Archive for the ‘Chrysler’ Category

The coveted Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) used to be quite exclusive—and a way for safety-conscious shoppers to narrow down their possibilities to a few top-rated vehicles in a segment. But since 2007, the number of Top Safety Picks has roughly doubled each year, going from just 23 vehicles then to 94 models—a huge portion of the new-car market—for 2009.

That’s slated to change beginning with 2010, as the IIHS requires that vehicles be rated ‘good’ in its new roof strength test in order to be named a Top Safety Pick.

The result—at least so far for 2010—is that the Institute’s 94...

If you drive a late-model rear-wheel-drive Chrysler or Dodge car—a 2010 Dodge Challenger, for instance—you'll want to take note of this one.

Chrysler has issued a recall of select 2009 and 2010 model-year rear-wheel-drive vehicles for a problem that might lead to the front wheels falling off. Apparently, some of these models left the Brampton, Ontario factory without a front spindle nut—a part that, to put it bluntly, keeps other parts in the front-wheel area from coming undone.

"While driving, a tire and wheel separation could occur increasing the risk of a crash," says National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects...

Think that the design of the Volkswagen New Beetle is more hideous than iconic?

Apparently you're not alone. Business Week has posted its "Fifty Ugliest Cars of the Past 50 Years," including a number of models present and past, and the New Beetle is just one of the newer and still-produced models on the list. Others include the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Avalanche, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Element, Hummer H2, Jeep Compass, Nissan Cube, and Toyota Prius.

They're particularly tough on the Escalade, sounding more like SUV-haters than design critics: "The perfect car design if fuel, practicality, maneuverability, and class mean nothing...