Stellantis is renaming Mopar Vehicle Protection to Flexcare. The new name will be coupled with each of the company’s brands, e.g. Dodge Flexcare, replacing Mopar’s service contracts, maintenance plans, and packages. Mopar Service Contracts are becoming Flexcare Extended Care; Maximum becomes Premium, Added Care and Added Care Plus become Extended Care Plus, and Powertrain Care … Read more
Stellantis issued a clump of recalls, but had plenty of company in this week’s roundup. For Stellantis, we have a loss of drive power on the 2024 ProMaster BEV, only affecting 336 vehicles (few have actually been sold), due to “incorrect software” in the motor computer. Dealers have to update the software. All ProMasters made … Read more
Jeep, or as Stellantis oddly refers to it “The Jeep® brand,” showed a basic drawing of the next-generation Compass today. This is a to be made on the STLA Medium platform/architecture. The Compass will reportedly have both gasoline-hybrid and electric versions, possibly with a pure gasoline version as well. It will debut in Europe in … Read more
After filing a lawsuit last week against the UAW and UAW Local 230 representing the Los Angeles Parts Distribution Center on Oct. 3, Stellantis filed eight additional lawsuits against the UAW and 23 Local unions on October 4. The UAW met with Stellantis afterwards to ask about bringing back the Job Bank, which keeps laid-off … Read more
This week, GM announced that it was ready to sell its entire range of Chevy Blazer EVs. The Blazer starts with the LT, at $44,600, with an 18-inch interior screen, 334 mile range, and 8-year/100,000 mile battery warranty. Normally sold with rear wheel drive, it has a range of 283 miles when buyers opt for … Read more
The only way to celebrate Chrysler’s centennial in 2024 is by buying and reading a new book covering the marque’s first century. The writer, Allpar and Motales founder David Zatz, will be signing copies at a local car show in Cresskill, New Jersey, on October 13, 2024. The history is available as an ebook, paperback, … Read more
The Jeep Wagoneer S, in theory, is not yet available for sale, so how can Stellantis / FCA US have sold 76 of them already? Sales are booked when the vehicles are delivered, so these are not simply pre-orders. Most likely, the 76 sales of the brand new electric car on STLA Large went to … Read more
General Motors announced a 2% drop in U.S. sales for the third quarter of 2024, compared to the third quarter of 2023; but that was entirely due to cutbacks in fleet sales. The former Chrysler with Fiat and Alfa Romeo posted a stunning 20% fall, due mainly to July and August sales, but on the … Read more
GM announced a small downturn in overall USA sales, selling 659,601 vehicles in the United States for the third quarter of 2024. That’s down 2% from the same quarter in 2023, but retail sales were up by 3%, meaning that the decline was entirely in fleet sales. The company sold 32,195 battery-electrics during the quarter … Read more
Yesterday, Stellantis issued a cautionary notice on its 4xe Jeeps, which overshadowed a hefty number of recalls from other automakers. Ford, for example, had two recalls, one on 2024 Explorers whose battery cable may short-circuit, and one on 2024 Bronco Sports which can stall. The widest recall may have been on BMW/Mini/Rolls-Royce, with a panoply … Read more
Thirteen 2020-24 Jeep Wrangler 4xe and 2022-24 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe vehicles have caught fire, all while they were parked and turned off, according to Stellantis. The company estimated that 5% of around 190,000 4xe Jeeps from those years have the defect which caused the fires. The risk of fire is reduced when the battery … Read more
As Stellantis prepares to lay off thousands of plant workers as they have already paid off many non-union engineers and support staff, the United Auto Workers union (UAW) filed federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board to protest the company’s failure to honor its 2023 contract commitments. Stellantis has already notified the union and … Read more
Mercedes is dominating the recall list this week, starting with bad welds on the engine carrier on the 2024 GLC 300 and AMG GLC43. The 2019-22 AMG G63 and G550 may have bad rear door latches which let the doors swing open while driving, too. Numerous Daimler trucks may lose their brake lights, a warning … Read more
Stellantis, which owns the former Chrysler as well as Fiat and Peugeot, is reportedly planning to find a successor to Carlos Tavares for his contract expiration in 2026—according to the respected industry weekly Automotive News. While many liked Tavares’ pledge to give each marque ten years to turn itself around, including Chrysler, Dodge, and Alfa … Read more
The UAW recently filed grievances regarding Stellantis’ warning that the upcoming midsized pickup targeted for Belvidere would be delayed beyond the contract term, and rumors that the upcoming Durango would move from Jefferson Avenue to Windsor, Ontario. Today Stellantis released a statement that it had honored its commitments for product, without actually disputing the product … Read more
The Stellantis fleet site has been updated with the 2025 police cars, with one notable exception. The 2025 WD Durango Pursuit, which entered production on August 23, is largely a carryover from 2024 with the Pentastar and 5.7 engines. V8 models are limited to the number of 5.7 engines that were stored when V8 engines … Read more