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Bill Cawthon wrote: In March, the PT Cruiser will be available with a 2.2 litre OM664 common rail diesel engine. The diesel, jointly engineered by Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz, is for Europe only, where a significant percentage of vehicles the size of the PT Cruiser are sold with diesels. [Diesels provide substantial gains in fuel economy, often at the cost of sustained acceleration. Diesel fuel can also be cheaper than standard gasoline.]
Following public pressure, Chrysler appears to be set to recall most 1996 through 2000 Caravans, Voyagers, and Town & Countrys. An O-ring in the fuel system may cause fuel leaks. Chrysler has been working on ways to resolve the problem, delaying the recall until a solution could be found. The problem affects vehicles driven for long periods at high altitudes. There have been 25 possibly related fires.
Mitsubishi and Hyundai are to gain a presence in Mexico, apparently using Chrysler's distribution system and replacing Plymouth as the entry-level brand.
Though GM earned a net profit exceeding a quarter billion dollars in the fourth quarter, and can honestly say that one reason for not losing money was the contribution of its employees, the company announced that it would be scrapping profit-sharing payments for hourly workers, according to the Detroit News. We (sarcastically) congratulate GM for its usual good job of employee motivation and rewarding hourly workers' efforts.
GM earned $1.5 billion, or $3.23 per share, in calendar year 2001. Including special items, GM had net income of $601 million, or $1.77 per share, in 2001; this compares with $4.5 billion, or $6.68 per share, in the prior year.
Genciu wrote: "Just looked at Chrysler inventory as of January 1st as listed in Automotive News and divided the figures by the number of dealers in the US. We've talked about vehicles at individual dealers and thought some might be interested in "national averages" of vehicles per dealer: Grand Cherokee 10; Jeep Liberty 9; Jeep Wrangler 4.7; 300M 2; Concorde 2.7; PT Cruiser 12 (!); Sebring Sedan 4; Sebring Coupe 2; Sebring Convertible 2; T & C 10; Voyager 4; Intrepid 5; Neon 6; Stratus Sedan 4; Stratus Coupe 2; Caravan 16; Dakota 10; Durango 9; Pickup 29; Ram Van 2.5; Ram Wagon 0.5
"Also final production figures for 2001 were posted. Ford was down 14.4%, GM was down 11.0% and Chrysler was down 9.9%. "
Ford will close five plants, discontinue four models, cut the dividend, sell more stock, and cut 35,000 jobs worldwide, including 22,000 jobs in North America. The five plants may not be closed for a few years yet. They include Edison's Ranger plant, Ontario's F-series plant (wonder how they'll keep the lead if they don't make the trucks?), the St. Louis Explorer plant, a Cleveland engine parts plant, and a parts factory in Detroit. The Woodhaven forging plant will also be sold, and the Ohio assembly plant in Avon Lake will be phased out. The Mercury Cougar - a variant of the Contour - and the Ford Escort are being cut, but that was expected, since the Focus was meant to replace the Escort and Contour. The Mercury Villager's demise was also predicted given that it is a rebadged Nissan Quest, which is being replaced by a new Nissan minivan. The one surprise is the end of the Lincoln Continental, based on the Taurus and a favorite of fleet buyers. Hopefully the demise of the Continental will favor the Chrysler Concorde (maybe not until the next generation), which is larger inside yet equally refined, and low-end Cadillacs. It may of course result in greater Avalon sales instead.
Earlier, we reported on a stolen 300K. It was recovered, and here's the story - a lesson if the same ever happens to you:
A week after its disappearance, the 300-K turned back up. The dirtbags put about 40 miles on the odometer and picked up parking tickets in some interesting places. Cosmetics are no worse than they were, a couple of new mechanical glitches (overheating and some new electrical problems) but I don't think they're serious. Still confused as to why the dirtbags cut the wires to what is obviously a (non-functioning) factory AM radio.While the Auto Theft Detail was insisting on looking for a white LeBaron 4drHt (assuming they were looking at all) I got a letter from Department of Parking saying the car had been impounded as an abandoned vehicle. So I call the cops and ask what's up with that... ...eight hours later I get a call back from the cops saying the car's been recovered. Sheesh!
I was assuming I would never see the car again, or if so it'd be without that sweet 413. I guess my car karma is better than I thought, and I hope I can live up to that in the future.
January 10, 2002: Joint venture transmission company to split
New Venture Gear, a joint venture between GM and Chrysler which built manual transaxles for the Neon and other vehicles, as well as 4x4 systems, will be split up. DaimlerChrysler is taking control of the subsidiary while GM is getting one factory. DC will have two factories one in New York and one in Germany.
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