Speculation. Recently, I argued that the North American arm of Stellantis could be successful using STLA Large and Frame for just about all its vehicles; and we know that most of STLA Small is destined for lands outside of North America. That still leaves us with the STLA Medium platform/architecture, which is likely to spawn the next-generation Compass. …
Part of Stellantis’ vision for the future is to make more money from the entire lifecycle of a car, which includes older cars whose owners do not want to pay for expensive new OEM parts. The solution, announced last year as part of the “circular economy,” is both environmentally friendly and economical for owners: selling used and rebuilt parts under the B-Parts Reuse brand…
Recall Monday brings us another week of recalls. We headlined the Jeep Wagoneer recall for trim which can interfere with airbags; this should usually be a quick, simple fix for the dealers. Ford, on the other hand, went truly traditional (for Ford) with yet another rollaway recall. The 2023 Ford Bronco may have an unsecured transmission, which can prevent the Park pawl from engaging. The fix is a new transmission…
… perhaps Toluca, now that it’s only running the Compass at reasonable volumes, can handle all the Medium cars Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep need—and perhaps they won’t be doing Small in the US at all. Here’s the logic behind these ideas.
The 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon diesel coupled low horsepower, high torque (442 lb-ft), and an eight-speed automatic to get 500 miles of driving range. Either customers didn’t bite or the VM diesels were unable to keep up with emissions rules, because the last diesel Gladiators are being produced for the 2023 model year.
Jeep set up their own version of “Last Call” with the Gladiator Rubicon FarOut, a limited run of a thousand vehicles…
Stellantis just released a joint statement with the Canadian union Unifor which focused on how the two are working together to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement, using creative solutions. Earlier this week, UAW leaders expressed a more confrontational approach, and notably did not publicly shake hands with Stellantis leaders. …
Jeep just released the changes to the 2024 Grand Cherokee from the 2023 models in no fewer than six different press releases.
For 2024, the Grand Cherokee Trailhawk (with and without 4xe) has standard 18-inch black aluminum wheels in the US and Canada….
The Wagoneer’s first recall covers an issue with the upper B-pillar interior trim, which, if it was not seated properly, could interfere with side airbag deployment. This affects 2022-23 Wagoneers and Grand Wagoneers made through to June 7, 2022, when the vehicle assembly process was changed. The component was made by Century Plastics, but the problem is an assembly issue. The dealer will inspect the interior trim pieces, replace any that are loose or broken, and reseat them if needed.
The new Hurricane twin-turbo six-cylinder is stunning in its power and efficiency, but many are skeptical, saying it’s too small for serious work trucks.
GM has its turbo four for the Silverado, and Ford has a 2.7 twin turbo pulling the F-150, and they do well—though the Ford seems quite thirsty when towing. But GM and Ford still have V8 choices, while indications so far are that Ram will end with the sixes. (Some do believe the 6.4 V8 will remain on the Ram 2500 and 3500.)…
Earlier today, Mopar announced a new line of auto parts for a wide variety of cars and trucks, including those not made by Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, or Ram.
Within a minute of posting the story, we had an inquiry from reader Geoff, who asked, quite reasonably, if these were only available via dealerships. Since some dealers have been borderline-rapacious with their pricing, in some cases charging multiples of the list price, while others offer 25% off list, selling only through dealers would have interesting results. What’s more, most owners of, say, Chevrolets or Toyotas would be rather unlikely to go to a Ram dealership to get replacement parts….
Years ago, Mopar announced that it would be selling parts for other companies’ cars. The idea made sense but perhaps didn’t go as far as it could, because many people associate Mopar exclusively with the former Chrysler Corporation.
The result is likely today’s announcement of a new bproauto® aftermarket parts brand for high-quality replacement parts at a competitive price. The brand has apparently already been used for decades in Europe, the Middle East, and South America.
Last week was big for recalls, but somehow Stellantis brands weren’t included in any of them.
The Kia Niro and Niro PHEV (2017-22 Nero, 2018-22 PHV) could have engine compartment fires. Ford recreational vehicle chassis had instrument panel failures. GM recalled 2013 Volts, Sonics, Camaros, and Veranos because of bad airbag inflators. Lucid had three software-based recalls and the 2021-22 Jaguar I-Pace could forget to heat its coolant when the defroster was on, failing to defrost windshields. Also, while these aren’t usually covered, heavy truck makers Volvo and Mack both recalled recent vehicles due to battery short-circuits and fires, which suggests that batter problems are not unique to Jeep.
In the weirdness department, Honda had the wrong information on CR-V stickers on 2017, 2020, and 2022 models; and Kia’s electric oil pumps could cause fires (2023 Soul and Sportage, 2023-24 Seltos).
Shortly after the ordering window opened for the 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, rumors about a secret Jailbreak option for the 1,025-horsepower muscle car began floating around. Details, none confirmed by Dodge, suggested that a small number of “select individuals” were invited to pick an exterior color from a list of options not in the standard 2023 color palate. Some claimed that 20 people were invited, while others claimed that 50 or more would be given this opportunity. Everyone agreed that the price of this custom paint option was a lofty $30,000.
…The company selected 20 modern colors (that are not included in the 2023 color palate) and 20 heritage colors. Those who were willing to pay the extra $30,000 were invited to select and rank their top three favorite color options. Since there will only be one car painted each of those 40 colors, the colors were allotted to buyers on a first come-first serve basis… The color cards shown here were provided by a source who did not want to be named.
Weeks ago, a mainstream auto magazine claimed that, as part of the re-examination of Chrysler, the Airflow had been killed—both the name and the concept.
Ralph Gilles countered on Instagram, and rather than summarizing-while-injecting-our-views, we are reproducing his full reply:
… Meanwhile, at Ford, the 2014-16 Transit Connect vans may have a crack in their front door latch Paul; a dark instrument panel on 2023 Ford F-250 through F-550 trucks and 2023 Escapes; the front windows may go one way but not the other on 2023 F-250 through F-550 trucks; and the electric parking brake may activate unexpectedly activate on 2021-23 F-150s. No other ordinary cars or trucks were recalled last week; Stellpower does not usually report on RVs or heavy trucks.
ne of the men most responsible for the turnaround was Francois Castaing, head of engineering at AMC, who after 1989 quickly became head of engineering at Chrysler. He had led pioneering work at the “always #4” automaker, surpassing bigger companies in innovation with a comparatively tiny team. He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2010.
Castaing was one of the driving forces behind the Dodge Viper, and then behind the new engineering methods which resulted in far lower development costs, far faster concept-to-market times, and far higher critical acclaim for every car in every class. He kept pushing for new innovations in every arena, while remaining largely unheralded by the outside world. His alleged imaginative ways of dealing with budgetary restrictions, which took away obstacles from his engineers, were reportedly not appreciated by German executives, though.
