on the link below for more details and a couple of videos)
+ KOTV: Water Seeps Into Vault Holding Buried Car (via Autoblog)
+ WINDING ROAD: Caption It: Tulsa’s Plymouth-Shaped Time Capsule
Written By: Chris Paukert
June 8th, 2007 10:42 AM
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In a scathing front page article, the Detroit News is calling Chrysler’s Sebring and Nitro “duds” after it has learned of a question-and-answer session between Bob Lee, DaimlerChrysler’s head of powertrain engineering and other employees.
Internally, both the sedan and sport utility have been called “embarrassing ‘misses’” that have resulted in “extremely aggressive actions” to correct shortcomings on both the vehicles themselves and Chrysler’s development processes. Everything from noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) levels to sub-standard handling and interior material quality has been called into question.
Lee is quoted as saying: “Our management has admitted that some of our competitors moved faster in some areas than we had anticipated and hence although we matched their previous position and added some improvements, we didn’t set targets aggressive enough.”
According to the latest issue of Automotive News (June 4), the embattled automaker has shifted 41,340 Sebrings and 31,444 Nitros in the first five months of this year. AN doesn’t break out sales of the Sebring Convertible (arguably a wholly different model).
What do you think… are these products really as bad as all that? Will executives be able to salvage the sales and reputation of these two products? Have your say in ‘Comments.’
+ Detroit News: Chrysler rethinks design after duds
+ Automotive News
+ WINDING ROAD: Dodge Nitro R/T Road Test
Next >
Report: Volkswagen Working on Driverless Self-Parking System for Production
More Spied Images of New Camaro Interior
Early Scoop on Volkswagen Tiguan's U.S. Launch, Diesel Delayed? Not Coming? 
Report: Mercedes-Benz to Leverage Aluminum for Next E-class
Toyota's Prius Passes 1 Million Sold Mark 
