Chrysler, Dodge, VW Minivans Earn IIHS Top Safety Pick

Chrysler’s pair of near-identical minivans — the 2012 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan — as well as the Chrysler-built but Volkswagen-branded 2012 Routan have been named Top Safety Picks in the minivan category by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The trio join the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna.

To earn the award, a vehicle must earn the top rating of Good in front, side, rear and rollover crash tests. The vehicle also must be equipped with electronic stability control, which is standard on all 2012 vehicles.

The vehicle also must pass the institute’s roof-strength test. To pass, the roof must withstand a force equal to four times the vehicle's weight before it caves in five inches. Ratings for the Town & Country, Grand Caravan and Routan are based on a roof-strength test conducted for the Town & Country alone. The Town & Country can withstand 4.51 times its own weight.

UAW and Detroit Three Agreements Bring Jobs, Cars to U.S.

The United Auto Workers and Chrysler reached a new four-year contract today, capping Detroit Three negotiations that included ratification with GM on Sept. 28 and vote-pending ratification with Ford, which union officials expect by Monday.

The contract agreements should add to the UAW’s Detroit Three ranks — currently at 112,000, a fraction of its membership in the 1970s and ‘80s — with jobs and cars returning to the U.S. Despite ruffled feathers at Chrysler when the UAW bumped Ford ahead in its negotiations, the process wrapped up in orderly fashion, with little apparent strife.

The agreements should create more than 14,000 new jobs: 2,100 at Chrysler, 5,750 at Ford and 6,400 at GM, the UAW says. Those are proportionate additions to current GM and Ford ranks, with a smaller addition to Fiat-owned Chrysler. The three automakers will invest more than $13 billion in U.S. salaries and infrastructure over the next four years, with a handful of future models locked in. Rather than getting hourly raises, UAW employees at all three companies will receive signing bonuses and profit-sharing programs, an important step for Detroit carmakers to keep labor costs down. Entry-level workers will get an hourly raise.

The agreements bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.

Exported From Detroit: Chryslers Headed to Italy

A resurgent Chrysler is seeing robust sales and mostly positive reviews, diluting most negative undertones its recent ownership change to Fiat might have conjured. What might not be so well known is that the cross-Atlantic partnership isn't just bringing Italian cars like the Fiat 500 to the U.S.

The company is repackaging Chrysler and Dodge cars, SUVs and minivans for sale in Europe under the Lancia nameplate.

While Chrysler wants to be seen as a more upscale choice over Dodge in the U.S., that's exactly the position Lancia has in Italy over the Fiat brand, with Alfa Romeo being the top-tier nameplate.

While all this insider talk is interesting, the biggest impact for U.S. consumers is the fact that these cars are being exported to Europe from the U.S. (and Canada), and we caught sight of that process on a recent weekend trip to the East Coast.

A car carrier filled with Chrysler 300 sedans rebadged as Lancia Themas and Chrysler Town & Country minivans rebadged as Voyagers was spied heading east along Interstate 80/90 just east of Fremont, Ohio, by Editor-in-Chief Patrick Olsen.

He said they were plastered with stickers featuring the Canadian Maple Leaf, which makes sense since both vehicles are built at Chrysler plants in Ontario, Canada.

Chrysler told us that these two Lancia models aren't on sale yet and that the European press hasn't even driven them. So we truly caught an early batch headed to sea.

Recall Alert: 2012 Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Vehicles

Chrysler is recalling about 667 2012-model-year vehicles equipped with a 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 over an engine issue that can lead to power loss, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 2012 models included in the recall are the Chrysler 200, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Charger, Dodge Durango, Dodge Grand Caravan, Dodge Journey and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

In the affected vehicles, which were built between Aug. 25 and Sept. 5, the engine blocks weren’t cleaned properly. The result is hard debris can damage the connecting rod, main bearings and crankshaft, leading to engine failure. If the engine seizes up while driving, the risk of a crash can increase.

The recall is expected to begin in early October. Chrysler dealerships will replace the engine, free of charge. If owners already have repaired the problem, Chrysler will reimburse the expense if it wasn’t covered by the warranty.  Owners can call Chrysler at 800-853-1403 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info.

Chrysler's Eight-Speed Automatics: First Drive

As we reported at last winter’s North American International Auto Show, Chrysler will couple a new eight-speed automatic transmission with the V-6 engine in its full-size sedans, the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger. Both cars were redesigned for 2011; these changes affect the 2012 models, which go on sale this fall. The transmission will have an electronic shifter like an Audi A8, with Sport mode and steering-wheel paddle shifters optional. All-wheel drive, offered only with the V-8 for 2011, will be optional with the V-6 and eight-speed for 2012.

Rental-grade base V-6 trims and all V-8s carry last year’s five-speed auto and conventional gated shifter.

We hit the evaluation track near Chrysler’s Auburn Hills, Mich., headquarters to drive two eight-speed V-6 prototypes: an all-wheel-drive 300 Limited and a rear-drive Charger Rallye. The Charger had Dodge’s new Blacktop Package, which includes 20-inch wheels and performance suspension tuning.

Saddled with some 400 pounds more curb weight than a Toyota Avalon, Chrysler’s Pentastar V-6 and five-speed auto felt leisurely in last year’s 300, especially starting out. The 2012 car feels similar off the line, but get past 1st gear, and the eight-speed’s short ratios and smooth upshifts allow the Pentastar to crank out quick, successive dashes up the tachometer.

Cadillac Escalade Tops Most-Stolen List, Again

The Cadillac Escalade remains one of the most stolen cars in the U.S., according to the Highway Loss Data Institute, an offshoot of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The group’s latest study shows that the Escalade’s popularity with thieves is high: Four versions of the Escalade appear at the top of HLDI’s list of 2008-10 vehicles with the most theft claims.

Escalade owners are stacking up theft losses that are more than 10 times larger ($114) than the average car ($11 worth of theft loss).

The data comes from insurers that represent about 80% of all privately owned vehicles. Understandably, the information doesn’t include information on uninsured cars. Unlike the most-stolen vehicle list we reported on earlier, which tends to be dominated by best-selling cars, HLDI says its list is a better indicator of how likely a given car will be targeted.

2012 Chrysler 200, Dodge Journey, Dodge Avenger See Prices Drop

For the 2012 model year, both the 2012 Chrysler 200 and Dodge Avenger see their starting prices drop to $18,995, which is a $250 decrease from last year. The 2012 Dodge Journey now starts at $20,995, which is a more dramatic $1,450 price drop. Those prices exclude a $750 destination charge for the sedans and an $800 charge for most Journey trims.

The price changes make the Avenger and 200 the most affordable midsize sedans on the market today, beating out value leaders like the Suzuki Kizashi ($18,999), Ford Fusion ($19,850) and Kia Optima ($19,200).

The Journey is now one of the most affordable midsize crossovers on the market, too, beating competitors like the Kia Sorento ($21,250) and Mazda CX-7 ($21,990). The Subaru Forester still beats the Journey, though, with its $20,495 entry price.

Continue reading below for more trim details.

Recall Alert: 299,718 Chrysler Minivans

Chrysler Group is recalling nearly 300,000 minivans because an airbag may deploy without warning, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The recall affects certain 2008 models of the Chrysler Grand Voyager, Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan built between June 24, 2007, and July 30, 2008. (You can check your vehicle’s build date on the driver-side doorjamb.) In these minivans, condensation from the air-conditioning and heating system may leak onto the airbag module. This may cause the airbag warning light to illuminate and deploy the airbag inadvertently.

The recall is expected to begin this month. Dealers will replace the affected airbag module for free. Owners can call Chrysler at 800-853-1403 or NHTSA’s vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236.

2012 Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger to Get 31 MPG Highway

There have been many developments coming out of Chrysler over the past few weeks: The automaker paid off its government loans, launched a stand-alone SRT8 brand and are now majority owned by Italian carmaker Fiat.

In a presentation discussing these recent developments, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne spilled the beans on another tidbit: The company’s large rear-wheel-drive sedans will top the previously stated 30 mpg highway figure.

Both the upcoming 2012 Chrysler 300 and the 2012 Dodge Charger are estimated to get 31 mpg on the highway when mated with the new eight-speed automatic transmission. The 31 mpg figure will be for the rear-wheel-drive 300 and Charger with the 3.6-liter V-6 Pentastar engine, Marchionne said.

Chrysler’s CEO says the new transmission is “very advanced,” and includes a total of five clutches, with only two open in any gear for low parasitic losses. The transmission will be able to handle a maximum engine speed of 7,200 rpm.

Marchionne reiterated that a nine-speed automatic transmission will follow for front-wheel-drive cars in 2013.

We'll have a full report on the new eight-speeds and how they perform next month.

Feds Cash Last Check for Chrysler

The U.S. Treasury said it received the $560 million that Fiat has promised to pay for the remaining shares the U.S. government held in the Chrysler Group, ending the dealings between the feds and Chrysler six years ahead of the original plan, officials say.

What did it cost U.S. taxpayers? About $1.3 billion. The federal government initially injected $12.5 billion into the company and was repaid $11.2 billion, according to the New York Times.

That remaining $1.3 billion is owed by Old Chrysler, the legalese name for the bad assets that were spun off when Chrysler went into bankruptcy. Experts say there’s not much hope of the feds seeing much of that money being returned.

With this transaction, Fiat says it owns 53.5 percent of Chrysler LLC, “which returns to foreign ownership four years after its partnership with Daimler ended,” the Times notes.

Now that Fiat has control, CEO Sergio Marchionne says he plans to merge the management teams at Fiat and Chrysler in order to reduce operating costs and streamline operations.

Chrysler has said that since June 2009 it has invested $3.2 billion in U.S. facilities. The company has hired 6,000 new employees since 2009.

Government Sells Stake In Chrysler (New York Times)