For three decades—since the Viper—Dodge has increasingly conjured images of fire-breathing Hellcats, tire-shredding Demons, and rumbling Hemi V8s that could soundtrack an earthquake. It’s a brand built on brawn—on excess, not dependability (a word Dodge invented), safety, value, or efficiency. Yet, data shows time after time that dependability, safety, value, and efficiency are the biggest … Read more
Earlier today, Stellantis issued a press release on the STLA Large vehicle platform that is to underpin the Dodge Charger Daytona, Jeep Wagoneer S, and other vehicles. Their objective was to highlight the versatility of this platform, which handles both gasoline and battery electric vehicles (BEV), but what caught our attention was a performance figure … Read more
Today, Ram announced the 2024 Ram 1500 TRX Final Edition, the last Ram to have the “Hellcat” supercharged 6.2 liter V8 engine.
It will apparently not be the final TRX, as Tim Kuniskis, head of Dodge and Ram, said or wrote, “This current chapter…
Stellantis has been sending what some would call mixed signals lately, creating a brand new twin-turbo I-6 engine at the same time as it invests heavily in two North American battery plants (a promised third one was not yet been sited). In point of fact, the company is following its previously announced strategy of selling both internal-combustion and electric vehicles in the US, Canada, and Mexico—a strategy expected to see a 50/50 sales ratio of the two vehicle types in the calendar-year 2030.
Opinion. Back in 2019, I wrote about the “Tornado,” as the turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine then being development was coded. At that point, the GME 2.0 turbo, coded “Hurricane,” was still in planning. The code names were based on warplanes, as were the Eagle, Apache, and so forth—not past Jeep engines. The Willys/Jeep Tornado engine was an inline six-cylinder with an overhead cam, an advanced design which did not last long on the market. The Willys/Jeep Hurricane engine, in contrast, was a four-cylinder, replacing the “Go-Devil” engine, made from 1950 to 1971. (There was also a Jeep Hurricane concept car in 2005 which is unrelated.)
Created solely for racing, the famed 426 Hemi was a cross between Chrysler’s first V8 engines, which had hemispherical heads, and the big Cross-Ram Wedge engines which were winning on the street but failing in NASCAR—the company’s second completely new V8 design. The engine people believed that the wedge engines would have an edge if they … Read more
During the lead-up to the debut of the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, Dodge showed teasers depicting what appeared to be a pair of leprechauns. Social media’s smoothest-brained users were quick to proclaim that they were ghouls, allegedly confirming the rumor that the Dodge brand was working on a package called the Ghoul, but that was not the case.
Earlier this month, Dodge invited a small group of media to the Auburn Hills headquarters to preview the Challenger SRT Demon 170. Brand boss Tim Kuniskis walked us through the key features and numbers of the newest supercharged muscle car; when he was done, he asked if there were any questions. As you might imagine after the reveal of a thousand-horsepower muscle car, there were plenty of questions about the Demon 170, but a few of us wondered why the teasers featured leprechauns. Kuniskis laughed and asked if we wanted the real story or the story from the marketing people. Of course, we wanted the real story…
The original Hemi V8 debuted on the 1951 Chrysler and then moved out to Dodge and DeSoto cars; Plymouth never had one because at that point Chrysler, Dodge, and DeSoto were strictly upscale and Plymouth was mass-market. To make a V8 practical for Plymouth, it had to be cheaper and faster to make—much cheaper, much … Read more
The 2023 Jeep Compass has a new version of the GME 2.0 liter turbocharged engine, finally providing the torque and horsepower one would expect; the sole transmission is an eight-speed, dubbed 8F30, likely supplied by Hyundai. The Compass Limited lists for $35,495; all Compass trims now have standard all wheel drive. The turbo engine produces … Read more
When Dodge first introduced their plans to offer the next generation Charger Daytona as an all-electric vehicle, the brand didn’t provide any performance numbers, but they did say that it would beat the current Hellcat cars in every performance metric. That essentially means that the Dodge EV would be able to cover the quarter mile … Read more
Buildout for Ram 1500 diesel pickups is coming in January 2023. That spells the end for the small Italian diesels, made by Fiat subsidiary VM, though Cummins diesels will continue to drive heavy-duty Rams. Changes are the Gladiator diesel will follow into oblivion as well. Why? The 3.0 L “EcoDiesel” produces 260 hp and 480 … Read more
The odds are good that if you are reading this, you are familiar with the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV Concept. The muscular looking EV debuted a few weeks ago, on the final day of the brand’s “muscle announcements” at the M1 Concourse road racing facility in Michigan. Of course, because the Charger Daytona Concept … Read more
Dundee will get a new lease on life as Stellantis builds a new-to-us 1.6 liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine for use with hybrid-electric vehicles there. The relatively new engine plant currently makes 2.4 liter WGE four-cylinders and Pentastar V6 engines; the 2.4 is only used in two vehicles now, and many believe it is in its … Read more
No April 26 would be complete without at least one Hemi Day story. The 426 (as in 4/26) Hemi was created solely for racing. At the time, the ingenious Mopar cross-ram wedge engines were winning on the street, but failing in NASCAR. In 1963, executives approved engineers’ plan for putting Hemi heads, which were part … Read more
At the risk of becoming, as one site called Stellpower, “an engine blog,” it may be worth clarifying what is going where. The Pacifica, according to at least one source, is not switching over to the “Tornado” inline six-cylinder; it’s going to stick with the Pentastar V6 for quite some time, and possibly get a turbo … Read more
Bob Rodger died in 1971, of leukemia, at the height of the muscle car era. Among his contributions to Chrysler was the 300 “letter car” series, hailed by many critics as the absolute best Detroit had to offer—on part with just about anything in the world; and, for that matter, the 200-mph Dodge Charger Daytona. … Read more