Fiat Chrysler must buy back hundreds of thousands of Ram pickups - WRCB-TV

DETROIT (AP) - Fiat Chrysler must offer to buy back from customers hundreds of thousands of Ram pickup trucks and other vehicles -- the biggest such action in U. S. history -- as part of a costly deal with safety regulators to settle legal... In addition, owners of more than a million older Jeeps with vulnerable rear-mounted gas tanks will be able to trade them in or be paid by Chrysler to have the vehicles repaired. The Ram pickups, which are the company's top-selling vehicle, have defective steering parts that can cause drivers to lose control. Some previous repairs have been unsuccessful, so Fiat Chrysler agreed to the buy-back, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The older Jeeps have fuel tanks located behind the rear axle, with little to shield them in a rear crash. At least 75 people have died in crash-related fires, although Fiat Chrysler maintains they are as safe as comparable vehicles from the same era. Both the Jeep and Ram measures are part of a larger settlement between the government and the automaker over allegations of misconduct in 23 recalls covering more than 11 million vehicles. Source: www.wrcbtv.com