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Autoweek's top-12 most read stories of 2012

From an infamous Texas house fire, to the death of one of the greats, autoweek.com's top-12 most read stories of 2012 offer a look back at a wild year. This year while we tested some of the best enthusiast vehicles, ran around auto shows and spoke with automotive movers and shakers, we kept track of what piqued your interests. What, you thought we weren't paying attention?

Chrysler announces six recalls

More than 260,000 vehicles will be impacted by the six recalls Chrysler announced Tuesday. None are particularly serious, but if you own a Chrysler product we've summarized the list below. -- 78,500 Dodge Nitro and Jeep Liberty 4x2 models from the 2007 and 2008 model years are being recalled to brace a heat shield that can loosen and contact the driveshaft, causing wear and possible breakage over time.

AAA unveils battery-charging trucks for stranded EVs

The American Automobile Association has unveiled an example of its new roadside-assistance truck, which is capable of recharging batteries for stranded drivers of electric vehicles. AAA first announced the plan in June, and the first truck was shown on Monday at the Plug-In 2011 electric-vehicle conference in Raleigh, N.C. It uses Green Charge Networks technology and has a removable lithium-ion battery pack that allows for mobile charging.