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Chrysler in crisis

By Liz Turner, in the US Motor Industry 02 March 2007 04:28 The trouble with Chrysler: the background In 1996 when Chrysler opened its $1.1bn headquarters in Auburn Hills, 30 miles north of Detroit, executives joked that if things didn’t work out, they could always sell it as a shopping mall. Following DaimlerChrysler’s annual press conference on 14 February, local realtors are, no doubt, sneaking in to take measurements. Chrysler Group announced a staggering operating loss of $1.5 billion for 2006, and in the subsequent question time, DaimlerChrysler’s CEO Dieter Zetsche said the company ‘will examine far-reaching strategic options with partners’.

Next-gen Passat to offer hybrid and twin-turbo power

VOLKSWAGEN is going even more upmarket with the all-new version of the Passat, which is due to hit showrooms later this year. Soon buyers will be able to include a plug-in hybrid and an all-new 2.0-litre twin-turbo diesel among their forecourt options, as VW goes chasing after its sister company Audi. Weight-saving measures have chopped up to 85kg from the new kid on a like-for-like basis, which helps achieve VW's stated efficiency boosts of 20% versus equivalent outgoing Passats.

Poll: Spouses rank as worst backseat drivers

Spouses beat out mothers and children as the worst backseat drivers, according to 500 drivers recently polled by Insurance.com. For men, 40 percent said their wives were worst, followed by friends at 17 percent and mothers at 15 percent. Thirty-four percent of the women ranked their husbands worst, 18 percent said their mothers and 15 percent said their friends.