Showdown looms over Chrysler recalls.

USA Today (6/17, Healey, 1.71M) reports that a showdown looms “over Chrysler Group defying the federal government’s request that it recall 2.7 million Jeeps because of fires,” but “the issue might largely be moot because there’s a 10-year limit on recalls. ‘If Chrysler is really obstinate, it could invoke the 10-year statute of limitations,’ notes Clarence Ditlow, head of the Center for Auto Safety, an advocacy group.” USA notes that Chrysler “has been adamant that there is no defect in its 2002 through 2007 Jeep Liberty and 1993 through 2004 Grand Cherokee SUVs, and says it won’t recall them. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which says those models have too many deaths from fires when the Jeeps are hit from behind, has given the automaker a deadline of Tuesday to change its mind. If Chrysler formally refuses, it begins a process involving public hearings and additional investigation before NHTSA would then decide whether to ask the Justice Department to sue Chrysler to force a recall.”