The first crash test results for 2012 model-year cars were released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) earlier this month, and the news isn’t great. Under the stricter guidelines in place for 2011 and forward, only three cars have earned five-star composite ratings so far. Those three cars are the 2012 Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Camaro, and Toyota Camry, and of those three cars, only the Camaro scored 5 stars in every category.

The composite scores are based on ratings (on a scale of five) for frontal, rollover, and combined side-pole and barrier crash tests. The side-pole test is new, and simulates a side-impact crash into a pole or tree that is ten inches in diameter, with a vehicle traveling at 20 mph, and impact occurring at a 75-degree angle just aft of the driver’s side A-pillar.

The chart above shows the results of the first 22 2012 models to have gone through the crash testing. NHTSA has plans to test a total of 74 models for this model year.

In story reported by Automotive News, Marchionne said that Chrysler will be forced to produce hybrid vehicles for the North American market, even though he believes they’re expensive to build, and despite personal skepticism about their sales success.

To date, Chrysler has remained out of the hybrid market, but now the company will have a Chrysler 300 with hybrid technology ready for the 2013 model year.

The Obama administration is in the process of increasing the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) requirements for light trucks and cars sold in North America. If current numbers are approved, the standards would increase from a slightly-higher-than-the-present 35.5 mpg in 2016, to an ambitious 54.4 mpg in 2025.

The latter number was calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency working with other branches of the federal government, and would actually translate to roughly 40 mpg when advertised on window stickers. It represents the largest jump in CAFE numbers since government monitoring of such things began in 1970.

In addition to the development of a hybrid 300, Chrysler’s 2013 lineup will include a clean-diesel version of the popular Jeep Grand Cherokee, with other diesel Chryslers destined to follow. Most Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps that are sold in European markets are already offered in diesel versions.

And beyond hybrids, possible BEVs, and diesels, Marchionne said meeting the CAFE target could require more technologies including compressed natural gas CNG).

While GM is primarily focused on smaller engines – as tiny as half a liter – Westport’s area of expertise is mainly with medium and heavy-duty truck engines.

GM isn’t the only American automaker hoping to overtake Honda in the CNG market, however. Earlier this spring, Bloomberg reported that Chrysler has an aggressive CNG development plan in place, and is working in partnership with its parent company, Fiat. Fiat already has six natural gas models for sale in European markets, and is likely to use its experience with that technology to aid Chrysler in complying with federal fuel efficiency standards that are likely to increase as much as 6 percent a year over the next decade. Rumor has it that there’s a CNG-powered Dodge Ram in the works that could be available in American markets by 2017.

So why is CNG suddenly so popular? There are several reasons, not the least of which is that while gasoline prices continue to soar, natural gas remains fairly inexpensive. Then, too there are those afore-mentioned increases in fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks (read: pickups, vans, SUVs).

There are also a bundle of proposed federal incentives likely to pass by the end of the year, including the NAT Gas Act that is credited to T. Boone Pickens, a Texas energy billionaire. It’s recently picked up bipartisan support in Washington, D.C., thanks to Pickens’ history as a natural gas-as-transportation-fuel activist and his ability to court heavyweight allies like the White House.

If it passes, the NAT Gas proposal could be a $4.1 billion bundle of incentives, including purchase credits of as much as $7,500 per personal vehicle and a subsidy of up to fifty cents a gallon on natural gas at the pump. Retailers willing to install CNG pumps would benefit also, receiving generous tax breaks.

Here is the rest of the PlugIn Cars article, quoted, since it was a first-person interview:

Diaz added that Ram did expect to take away some “learning about technology” from the program, but said that hybrids would not be brought to market. The company displayed a prototype of its plug-in hybrid Ram pickup at the Washington DC Auto Show in January and said the first fleet deliveries of the 140 units would take place this summer.

Canadian battery manufacturer Electrovaya has been working with Chrysler on a prototype plug-in hybrid Ram pickup truck using Electrovaya’s 12 kWh lithium-ion “SuperPolymer” battery system that the company says will give 20 miles of EV-only mileage. The petrol part of the drivetrain is a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8. Development of the PHEV Ram is part to a $48 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act DOE Vehicle Electrification Program and a $5 million grant from the Canadian government.

Chrysler started announcing plans for a Ram Hybrid soon after hybrids were introduced nearly a decade ago. In March 2010, the company finally decided to kill plans for a 2011 Dodge Ram Hybrid—although it was only too happy to pursue a plug-in hybrid variety, even if only long enough to utilize the $48 million dollar grant. When the grant was announced, Paolo Ferrero, senior vice president of powertrain for Chrysler, said, “This initiative represents how government, automotive industry, suppliers and key partners are reaching common goals and demonstrates how rapidly this type of advanced technology can be brought to market.” Repeat: Brought to market.

When I asked Diaz about technologies Ram will use to meet increasing fuel economy standards for trucks, he responded that Chrysler’s new relationship with Fiat brought with it the potential to add a variety of technologies as well as new vehicles. “We need to be in a position to address higher fuel economy standards,” Diaz said, but not with plug-in hybrids.

We are left wondering why Diaz and others like him are so willing to give up on hybrid technology, rather than looking for ways to educate truckers and make them see it as a benefit rather than something to fear. After all, people who buy Rams are usually suburbanites who like big trucks, not long-haul truckers who actually need to be able to refuel on the fly.

According to the Journal, one of the dealers said, “A man van won’t generate huge sales, but it’s one of those vehicles that gets people talking and heads turning.”

So what’s the man van going to look like? Well, rather like the Dodge Grand Caravan R/T concept displayed at the 2008 SEMA show, this would have exterior and interior details that would help to differentiate dad’s minivan from mom’s. Examples include bespoke stitching on the seats and steering wheel, but the body trim has yet to be finalized.

This announcement closely follows news of two other minivans which are being pushed as family-friendly: Honda’s 2011 Odyssey, which features 15 cup holders and an integrated trash receptacle, and Toyota’s 2011 Sienna, which is being marketed with a “Mommy Like” commercial campaign.

The transmission itself is courtesy of German manufacturer ZF. It’s their 8HP model, versions of which are currently being used in the Audi A8 and the Rolls-Royce Ghost. This will be Chrysler’s first foray into 8-speeds; their current line has no more than six forward ratios.

The initial allotment of the transmissions will be sent to Chrysler from ZF’s plant in Saarbrucken, as a precursor to the transition to licensed production here in the United States by 2013. Car and Driver theorizes that this plan suggests the transmissions will be available in Chrysler vehicles before then.) In order for manufacturing to proceed, Chrysler will be spending $300 million to prepare the Indiana plants.

At this time, Chrysler isn’t revealing which of their products will be sporting the eight-speed gear box, or when any such vehicles will arrive, but it is known that the technology will be offered across the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Truck vehicle lines, and it’s rumored to offer greater fuel economy than any of the company’s current offerings, boosting the company’s average fuel efficiency by 25% by the year 2014.

The survey, which was conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, rated Honda, as well as Ford, Nissan, Chevrolet, Toyota, Hyundai and Chrysler. 1,700 consumers, representing a nationally representative sample of adults with at least one vehicle in their household, were interviewed via phone calls, and asked to share their perceptions of customer service and quality commitment.

Honda scored at the top – overwhelmingly so – in both categories, scoring 71% and 73% respectively, with Ford and Nissan in the second and third positions. In fifth place (surprisingly high, considering the woes the Japanese automaker has been going through) was Toyota, with Hyundai and Chrysler trailing the others by a large margin.

Here’s an image of the actual survey results:

Customer deliveries begin in India next month and company chairman Ratan Tata is already talking American — optimistically parring the timetable down to maybe two years and six months. (A version of the Nano will appear in Europe in 2011.) In addition, the automaker is working on alternative fuels vehicles, including diesel, biofuel, and electric powerplants.

The Nano is a four-seater that returns 65 mpg and in appearance is reminiscent of the Smart ForTwo. India’s cheap labor pool has helped to keep the price low, although protests over the proposed site of a manufacturing plant delayed the car’s debut. A lottery system will be used to select the first 100,000 owners.

Yesterday, while caught in traffic, I was looking at the cars around me and in addition to spotting one of the Smart cars now on Fort Worth’s streets (there’s a dealership in Dallas), I noticed three Honda Fits. Although dwarfed by the still prevalent SUVs and my own Odyssey minivan, I couldn’t help but look at these trim, efficient small cars as pioneers. A year from now, I have a feeling they will be in the majority in the traffic jam and the SUVs will look more and more like the dinosaurs they are rapidly becoming.