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Responding to tests in which a Liberty was flipped, Chrysler is lowering the suspension of the SUV by 22 mm in front and 19 mm in rear. These changes increase handling ability, though to the minor detriment of off-road capability. No recall has been made, and some testers are puzzled that a Liberty was made to flip during tests since it normally seems stable.
Chrysler has cut 213 dealers from the Five Star program, originally intended to provide a dramatic change in customer satisfaction. Indeed, the program can do that when dealers care about customers, since it gives them the tools to make major improvements. However, many dealers, according to Chrysler, cared more about the satisfaction scores than actual satisfaction. Another 570 dealers risk being kicked out from the Five Star system if they do not change their ways. This is a major advance for the program, which has the potential to greatly increase Chrysler's sales and satisfaction.
Consistent with new Mercedes plants, the new Hyundai factory in the US will be built in the South, using nonunion labor and not reusing any Chrysler facilities or people. The ground-breaking ceremony took place yesterday. Hyundai is 10% owned by DCX.
While GM announced a substantial, if lower than usual, profit for the first quarter, Ford announced an $800 million loss (including a $117 million profit from European operations). Excluding unusual items, the loss was "only" $108 million. Chrysler is expected to post an operational profit and overall loss for the first quarter, but our opinion on the validity of those figures has already been posted.
Several people have pointed out the details on the New York Lotto's "If I Had A Million Dollars" song. For example, Michael A. Cole wrote "The song that is being used in the New York Lotto ads was originally written and performed by The Bare Naked Ladies and was released in 1992 on their debut album, 'Gordon.' " David MacPhail pointed out that the Canadian band actually sings "I would buy you a K-car/a nice Reliant automobile" (not "reliable" as we reported).
In the Mopar Parts NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series, teams completed eliminations for this weekend’s O’Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Spring Nationals at Houston Raceway Park. Darrell Alderman drove his Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T to the second round while Dean Skuza ended his day in round one.
Darrell Alderman and the Mopar Parts Dodge Neon R/T lost to Warren Johnson in the second round of competition. Even though Alderman had his third-straight starting line advantage over Johnson, a 6.897-second elapsed time at 201.31 was not enough to outrun a 6.872/201.04 combination.
Alderman advanced to the second round with a decisive first-round victory over George Marnell. The three-time POWERade Drag Racing Series Pro Stock World Champion clicked off a 6.879-second pass at 202.03 mph, which was second fast for the session.
Dean Skuza, driver of the Mopar Parts Dodge Stratus R/T, lost in the first round to Tommy Johnson, Jr. The Brecksville, Ohio resident run a 5.168-second pass at 276.06 mph, but Johnson drove to a quicker 4.967/305.36 combination. "I had to pedal it a little on that run," Skuza said. "We’re getting closer to know what this new car needs to be competitive. We’re real happy with what we learned and we’ll see what we can do in Bristol."
Catch it now (April 16), 2:30-4:30 p.m.; ESPN2
When Bob Lutz first left Chrysler, he went to run Exide, which just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, blaming a heavy debt load from its acquisitions and price competition. The Financial Times reported that Exide also had been accused of bribery. We do not know, but suspect, that these issues predated Lutz.
The New York lotto commercials, featuring people singing "if I had a million dollars, I'd be rich" has added the following lyric: "(if I had a million dollars,) I'd buy you a K-car / a nice reliable automobile."
2000-2002 Jeep® Wranglers, 2000-2001 Jeep Cherokees and 1999-2002 Jeep Grand Cherokees with 4.0 liter engines to reduce the possibility of debris accumulation in the engine compartment that could potentially cause a fire. There have been no accidents or injuries related to this issue. The Chrysler Group determined a design change made to the engine manifolds modified the underhood airflow, which in rare cases could lead to debris accumulation in the engine compartment. While this situation is uncommon, the Chrysler Group will attach a shield in the manifold area to prevent this from occurring.
According to Detroit News, DCX is planning another new assembly plant in the US, this one for the popular Sprinter commercial van. American cities and states are bidding hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to get the nonunion jobs in their area, even as DCX closes existing Chrysler plants, throwing thousands of people out of work and leaving large tracts of land with factories, railroad sidings, and roads empty.
The redesigned BMW 1-series may soon be making its way to the United States, complete with a 105 horsepower base engine (which may stay in Europe) which, as far as we know, is the model used in the Mini and jointly designed by Rover and Chrysler. Rover was temporarily swallowed up by BMW, and spit back out again when the luxury/perormance automaker realized it had no idea how to run a mass-market car company (Mercedes, are you listening?). Chrysler had intended to use the 1.4 and 1.6 liter engines, produced in South America, for a new line of subcompacts and for European versions of the Neon, but this seems increasingly unlikely as Chrysler's car business is moved into a new phase of platform-sharing.
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