Chrysler (Page 25)

UAW retirees from General Motors Co. of Detroit and Chrysler Group LLC of Auburn Hills, Mich., will get enhanced health and dental benefits in 2012 via the UAW Retired Medical Benefits Trust, the union announced on its Facebook page.

Microsoft and Turn 10 Studios has announced that the first playable demo for the upcoming Forza Motorsports 4 will be available on October 3rd for Xbox Live Gold members (October 7th for everyone else) and when the game is launched in the US on October 11th, Forza aficionados will have a chance to snag a ton of extra content with the Season Pass.

While the Hemi powered Challenger R/T and SRT8 392 might get the lion’s share of attention, the new 3.6L Pentastar V6 adds some much needed power to the entry level 2011 Dodge Challenger and the Rallye package allows it to look a great deal like the more powerful counterparts packing V8 engines.

People who go to the auto show in Orange County, Calif., through the end of this weekend will be able to test drive dozens of 2012 cars, trucks and vans -- everything from the new Volkswagen Beetle to the Fiat 500 and Chevrolet Sonic.

When the Chrysler Group had their gala grand opening at the new Motor Village dealership in Los Angeles last year, their vision for the next generation of five-brand Chrysler dealerships became a reality but due to a handful of angry local dealers backed by California law, Chrysler will sell the Motor Village to Hollywood-based New Century Automotive Group.

So much for a quick settlement: Contract negotiations between the UAW and Chrysler Group LLC have been extended to Oct. 19, both sides of the talks said this evening. Last week's extension of the 2007 contract expired today. Just as quickly as the UAW was announcing today's extension with Chrysler, it issued a short statement saying Ford Motor Co. would move ahead of Chrysler and be up next in the negotiation rotation.

The Chrysler Group was just named one of the 60 Best Companies for Diversity. The list was published in the September 2011 issue of HispanicBusiness.

When the UAW stopped talking with Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group to give its full attention to putting together a four-year contract with General Motors Co., the two smaller car companies in the Detroit Three family reacted in different ways to the interruption.

With the UAW's four-year contract with General Motors Co. all but in the rearview mirror, the auto union will immediately set its sights on the quick wrap-up of a contract with Chrysler Group LLC, a company on wobbly financial ground, and Ford Motor Co., a profitable enterprise that is ripe to be a strike target, down economy or not. The two companies employ 67,000 members of the UAW.

Just a few days after Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent an angry letter to UAW President Bob King when King failed to show up at a contract negotiation meeting with the auto boss, workers at Chrysler’s Dundee Engine Plant in Dundee Michigan have voted heavily in favor of striking.

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.