Report: New Alfa Romeo-Derived / U.S. Made Dodge Compact Sedan to Debut at 2012 Detroit Show

A new U.S. market compact sedan to be developed by Fiat and built by Chrysler is set to make its debut appearance at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in the beginning of next year, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The as-of-yet unnamed model will be badged as Dodge and powered by a Fiat-derived 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. It’ll also do 40 mpg combined, or at least it will if Fiat wants to net itself a further 5% of Chrysler from Mr. Monopoly Uncle Sam.

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Ford and Dodge Flop, Lexus and Honda Top JD Power’s 2011 U.S. Initial Quality Study

The results are in for JD Power’s latest 2011 U.S. Initial Quality study that looks at the first 90 days of ownership and the news is not good for Ford Motor Company. The Dearborn-based company tumbled from fifth place and highest-ranking non-luxury automaker last year to 23rd in 2011 with 116 problems per 100 vehicles. Analysts claim that Ford’s freefall is due to complaints related to the company’s onboard MyFord Touch infotainment systems.

Even worse, Dodge was placed last in the list with 137 problems per 100 cars. Scion, MINI, Volkswagen, Mitsubishi and Suzuki didn’t fare well either occupying the last places in the study.

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Multiple 2011MY Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Vehicles Recalled to Fix Steering Columns

A dozen vehicles from the three core Chrysler brands covering more than half of the company’s 2011 models are being recalled in the United States to fix a potential problem with the steering column.

The recall covers 11,351 vehicles and affects certain 2011 model year Dodge Journey crossovers, Jeep Wranglers, Chrysler 200s, Chrysler 200 Convertibles, Dodge Avengers, Dodge Nitros, Jeep Liberty SUVs, Dodge Calibers, Jeep Compass crossovers, Jeep Patriots, Dodge Grand Caravans and Chrysler Town & Country minivans.

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photos I meant to post when I still knew where I'd found them

1938 Alfa 8C 2900B Le Mans
Those are incredibly good looking Jaguars
On of the most remarkable and well designed instrument gauge clusters I've ever seen
Fiat 1400b junior Ghia
Awesome use of a hoodscoop to make an ugly car better looking
Sorry, I don't know where these came from anymore, but I bet they were from websites that I've posted from in the past month

Worst named car - Dodge Attitude. It's an econo box, from Mexico. Hyundai Accent in Dodge badges. Yup, it was almost a Mexican Accent

It's a Hyundai Accent sold in Mexico. Well, I guess it might be proverbial to have a Mexican accent... but it isn't what comes to mind when you think of a Dodge attitude - like durable, powerful Hemi, or drag racing ready Super Sport cars of the 1960's.

I photographed the above in San Diego, and you can see the Mexico plate. Read about the Dodge - Hyundai business of badging here http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/22/badge-engineering-gone-bad-the-dodge-attitude/

The San Diego County Fair is on til July 4th, at the Del Mar racetrack, and it's theme is cars, all kinds, everywhere. Come check it out and enjoy

Tere took better galleries of the cars, like the Ghostbuster "Ecto 1" and the characters from Cars 2 http://justacargal-s.blogspot.com/ so check them out too if you're ready for more

Chrysler’s SRT Team Teases…Next Dodge Viper SRT10 on Facebook

In a very…tongue-in-cheek move, Chrysler’s newly formed Street and Racing Technology (SRT) brand responded to fans asking them on various social media sites what future products are in development by posting this…revealing sketch on its dedicated Facebook page. Here is what Chrysler’s SRT team wrote:

“Like many of you, Twitter user @DaveOrrSales asked for a taste of what's to come at SRT. We dodged death to sneak you this top-secret photo. That's all you get, crew.”

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Chrysler Group Repays US and Canadian Government Loans in Full

The Chrysler Group announced the repay of U.S. and Canadian government loans totaling $7.6 billion (€5.39 billion), more than six years ahead of schedule. More specifically, the Detroit automaker made a payment of $5.9 billion to the U.S. Treasury (UST) and $1.7 billion to Export Development Canada (EDC) to retire the loans granted in June 2009. EDC is the holding company through which the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments provided loans to Chrysler Group. Read more »

205 mph 1969 Dodge Coronet, Bonneville racer

Read all about it, and see the rest of the photos at http://www.californiaclassix.com/archive/426.html