NHTSA Fines Fiat-Chrysler up to $105 Million, Jeep Owners Get $100 Gift Cards - Car and Driver (blog)

Instead, NHTSA lumped two $35 million fines—each the maximum under federal law—and FCA agreed to spend $20 million on public service announcements, gift cards, and other consumer outreach. The penalties come two months after NHTSA opened a review of 23 FCA recalls, all spurred by the automaker’s sluggish response to deadly Jeep fuel tank fires —of which FCA had refused NHTSA’s recall request in 2013 —and a corresponding $150 million... Despite a lengthy NHTSA investigation calling out Chrysler’s questionable fuel tank placement behind the rear axle on 1993-2007 Jeeps, higher-than-average fatality rates, and a dubious fix —a trailer hitch mounted on the back bumper—the Jeep... “This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture. Instead, NHTSA called out three recalls for late-model Ram pickups and Dodge/Chrysler SUVs—one for a faulty axle that could lock up , the other for broken steering tie rods—as violating the Safety Act. Source: blog.caranddriver.com