The “Fiata,” properly the Fiat 124 Spider, was a Mazda Miata heavily modified by Fiat, with a retuned suspension and Fiat powertrain. One thing they do share in common is the gas cap, and the way that is sold may be emblematic of two ways of doing business. The car parts are both sold online … Read more
Braun, an aftermarket company, is recalling 44 Chrysler minivans sold in the United States under the Pacifica and Voyager names because the seat limiter may not have been included, so that owners may be too close to the airbags. Some more minivans outside the US are likely recalled as well. This only affects minivans which … Read more
Motor Trend has given the Ram 1500 its 2025 Truck of the Year award after weeks of testing, thanks partly to its 540 horsepower straight-six engine. The head of MotorTrend’s editorial department, Ed Loh, wrote, “The Ram 1500 lineup is a truck enthusiast’s dream from top to bottom, providing power under the hood, efficiency on … Read more
General Motors has given up on robotaxis, folding the Cruise LLC engineering teams into their own general engineering group. The Cruise technologies will be folded into Super Cruise, GM’s highly regarded self-driving setup, which is available on over 20 vehicles. This 2021 Escalade might or might not have Super Cruise. While Cruise made advances in … Read more
Stellantis and CATL are building a new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Spain, aiming at production at the end of 2026. The joint venture project is designed to be carbon-neutral, and to have a capacity of 50 GWh of battery-making per year for compact and midsized vehicles in Europe. The memorandum of understanding … Read more
Nissan, despairing for a transformational leader, has chosen former Jeep leader Christian Meunier to lead its American division, according to Automotive News. (Infiniti is Nissan’s long-struggling luxury brand.) One industry insider described Nissan’s American operations as being full of politics and infighting, and generally unable to make information-based decisions. Nissan as a company has been … Read more
He may be most closely associated with Dodge and the “brotherhood of muscle,” but Tim Kuniskis was also, and is again, the head of Ram, Stellantis’ trucks-and-vans division. The company confirmed the move to Stellpower today. The news just came out today, after being rumored early in the morning, according to Automotive News, 17 minutes … Read more
Traditionally, Chrysler Corporation, Maxwell Motors, and the other incarnations that are part of Stellantis today have had a surefire way to save the company: bringing in a savior from the outside. Before a single decade was up, Maxwell Motors was saved by Walter Flanders, who bought the company and brought it back to life. Then … Read more
Zeta Energy, a battery development company which claimed to have a breakthrough in lithium-sulfur chemistry, recently earned a Department of Energy grant to commercialize their research. Now, Stellantis has joined in with a joint development agreement. The advantages of lithium-sulfur are lighter weight for the same power, similar volume, and quicker fast-charging speeds. Mainly, they … Read more
Mopar is ready to rev up holiday shopping with apparel, lifestyle products, and performance parts and accessories. Mike Koval, Jr., head of Mopar North America, wrote, “Holiday shoppers looking for a perfect present that any auto enthusiast will enjoy can turn to Mopar during this special time of year. Our massive and expanded ‘gift bag’ offers … Read more
Yesterday, UAW Local 1166 president Dave Willis told the WRTV of Kokomo that they had negotiated for collective bargaining at the new Kokomo battery plant, a joint venture of Stellantis and Samsung. The news came almost immediately after Carlos Tavares left office; Tavares had arguably reneged on union deals and then sued the union over … Read more
Longtime Allpar member Matty Fisher, a fixture at many Carlisle shows, was recently featured on NBC News Daily in connection with her minivan, “Baby.” The piece is centered around falling minivan sales, and those who still love them. It was streamed on the NBC News Now channel and showed on-air; the piece can now be … Read more
According to a recent Reuters report, Carlos Tavares was dismissed by the Board of Stellantis because his targets were too “radical” and board members were concerned they would destroy the company. One of these targets was nearly doubling the company’s EV share in Europe from 12% to 21% of sales to avoid fines, which he … Read more
Pilot production of gasoline-powered, four-door Dodge Chargers has started, according to MSN. Built at the Windsor plant, which is also the home of minivans, the car is to have 420 hp and 550 hp turbocharged inline-six engines, coupled to updated eight-speed automatics engineered by ZF and built by former-Chrysler in Kokomo. MSN reported that up … Read more
Stellantis has chosen its leadership team for the period between Carlos Tavares’ departure yesterday and the arrival of a possibly-new chief executive in around three to seven months. Rumor has current Americans chief Antonio Filosa as the favorite for the top job, but that’s likely pure speculation and guesswork. The Interim Executive Committee (IEC), chaired … Read more
While Carlos Tavares may have resigned yesterday, according to one Italian rumor taking with him an absolutely massive bonus, that does not change the weekly list of recalls, which includes one Stellantis note (backup cameras not working on 2023-24 Grecals and 2024 GranTurismos) along with some recalls to other cars which may be worrying to … Read more