As the clock on a strike wound down, the UAW dropped its 46% wage increase to 36% and Stellantis finally matched GM’s offer of a 20% increase. This would include a quick 10% raise to counter the inflation of the past year and four annual increases which would total around 10%. The result would be … Read more
The fight over Chrysler’s Trenton Engine plant continues.
In the early 1950s, needing a vast number of V8 engines, Chrysler built the Trenton Engine Plant. Over time the plant made 426 Hemis, 383s, and such, along with enormous numbers of slant sixes; then they moved to four-cylinders and finally V6 engines. Today,…
Ram has announced the changes to its 2024 models. Back in May, Stellpower wrote that “Either the 2024s or 2025s are likely to jettison the Hemi V8s in favor of Hurricane Sixes, with the possible exception of the 6.4 liter truck engines in the Heavy Duty lineup.”All that has changed now is the dates: the … Read more
As time goes on, FCA US (Stellantis North America) press releases increasingly refer to “the Dodge brand,” “the Jeep brand,” and so on. Maybe this made sense for Chrysler before FCA, to avoid confusion between the marque and the company (many car folk eschew the term “brand” in favor of the more dignified “marque”), but there is no Chrysler Corporation or Chrysler Group today.
There has never been any reason for Dodge people to refer to “the Dodge brand.” It’s just Dodge. Nobody thinks that Dodge City is producing cars—or Phelps Dodge—or Grace Dodge. There’s only one Dodge that makes cars, and it’s the group that used to be Dodge Division and before that Dodge Brothers… and Dodge Brothers didn’t make other brands of cars.
The last vehicle engineered entirely under Chrysler Corporation, before Daimler, Fiat, and Peugeot, is getting its own last call. The Abrams M-1 tank is finally headed for a full re-engineering project, ending decades of patching and add-on upgrades, according to Military Times.
The original Abrams tank was the only Chrysler turbine car to actually be sold; it was lauded by procurement officers for its ability to burn any fuel (though that doesn’t appear to ever have been used) and for its power and economy, relative to the only real alternative of the time, diesel.
Automakers including Stellantis have been rebuilding their in-car platforms using Google software. That might be one reason why so many are flunking Mozilla’s privacy test; indeed, nobody passed it.
Automakers “can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive,” with microphones, cameras, phones, and sensors in the car, as well as their car apps, web sites, and dealership systems. They combine the data to make inferences about buyer traits. None appear to use encryption in the car to keep this data safe.
Takata airbags had to be recalled and replaced because they tended to erupt unexpectedly as humidity took its toll, due to engineering issues. The massive recall of ARC and Delphi airbags may are very different…
Analysis. The industry is steadily moving towards electrification and full electric (via batteries or hydrogen fuel cells) to help with emissions and fuel economy. While there are many advantages, many in the buying public have vociferously objected—and do so again whenever any article so much as mentions electric cars or, in some cases, hybrids…
Jeep launched the European Gladiator in 2021; the pickup was exclusively diesel-powered, a position which was already somewhat difficult when it was launched, and which has increasingly become untenable. Diesel sales have been falling in Europe since the Volkswagen scandal spread to other automakers, with its place apparently taken by hybrids and full-electric cars. The latter finally overtook diesels recently.
Ford is recalling its 2023 “Super Duty” F-250 and F-350 pickups because the left rear axle shaft may break, which can cause loss of power or vehicle rollaway. The recall affects 41,555 trucks in the US. Ford is also recalling the 2023 Edge because the right-side headlight is too bright; and the 2023 Explorer because the turbo oil line may be damaged. Ah, one more Ford recall: various Ford and Lincoln vehicles from 2018 to 2023 (Navigator, Aviator, Transit, Bronco) may lose their rear view camera image.
Speculation. When I read about the STLA Medium platform and saw the segment breakdown, one of my first thoughts was the return of the small Mopar performance vehicles. The article mentioned the Neon, Stratus, and Sebring, but my mind went straight to the return of the Dodge Dart. The last Dodge Dart had a great … Read more
The 2024 Grand Caravan continues, but only in Canada, where it is a lower-cost version of the Pacifica. For 2024, new colors are the opposing Baltic Grey and Red Hot. In the United States, changes range from clever to minor: Emergency vehicle alerts in UConnect give drivers cluster and touch-screen notices of active fire trucks, … Read more
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat might be gone from the 2024 lineup, but Dodge announced today that the 710 horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat is still available for 2024, giving members of the Brotherhood of Muscle a chance to buy a new supercharged Hemi for at least one more year.
The 2024 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat is mostly unchanged from 2023, and still includes the supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8. With 710 horsepower and 645 lb-ft of torque, the Durango Hellcat is the “most powerful SUV on the planet,” boasting a 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds, quarter mile time of 11.5 seconds, and a top speed of 180 miles per hour. The quick-shifting 8-speed automatic and advanced all-wheel-drive system make these acceleration numbers easily repeatable; it is also a fine SUV for wet or snowy conditions, making it the perfect Dodge Hellcat vehicle for year-round use.
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.
Speculation. The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk (née SRT) was a big seller; but when Jeep moved to a new platform, it left the SRT/Trackhawk behind. Though Hellcat engines are most likely gone at the end of the year, Jeep could still bring back the beloved performance SUV.
Powertrain. Jeep might consider …
