U.S. Regulator to Chrysler’s Marchionne: Get Act In Gear on Jeep Recall
U.S. government safety regulators on Thursday told Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne that the company “have to get their act in gear” to speed up repairs of recalled Jeep SUVs that face a heightened fire risk, reported Reuters. David Friedman, deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was asked by reporters ... Read More »
U.S. government safety regulators on Thursday told Chrysler Group LLC Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne that the company “have to get their act in gear” to speed up repairs of recalled Jeep SUVs that face a heightened fire risk, reported Reuters.
David Friedman, deputy director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was asked by reporters if he was satisfied with Chrysler’s performance in adding trailer hitches to affected Jeep SUVs to protect them in lower speed rear-end crashes.
“No. In fact, this morning I sent a letter to the chairman and CEO of Chrysler telling them they have to get their act in gear. They have to make sure they’re getting those parts in the hands of consumers,” Friedman said.
Chrysler is a unit of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Marchionne is chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group as well as CEO of Fiat Chrysler.
Earlier this month, Chrysler said it was intensifying its effort to reach owners of the 1.56 million older model recalled Jeep SUVs because so few were bringing them in to dealerships to have the trailer hitch assemblies installed.
Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne on Thursday said the company has again stepped up its efforts to reach owners. Only about 137,000 of the 1.56 million owners have shown up at dealers to have trailer hitch assemblies installed, Mayne said.
As of Thursday, the Chrysler spokesman said, the company has 488,000 trailer hitch assemblies in stock.
Still, on Thursday, Friedman of NHTSA said, “They’ve told us they have nearly 400,000 parts and yet we’re getting complaints from consumers saying the dealers are telling them there aren’t any parts. Something is wrong there.”
Chrysler is committed to the safety of drivers and passengers in its products, the spokesman said.
“Chrysler Group leads the industry with a recall-repair completion rate of nearly 80 percent. The industrywide average is approximately 70 percent,” Mayne said.
After initially resisting NHTSA’s requests for a recall, Chrysler in June 2013 announced the recall of 1.56 million Jeep SUVs. They were the model years 2002-2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993-1998 Grand Cherokee, with rear fuel tanks.
More Industry

RV Group Expands Carolina Footprint
Blue Compass RV Columbia Northeast is the 13th RV dealership owned by Blue Compass in the Carolinas.
Read More →
Agent Acumen
An Agent Summit panel of people who’ve been supporting auto dealers for years gave both timely and timeless advice for those starting out or mulling the prospect.
Read More →
Missed Maintenance Creates Opportunity
As families get back on the road and into daily school routines, service drives have an opportunity to capture customers who are behind on recommended vehicle maintenance.
Read More →
Mitsubishi Unveils U.S. Plan
The automaker announced a strategy that includes an expanded lineup and dealership presence, along with more ‘rugged’ and electric models.
Read More →
Selling to Grow
The question of whether you should sell your agency and if so, when, is up to you. But it’s a question worth asking to ensure you keep the business on the right path for yourself, employees and clients.
Read More →
Recalled Vehicles Hit 5-Year High
Though the number of events has fallen so far this year, impacted units are up significantly. Meanwhile, regulators consider consumer notification changes.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Top-Performing Rooftop
Car Pros sold its Kia Huntington Beach location to Sutherlin Automotive Group, marking the buyer’s third location in Southern California.
Read More →
China as Pacesetter
Automotive leaders huddled on where North America stands in the global picture and how it can strengthen its position against the Asian juggernaut’s surging industry.
Read More →
BMW Concept Car Makes Fuel to Burn
The prototype developed in concert with a South Carolina university engineering team generates more solar energy than it uses in a typical daily commute.
Read More →
South Carolina Auto Group Downsizes
Florida-based group Holler-Classic has acquired four rooftops, its first in South Carolina, from Dick Smith Automotive Group.
Read More →