Chrysler to invest $374 million, add 1,250 new workers to increase transmission production

Michael Wayland | mwayland@mlive.com The jobs and investments include spending $212 million to upgrade two of its plants in Kokomo and $162 million to purchase a facility and equipment in nearby Tipton. (Chrysler courtesy image) Chrysler announces $374 million investment, 1,250 new jobs in Indiana gallery (10 photos)

AUBURN HILLS- Chrysler Group LLC Thursday announced it will hire 1,250 new workers and invest $374 million to boost transmission production in Indiana.

The jobs and investments include spending $212 million to upgrade two of its plants in Kokomo and $162 million to purchase a facility and equipment in nearby Tipton.

Chrysler CEO and chairman Sergio Marchionne said with this announcement, the Auburn Hills-based automaker has confirmed investments of more than $1.6 billion in Kokomo at all four area facilities in central Indiana – Kokomo Transmission, Kokomo Casting, Indiana Transmission I and Indiana Transmission II.

“Our investments in Kokomo and Tipton are a tribute to the character of the men and women of Chrysler who survived a near-fatal experience and have embraced the challenge of building an enterprise that is able to compete with the best in the world,” Marchionne said, according to prepared remarks.

Chrysler said it will hire 400 workers at its plants in Kokomo and 850 workers at the new plant, which is located about 20 miles south of its other facilities. Chrysler currently employs more than 6,100 in Kokomo.

The Kokomo plants are the only facilities in North America that Chrysler produces transmissions, including the highly-anticipated nine-speed transmission. The new transmission is expected to help spur sales of the recently unveiled Jeep Cherokee, Dodge Dart and a redesigned Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan.

Check back to MLive.com/auto for more details.

Email Michael Wayland: MWayland@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MikeWayland

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Dodge leads Chrysler to 35th-consecutive month of sales gains in February

AUBURN HILLS- Chrysler Group LLC starts March the way it has every month for nearly three years, with monthly sales gains.

Led by a 30 percent increase in Dodge brand sales, the Auburn Hills-based automaker today reported vehicle sales increased 4 percent last month compared to February 2012, just topping 139,000 cars and trucks sold. It marks Chrysler’s 35th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains and best February sales since 2008.

“In spite of a cautious ramp up of some of our most popular products which limited inventory last month, we still managed to record our strongest February sales in five years and our 35th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales growth,” said Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales, in a statement. “Looking ahead, we expect to get our inventory gaps corrected over the next 90 days resulting in additional products contributing to our growth.”

February was Dodge’s best February sales in six years and its 21st-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains.

Four Dodge brand vehicles set sales records in February, including the Dart compact sedan, Avenger mid-size sedan, Journey full-size crossover and Challenger muscle car.

Michael Wayland | mwayland@mlive.com Simplified product lineup delivers 31 best-in-class highway mpg and more comfort and convenience features standard on new 2013 Chrysler 300, 300S, 300C and 300C Luxury Series models. New Chrysler 300 model features standard heated leather seating, Uconnect 8.4 with voice command and 3.6-liter aluminum Pentastar V-6 engine with state-of-the-art ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, for under $30,000. 2013 Chrysler vehicles gallery (27 photos)

Besides Dodge, sales of all of Chrysler's other brands were flat or down, showing the automaker's sales levels may finally be leveling out. Ram and Fiat brand sales were each up 2 percent compared to February 2012; Chrysler brand sales were down 7 percent; and Jeep sales were down 16 percent.

Overall, the February sales put the stamp on a pretty good week for Chrysler, which  on Thursday announced it will hire 1,250 new workers and invest $374 million to build fuel-efficient eight- and nine-speed transmissions in Indiana.

Chrysler sold 256,746 vehicles through February, a 9 percent increase from the same time period last year.

Top five Chrysler models by units sold in February:

1. Ram pickup- 23,289

2. Chrysler 200- 11,446

3. Dodge Grand Caravan-10,415

4. Dodge Charger- 10,301

5. Jeep Wrangler- 10,091

Top five Chrysler models by year-over-year sales in February (units sold):

1. Dodge Avenger- 52% (9,980)

2. Dodge Charger- 41% (10,301)

3. Dodge Durango- 38% (4,749)

4. Jeep Compass- 36% (3,776)

5. Dodge Challenger- 34% (4,911)

Auto analyst research firms TrueCar.com and LMC Automotive predict U.S. vehicle sales in February to increase about 6 percent from a year ago to 1.2 million.

LMC Automotive predicts retail sales this month to reach 931,100 units, which would be 9 percent higher than in February 2012 and would translate to a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 12.1 million units, up from last February’s 11.7 million unit pace, but weaker than the 13.1 million-unit retail pace in January 2013.

Chrysler is the first of the Detroit Three to report its February sales. General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and non-domestic automakers are scheduled to release their results later today.

Check back to MLive.com/auto later today for more information of February sales.

Email Michael Wayland: MWayland@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/MikeWayland

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'The 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Is A Furious Firefly'

The Crossfire SRT-6 might be one of the most forgotten cars of all time. But MotorWeek says it's a car that ever street smart racer dreams of.

I'm not sure what that means, especially the part where we find out it has a respect for pavement.

The 330 horse beast gets to 60 in 5.4 seconds. Gears are shifted through quite the plastic center console. Throttle response is immediate, especially when you push it down with your foot.

And don't forget the safety features, which John Davis says makes it thoughtful for a hot bodied racer. Yes. That was said.

Ok, enough of me. Watch the SRT-6 parade around suburban Maryland and bask in its excellence.

MotorWeek Theater is our showcase of some of our favorite classic reviews from public television's finest motoring program. How does this video only have 70,978 views? Actually wow. That's a lot of views.

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Chrysler made boats! Who knew ? !

Fire up the... Chrysler Ypsilon

YOU'D be forgiven for thinking the fine lines of this city slicker have come from the delicately held pencils of an Italian artist. In fact, you'd be right, because while this new Chrysler's might have an all-American badge pretty much everything else is more Turin than Detroit.

That's because Chrysler, troubled by the credit crunch, sought solace in the support of Fiat, Italy's biggest car company, and the two have been sending each other's cars on a sort of automotive foreign exchange trip. That's why on the continent you can buy a Chrysler 300C with Lancia badges and why in Britain, the car known everywhere else as the Lancia Ypsilon is now - wait for it - the Chrysler Ypsilon.

Forget the badges though, because this supermini contender is one quirky looking little car no matter which company sells it to you. It's a riot of interesting angles and curves, with everything from the concealed door handles, the rear lights which creep into the side pillars and that imposing grille competing for your attention. Never let it be said that a small hatchback can't be a treat to look at.

The TwinAir engine, to my mind at least, isn't quite so endearing - it sounded gruff when I tried it in the Fiat 500 last year, and it sounds even more strained in this. It's award-winningly frugal and there are plenty of people who enjoy the offbeat patter the two-cylinder engine produces, but it's not one I enjoy. Luckily, if you loathe the TwinAir rather than love it, there are plenty of more conventional powerplants on offer.

In fact, the biggest problem with the £13,140 Ypsilon is that as a package it just doesn't quite gel - it's an interesting offering, but you can't help feel that in terms of interior quality, handling and ease of ownership a Fiesta or Polo would run rings around it.

Not that Chrysler and Lancia should hang their heads in shame, because I've driven another of their hatchback offerings and it's an absolute belter. Click here to find out why...

Fire up the... Chrysler Delta

ARE you the sort of person who needs a sensible hatchback but deep down has a burning desire to be different?

Then read on, because this is a very Italian answer to your question, albeit one delivered with a slightly American inflection. The Delta might wear a Chrysler badge but it's made by Lancia, the Torinese makers of some of motoring's most memorable machines. It's a family hatch from the people who brought you the Stratos!

Let's get one thing out of the way - despite having a name and a bit of heritage in common, this is not a sporty successor to the old Delta Integrale, which was pulled from UK showrooms nearly 20 years ago despite having six World Rally Championships to its name. No, this Delta is more about good taste and living luxuriously, something reflected in its restrained good looks (although I'm not too sure about the chrome grille up front).

Key to the luxury is that it's longer than, say, a Focus or Megane, and while you'll like the tasteful leather and suede trim inside your passengers are going to love the amount of rear legroom. It's also quiet and lavishly equipped, with a nice feel of quality to the instruments and switches.

But the real surprise is that - for a car aimed more at luxury loungers than rev-happy hedonists - the Delta is strangely good fun to drive. Like the smaller Ypsilon I've also tested, the Delta is based on familiar Fiat underpinnings, in this case the same mechanicals you'll find beneath the Bravo, but unlike its smaller sister the whole package seems to gel much better and inspire more confidence. You sit low and the steering is reassuringly talkative, and if you push it into a corner the worst you'll get is mild, reassuring understeer. As a companion through trickier corners it's unlikely to let you down.

Is the 1.4 MultiAir version I tested worth 22,000 of your precious pounds? For what it's worth, I think it'd be a little more evocative if it came with a Lancia rather than a Chrysler badge, and the likes of Hyundai's i30 will offer you more gizmos for your cash, but for class, refinement and style I reckon the Delta's a belter.

SMMT Test Day 2012 at Millbrook Proving Ground - a flavour of what's on the way

 

THE slightly guttural cough that accompanies the bellow of Jaguar’s supercharged V8, fitted to the frantic XKR-S someone had foolishly lent me, was worth the trip alone.

The sun has been shining on the nation’s road testers today – literally, as temperatures soared into the high twenties – at this year’s SMMT Test Day. Even though it meant setting the alarm clock for a depressingly early 4am it’s always worth the journey to the Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, partly because it’s an incredible automotive playground in any car, but also because it’s a chance to find out more about some of 2012’s most important new arrivals.

I’ve put no less than 20 different cars through their paces and there’ll be more on here and in The Champion over the next couple of weeks, but to whet your appetite I can offer you a few snippets of automotive enlightenment I’ve picked up:

• The Jaguar XKR-S doesn’t need to have a supercharged 5.3 litre V8 pumping out 542bhp, but boy am I glad it does... 

• The electric entrants are getting better each year – in 2010 I was, er, shocked by what I drove, in 2011 I found a car that I would’ve liked if it hadn’t been cripplingly expensive, but this year I’ve found two that I’d actually buy. With money and everything! 

• I just couldn’t warm to one of this year’s most eagerly-awaited motors, no matter how hard I tried. Clue: it’s got three doors (or is it four?).

• It was a choice of testing 20 cars or queuing, Alton Towers style, to try just one; Subaru’s BRZ, which attracted queues of salivating journalists throughout the day. I’ve no doubt it could be the driver’s hit of the decade but the Life On Cars treatment will have to wait until another day... 

• ...as will a review of Vauxhall’s loopy Maloo pick-up (pictured above, next to the rather fetching vintage Vauxhall) which broke down and got withdrawn from the event just minutes before I was due to have a go. What a rotten bit of luck! Chances are, though, it'll be an awful lot like the VXR8 saloon I tested at Millbrook last year.

• The rebadged batch of Lancias that Chrysler’s taken into its showrooms are a bit of mixed bunch – but the good news is there’s an absolute gem among ‘em.
  
• Nobody I spoke to agreed on their winner of the great city car battle of 2012: Fiat Panda vs Up/Citigo/Mii. I’ll let you know my verdict in the next few weeks.

• It’s still possible to make a bad car, even in this day and age. I know, because I drove at least one today. 

• Chevrolet really ought to make the Camaro in right-hand-drive – it’s a great car for cruising around Wild West Lancashire! 

With variety being the spice of life I was keen to make sure that I didn't just stick to the shiny supercars (tempting though it was), and try and test a broad variety of cars that are significant in one way or other this year. That's why the 19 cars I drove included a Fiat, two VWs, two Chryslers, two Jaguars, a Land Rover, a Suzuki, a SEAT, a Ssangyong, two Vauxhalls, a Renault, a MINI, a BMW, two Hyundais and a Chevrolet. 

I’ll keep you posted...

Bufori Geneva Supercharged Mark 6

V8 / 6.059 cc / 435 PS / 420 ft/lb (569 Nm) @ 4.800 / 0 - 62 mph (100 km/h): 5,4 s / Vmax: 165 mph (265 km/h)

Supercharged: V8 / 6.059 cc / 560 PS / 509 ft/lb (690 Nm) @ 4.800 / supercharger

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Chrysler LeBaron Thunderbolt

S8 / 5.301 cc / 140 PS / 255 ft/lb (346 Nm) / Vmax: 100 mph (161 km/h)

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Chrysler 300B Custom by Troy Trepanier

V8 / 6.112 cc (373 cui) / twin turbo

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