AutoPacific Names Jeep® Grand Cherokee and Dodge Challenger Best-in-Class for 2016 Ideal Vehicle Awards

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Jul 21, 2016, 09:00 ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

For the sixth consecutive year, Jeep® Grand Cherokee wins AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award (IVA) for the Mid-Size SUV segment
For the fourth year, Dodge Challenger out-points its competition winning the IVA in the Sporty Car segment
Based on 65,000 responses from a national survey, AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Awards measure the changes owners desire in their vehicles

FCA US LLC announced today that the automotive research group AutoPacific has named Jeep® Grand Cherokee – the most awarded SUV ever – and Dodge Challenger "Most Ideal Mid-Size SUV" and "Most Ideal Sporty Car" in their respective segments.

Owners of the 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and 2016 Dodge Challenger indicated they are driving a vehicle that meets or exceeds their expectations. This is the sixth consecutive year the Jeep Grand Cherokee has won AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award for the Mid-Size SUV segment and the fourth year the Dodge Challenger has won the award in the Sporty Car segment.

"The Jeep Grand Cherokee has been a consistent winner in AutoPacific's Ideal Vehicle Award research. For the last six years, Grand Cherokee owners have rated the vehicle as the SUV best targeted to its owners' wants and needs," said George Peterson, president of AutoPacific, Inc. "Grand Cherokee owners want very little changed. This is a testament to the excellence Jeep planners, designers and engineers have in understanding exactly what their customers want."

Surveyed owners placed the 2016 Dodge Challenger at the top of the Sporty Car segment for its best-in-class ideal vehicle. The Dodge and SRT brands offer the most complete lineup of muscle cars in the market, including the 2016 Dodge Challenger SXT with its standard powerful and fuel-efficient Pentastar V-6 engine combined with the standard TorqueFlite eight-speed transmission that delivers 305 horsepower and an estimated 30 miles per gallon on the highway; the 2016 Dodge Challenger R/T with the high-torque 5.7-liter HEMI® paired with the TorqueFlite eight-speed or six-speed manual transmission; and the 6.4-liter HEMI Challenger R/T Scat Pack that delivers 485 horsepower and 475 lb.-ft. of torque (the most horsepower and torque available for less than $40,000) with the TorqueFlite eight-speed or six-speed manual. The 2016 Dodge Challenger SRT 392 adds six-piston Brembo® front brakes, adaptive damping suspension and SRT Drive Modes to the same 6.4-liter naturally aspirated HEMI powerplant, while the Challenger SRT Hellcat with its 707-horsepower supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V-8 engine is the most powerful and fastest muscle car ever.

"The Dodge Challenger has a wide product range that provides what Sporty Car drivers want. Challenger has hit its target out-pointing Sporty Car competitors in Ideal Vehicle attributes," said Peterson.

The 2016 awards are based on responses from over 65,000 owners of new model year 2015 and 2016 vehicles across all major manufacturers. Surveyed after 90 days of ownership, respondents were asked what changes they would make to their car or truck in 15 key categories, including ride and handling, interior storage, safety features, power and acceleration and technology.

About Jeep Brand
Built on 75 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with class-leading capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence.

The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Grand Cherokee, Patriot, Renegade, Wrangler and Wrangler Unlimited. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options.

About Dodge Brand
The Dodge brand is America's mainstream performance brand. With the purification of the brand and consolidation with SRT, Dodge is getting back to its performance roots with every single model it offers. The Dodge and SRT brands offer a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out within their own segments. Dodge is the "mainstream performance" brand and SRT is positioned as the "ultimate performance" halo of the Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance brand with one vision and one voice.

From muscle cars to compact cars, minivans, crossovers and full-size SUVs, the Dodge brand's full lineup of 2016 models deliver best-in-class horsepower, class-exclusive technology, unmatched capability and a slew of cool features, such as LED headlamps, Dodge signature racetrack tail lamps, dual exhaust, 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment centers and 7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) customizable gauge clusters, to name a few. For the 2016 model year, customers will be able to drive the new 2016 Dodge Charger and Challenger, as well as the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat. The Dodge brand lineup also includes the Dodge Dart, Durango, Grand Caravan and Journey, including the Crossroad model, and its flagship, the Dodge Viper.

About FCA US LLC
FCA US LLC is a North American automaker with a new name and a long history. Headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, FCA US is a member of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCA) family of companies. FCA US designs, engineers, manufactures and sells vehicles under the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and FIAT brands, as well as the SRT performance vehicle designation. The company also distributes the Alfa Romeo 4C model and Mopar products. FCA US is building upon the historic foundations of Chrysler, the innovative American automaker first established by Walter P. Chrysler in 1925; and Fiat, founded in Italy in 1899 by pioneering entrepreneurs, including Giovanni Agnelli.

FCA, the seventh-largest automaker in the world based on total annual vehicle sales, is an international automotive group. FCA is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FCAU" and on the Mercato Telematico Azionario under the symbol "FCA."

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