Daily News: Monday 7/17/2017

FCA Recalls Nearly 1M VehiclesFiat Chrysler of America is filing for the recall of nearly 806,000 vehicles for stalling, setting of certain airbags without warning or prompting, and catching fire. Certain 2011–2014 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango models, plus the 2012–2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, have alternators which can result in short-circuits, smoke, or both, leading to a fire. 3.6L V6 and 5.7L V8 models totaling 442,214 will be recalled with dealers replacing afflicted alternators beginning in late August.

Nearly 400,000 2011-2015 Dodge Journey’s will join 209,135 2011-2012 Dodge Grand Caravan minivans recalled by the company last month for randomly deploying driver-side front airbags. Caused by a corroded wire pack, glitchy steering wheel controls and airbag lights can be a warning sign.

If you own one of the afflicted vehicles contact your dealer for model-specific information.

Mercedes-Benz Reaches Agreement over ‘EQ’ Naming RightsEarlier, Mercedes announced their intent to use the ‘EQ’ brand moniker to classify its future electric vehicles, technologies, and services. Standing for Electric Intelligence, Mercedes surely did not expect contention to the name, however Chevrolet filed for trademark protection in China’s trademark regulatory agency. The American brand has had a China-only vehicle, the eQ, on sale for a number of years, and feared brand-distraction from Mercedes new product.

The two companies have announced an agreement, in which both companies can use the letters ‘EQ’ in global markets regardless of the others entry into said market. The nature of the agreement does stipulate that Chevrolet stick to using the ‘eQ’ styling of the name, as well as numerical variations of said name, while Mercedes sticks to the ‘EQ’ style, with alphabetical variations, such as “Mercedes Benz EQ R”.

Look for future news on the EQ brand as Mercedes extends its electrical offerings.