When it comes to box access, Chrysler’s Ram brand is no stranger to innovation. The marque’s Ram Box already makes use of   the oddly shaped spaces around the wheel wells in the truck…

Multifunctional split tailgate in the cards for next Ram 1500?

When it comes to box access, Chrysler's Ram brand is no stranger to innovation. The marque's Ram Box already makes use of the oddly shaped spaces around the wheel wells in the truck bed to provide lockable, weatherproof storage.

Now Chrysler has filed patents for an innovative "Multi-functional" split tailgate that can provide easier loading access to the truck's box in a variety of situations. Each half of the spilt tailgate can be individually opened either downward like a typical truck tailgate, or outward like a barn door.

The innovative tailgate design could prove handy for owners who need to stand at the back of the truck and reach into the box (since the tailgate would swing out of the way), or carry long loads on one side while leaving the other side up to restrain additional cargo.

The Multifunctional Tailgate, according to the patent application, uses individual tailgate halves that are "coupled to the respective frames to selectively pivot around Read Full Story
In a move that will create the world’s seventh-largest car company once it’s signed off, Fiat announced that it has purchased Fiat now owns 100 percent of Chrysler. (Photo: Fiat) the remaining…

Fiat now owns 100 percent of Chrysler

In a move that will create the world's seventh-largest car company once it's signed off, Fiat announced that it has purchased the remaining 41 percent of Chrysler shares that it did not already own.

The agreement, worth about $4.3 billion total, comes after a long series of negotiations with Veba, the UAW-affiliated healthcare trust that currently owns the remaining Chrysler shares. The UAW (United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America) represents 390,000 active workers and 600,000 retired workers in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico, with Veba looking after the benefits of 117,000 retired Chrysler workers and their dependents.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne called the deal "one of those defining moments that will go down in history books" and said he plans to widen the company's global reach. Robert Naftaly, the chair of the committee that governs Veba said, "This agreement is in the best interests of the trust's UAW Chrysler retiree members Read Full Story