Chrysler (Page 26)

Last night the current contract between the UAW and the Chrysler Group expired and to prevent the workers from being forced to work without a valid contract, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne flew from the Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany to Detroit to finalize the new contract with UAW President Bob King – the only problem is that King didn’t show up.

Mum is still the word from Chrysler but thanks to the wonders of the internet, we have our first look at the 2010 Dodge Viper SRT-10 ACR making laps around the Nürburgring en route to setting a stunning new record time of just 7:12.

The current labor contract between the UAW and the Detroit Big 3 automakers was set to expire last night at 11:59pm but all parties have agreed to an extension on the current contract as the union negotiates with Ford, General Motors and Chrysler.

The Dodge Viper has been out of production for over a year but after watching the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, the Porsche 911 GT2 and the Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition bump the Viper from the top spot, Chrysler’s SRT division headed back out to the famous German race course with stunning results as the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR ran a lap of just 7:12.13 – easily putting the Viper back atop the list of the fastest production vehicles around “the ‘Ring”.

President Obama spoke to students at North Carolina State University in Raleigh today to promote the new American Jobs Act, which he says will alleviate chronic unemployment for auto workers, teachers and others. He also pressed forward the idea that Americans must be known again for the quality of their manufacturing skills.

The newest joint venture between the American Chrysler Group and Fiat was introduced at this week’s 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show as the Chrysler 200 Convertible turned Lancia Flavia Cabriolet was introduced in production form as expected – although the sedan version of the 200 will not be making the trip across the pond as a Lancia model.

We have known for some time now that Maserati was planning to unveil a new luxury sport utility vehicle at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show and as the huge German event has begun, the new Jeep Grand Cherokee based Maserati Kubang has met the world with a look that is very distinctly all-Maserati.

At the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Chrysler Group will be displaying its Mopar brand in a fully accessorized Jeep Wrangler. Along with that, Mopar will activate an Accessorization Station where Mopar® representatives will install and remove accessories for those who will be attending the show.

The Ram brand will get a version of Fiat's Turkish-built Doblo panel van for 2013, to compete with Ford's increasingly popular Transit Connect.

Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group LLC added three new people to their respective board of directors last week, according to a report in the Detroit Auto Scene newspaper. The Ford director was elected, the two Chrysler directors, appointed.

Almost twice as many people since 2007 are leasing cars without test-driving them first, and most drivers are making the transactions over the Internet, according to LeaseTrader.com, which studies industry trends and statistics.

According to multiple sources including the Detroit News, the 42 Union Auto Worker’s Locals around the country were asked to place their votes on whether or not they are willing to go on strike and while not all of those Locals have reported their results, those who have announced their results are 97% in favor of walking out.

President Obama told 12,000 Detroiters at a Labor Day event in downtown Detroit this afternoon that Detroit produces "the best cars in the world." What follows is a complete recitation of the speech he gave, unedited and provided to TorqueNews.com by the White House.

President Obama came to the union auto worker hotbed of Detroit this Labor Day to celebrate the value of Big Labor with people who make and assemble cars and trucks, and their families. While he did that, Michigan Republicans used his visit as an impetus to raise money.

Sales figures from around the American automotive industry are in and once again, the Chrysler Group was the strongest automaker in the industry in terms of growth with the smallest of the American Big 3 improving by 31%.

One of the most anticipated video games of this year is the latest version of Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and to celebrate the use of the Jeep Wrangler in the popular shoot-em-up series, the Chrysler Group has teamed with Activision to offer the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: MW3 Special Edition.

Fiat SpA announced earlier this year that they were planning on building somewhere in the area of 280,000 Jeep models in their Turin, Italy plant along with a new Alfa Romeo small SUV based on those Jeeps but now rumors suggest that those vehicles will be built at existing Jeep production facilities in the US – including the Alfa models.

We have known for some time that the Chrysler Group would be introducing their new ZF-built 8-speed automatic transmission and today, the information on the new fuel-saving transmission has been made official and in 2012, the Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 powered by the 3.6L Pentastar V6 will come with this new transmission option.