FCA fined $77M for missing fuel economy requirements

[plex]

There is a reason why Hummer, FJ cruiser and blah blah are all out of market.

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[VNT]

San Diego to Santa Clarita and back last night, stopped for gas TWICE. Sometimes I get asked by a Hybrid owner at a gas station or parking lot, does that Jeep use a lot of gas? I wryly grin and say... Yep.

My niece is a greenie into hybrids. Last summer wife and I picked her and boyfriend up for day trip and dinner.
Used the SRT, she didnt have a clue what it was. SRT has an engine block heater, so had some fun and showed her that it was a plug in hybrid , pulled up the performance pages and showed her the ECO mode and that it could shut down 4 cylinders. Also showed it got 27 mpg for the trip which it did. Best part was showing off all the tech and pining them in the seats when I punched it She didnt know what a Hemi was, so I educated her!

 

[JeepU4IA]

I don't know how much money this fine "is" to FCA--in the sense that exec are shrugging their shoulders knowing "it as worth it," or worried about getting fired. Either way, their legal team will fight it I'm sure.

The fine is no surprise to anyone. I'd bet FCA"s business analysts forecasted it and made a conscious decision to pay it instead of spending a lot more money developing cars people don't want. They had the better gas mileage Dodge Dart/Chrysler 200 which got discontinued due to poor sales. The only shame is that the fine inevitably gets passed down to us. It's just another form of tax.

 

[SecondTJ]

There is a reason why Hummer, FJ cruiser and blah blah are all out of market.

Hummer would've thrived in the current market.

 

[suzookus]

FCA sold like 2.2 million cars so that’s $32 a car.

 

[VNT]

but not all their cars failed to meet the Cafe, at least no guzzler tax on Wranglers. I bought the 8spd on my SRT because I refuse to pay the 1000$ Pelosi tax if I opted for the 6 spd Tremec manual.

 

[Jo's Jeep]

My niece is a greenie into hybrids. Last summer wife and I picked her and boyfriend up for day trip and dinner.
Used the SRT, she didnt have a clue what it was. SRT has an engine block heater, so had some fun and showed her that it was a plug in hybrid , pulled up the performance pages and showed her the ECO mode and that it could shut down 4 cylinders. Also showed it got 27 mpg for the trip which it did. Best part was showing off all the tech and pining them in the seats when I punched it She didnt know what a Hemi was, so I educated her!

Nice! When I bought my '08 Challenger, we broke it in by driving up to Tahoe for our anniversary. When we got there it was like living one of my favorite episodes of South Park, Smug Alert. Here is a breakdown of that episode, Commentary starts at 1:30. Caution, Adult content (swearing). If the commentary isn't your thing, skip to 12:38 for something that might be...

 

[timn1984]

Not to get too political, but too many people look to government as authority and forget that we are the authority and government is in servitude.

Amen, brother. This should be agreeable by whatever your political leanings are.

 

[timn1984]

My niece is a greenie into hybrids. Last summer wife and I picked her and boyfriend up for day trip and dinner.
Used the SRT, she didnt have a clue what it was. SRT has an engine block heater, so had some fun and showed her that it was a plug in hybrid , pulled up the performance pages and showed her the ECO mode and that it could shut down 4 cylinders. Also showed it got 27 mpg for the trip which it did. Best part was showing off all the tech and pining them in the seats when I punched it She didnt know what a Hemi was, so I educated her!

Incidentally ,The only other car I would like to have before I die would be the Dodge Challenger 4 door all wheel drive...... Dream.....

 

[WXman]

This is probably one reason FCA has been pushing the 2.0T over the 3.6.

FCA was fined $77M for missing it's fuel economy requirements. It's the largest amount imposed on a automaker in the last 5 years. FCA was also the only automaker to pay a fine for the 2016 model year.

https://autoweek.com/article/car-ne...missing-fuel-economy-requirements-report-says

As far as missing CAFE targets, it's because they sell everything they make with V8s, because that's what people want. Need a muscle coupe with a V8? Got it. 4-door sedan with a V8? Check. Jeep SUV with a V8? Check. Fullsize trucks with two V8s available? Got that too. FCA sells what people want rather than what the EPA tells them to sell, and that's why I LOVE this company. And it's why their sales are increasing in many categories, even when their competitors are not.

I guess that is why I'm so sour toward the 2.0L and the eTorque system. I hate to see the last remaining company in America that sells what people want begin to water down their portfolio too. It's very sad. This is how it always begins, and in five years the ONLY options we'll have are the fuel guzzling, unreliable, expensive, dirty, over-engineered turbo and hybrid engines.

 

[Rahneld]

The fine is no surprise to anyone. I'd bet FCA"s business analysts forecasted it and made a conscious decision to pay it instead of spending a lot more money developing cars people don't want. They had the better gas mileage Dodge Dart/Chrysler 200 which got discontinued due to poor sales. The only shame is that the fine inevitably gets passed down to us. It's just another form of tax.

I was just thinking this Rod between when I posted (and you responded) and now, and it's an excellent point. It came to no surprise at FCA that they weren't meeting their CAFE thresholds. They made a conscience decision to violate them believing the sanctions and better selling vehicles represented more profit than abiding by them and moving less product.

And that's their right. It's not illegal to violate the standards, they just pay a fine, a toll if you will, for doing so.

As far as cost is concerned, your thoughts that they're past on to the consumer, shared by another poster above--while by no means is false--more correctly (and not to split hairs here there is a point) is shared by FCA with consumers.

The intro economics course cited above talks of price elasticity and the degree to which consumers will accept the price increase. In the case of addictive cigarettes, the consumer pays the tax; no doubt. In the case of a product that has other alternatives, the tax may be more payed by the company.

So when the price of the Wrangler goes up we consumers seek alternative vehicles.......

wait, there is no alternatives in its product space. Maybe you're right Rod, we consumers do eat the tax in large part: at least on the Wrangler. ; - )

 

[multicam]

The $77mil fine isn’t going to break the bank at FCA and they’ll eat a similar fine next year and the next year and continue to make money. Unfortunately, I fear that in this political climate (not presidential- I’m talking society-wide, beyond one president) this isn’t a sustainable long-term business model and that’s why we see things like the 2.0 in the Wrangler and a PHEV Wrangler. FCA has to pay the CAFE piper at some point; they’re just delaying it as long as possible and reaping the benefits of being one of the few OEMs to offer what the people want.

The joyride won’t last forever, folks. Enjoy it while it lasts, then adapt to the future. I know I personally will go kicking and screaming... you can pry my ICE from my cold, dead hands.

 

[Currentg]

On another note . . . Do existing and potential Wrangler owners seriously consider fuel economy?

I have a JL for my daily driver so I watch the fuel economy. I get 21-22 mpg (mixed) on my average week and have gotten as high as 27.5 on the highway.

 

[Spartan99]

This is probably one reason FCA has been pushing the 2.0T over the 3.6.

https://autoweek.com/article/car-ne...missing-fuel-economy-requirements-report-says

Unlikely. The 3.6 gets similar mpg’s.
The 2.0T is pushed because it’s a Fiat motor. They bought the brand to move their product. When one company buys another company you’ll typically see the buyer’s product get pushed. It’s all about supply chains.

 

[The_Phew]

Since apparently FCA gets to use the base Sport for all their EPA numbers (note that the base Sport and Rubicon have the same EPA rating, even though in the real world the Rubicon is at least 20% worse), I wonder why they didn't just throw some 195mm width LRR Prius tires as standard equipment on the Sport, with the 'real' width tires being a $0 option?

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