Most of our articles about executive changes don’t get much attention, but this morning, Stellantis issued a press release that is certain to rock the automotive world of many members of the Brotherhood of Muscle – as it has been announced that Tim Kuniskis is retiring from Stellantis. Kuniskis will retire on June 1st, 2024, … Read more
Eddie at Allpar shared the window sticker of a Dodge Hornet R/T Plus, which starts at $46,400. That is roughly the price of a Toyota RAV4 Prime, the top model of the best-selling crossover; the Hornet Plus comes better equipped, but the Toyota doesn’t need any driver tricks such as PowerShot to run a fast 0-60 time. But how did it get to over fifty grand?
STLA Large is more a combination of modules than a traditional platform; it is intended to combine everything from the old Dodge Challenger or conceivably a Dodge Intrepid to a Grand Cherokee and minivan. STLA Medium is not quite as diverse or ambitious, but it still covers a pretty wide variety of car sizes and types. The platform will definitely influence any future replacement for the Dodge Avenger—and there is very likely going to be one, though Sergio Marchionne ran away [figuratively] screaming from front-drive sedans. It’s still a serious market if your company name is Toyota or Honda…
As reported earlier today, Stellantis has finally provided a small amount of information on the Ram heavy duty plan for hydrogen power. Stellantis’ first vehicles to get hydrogen will be the midsized European commercial vans (Jumpy, Expert, and Vivaro; the Scudo should also be in the list) later this year, with larger European vehicles still … Read more
According to Electrek, quoting a German article in Welt, Ram will finally be adopting hydrogen power—and it may not involve Cummins hydrogen engines. Stellantis reported that they will be expanding to over 100,000 hydrogen-powered delivery vans per year by 2030, with new European vans getting hydrogen power this year. Those vans will be built in … Read more
Hemi V8 lovers can rejoice to know that the 6.4 is definitely still in production, albeit not quite in the same quantities as in the past; but there is darker news, too—again, for those who insist on eight pistons per engine.
Stellantis reported that global sales of 1.3 million vehicles, down by 10% “reflecting … actions… to prepare for [a] new product wave in H2 2024.” Battery-electric rose by 8% and low-emissions vehicles sales rose by 13% compared with Q1 2023. The company approved an ordinary dividend of €1.55 per share to be paid next week, and reiterated a €3 billion share buyback scheme.
The €3 billion in share buybacks come as Stellantis has been laying off workers in France, Italy, and North America;
Stellantis issued three recalls for two problems last week; 24V289 and 24V291 both covered Jeep Grand Cherokees (2022-24 for the former and 2023 for the latter), because the rear view camera image may not display. The first recall covers just 8 vehicles whose coax cable might be loose; dealers merely have to secure it. The … Read more
It’s been a few years now since Tulsa, Oklahoma dredged up a Plymouth-shaped block of rust which had once been a proud 1957 Belvedere, a snazzy car that turned heads back then (more than the same-year Chevrolet which is better remembered). At the time, the Plymouth represented an optimistic future for a state celebrating its … Read more
The old “DS” platform Ram 1500 Classic, an economy buy, has been dropped in Canada, but remains in production and on sale in the United States and Mexico. The newer “DT” Ram 1500 remains in production and on sale.
Following a controversy over sharing customer data with third parties, GM announced in March that it would stop sharing location and other information with two data brokers. Many were skeptical of GM’s announcement, partly because it was quite specific about dropping LexisNexis and Verisk, which meant the company could simply switch to other brokers….
Stellantis appears to have adopted a strategy of keeping list prices on its cars high, but offering large discounts to clear out cars when sales lag. There are some advantages to this strategy…
General Motors had a high profit for the first quarter—enough to raise its guidance for the full year. While other executives were blaming unions, greens, global issues, and so on (and playing the M&A game), GM CEO Mary Barra seemed to have been taking care of business…
The Jeep Wagoneer may be a high-end, full-size truck, but its main competition remains the big Ford, GM, and Toyota wagons. The class leader remains the Chevy/GMC Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon/Yukon XL, which have dominated full size SUV sales since, well, the original “SJ” Wagoneer was still in production. The GM SUVs are not just stalwarts due to age or old reputation; they have remained quite reliable and durable through the past decades, with no major failures and gaffes. Beating them is likely impossible—it would take help from GM, which GM is not likely to give. Sales of these in Q1 2024 were…
FCA Canada, the Stellantis North American “Great White North” division, is showing off its cars at the upcoming Montréal Electric Vehicle Show after FCA US skipped attending the rather larger New York Auto Show. The reasons become clear after reading through the press release.
Chrysler sold 33,114 minivans in the first quarter of 2024—up quite a bit from its 28,910 sales in Q1 2023. But how does that compare across the industry?
The Honda Odyssey, which was briefly the sales champ despite fast-grenading transmissions, lost some ground, dropping from 19,902 to 17,393 sales.
