Video coverage of this year’s 2024 New York Auto Show, as well as coverage of the few Mopars to be found there, brought up memories of past shows.Camp Jeep is a relatively new phenomenon, and it’s gotten progressively more elaborate over the years; when it started out, admittedly, it was already a bit more impressive … Read more
This is a guided tour, albeit not in perfect order, of the upper and lower levels of the 2024 New York Auto Show. The upper level was the traditional car companies showing cars, with some interactive experiences; the lower level was the EV test track, miscellaneous exhibitors (including Lucid, which really belongs upstairs), and a large number of tuner cars and otherwise-modded cars (e.g. with paint, decals, and lighting).
For a long time, Dodge dominated police car acceleration, especially if you discount the turbocharged V6 Ford Explorers. Dodge is still planning police-edition Chargers which should leave those Explorers in the dust, but many departments are moving away from sedans and into crossovers and SUVs. Chevrolet’s new Blazer EV, shown at the 2024 New York Auto Show, may be stiff competition in that arena—both because of its acceleration and because of its readiness for police work.
Camp Jeep sat outside the New York Auto Show [see story/video], displaying a good range of Jeeps, but what about the show itself? Officially, Stellantis had no presence; but other exhibitors brought some Mopars in, and here they are…. with a brief video!First, when we come in, we see this Emergency Safety Solutions Jeep, which … Read more
For the first time, the New York Auto Show has dueling off-road courses outside, standing side by side. In the more visible place, where you can rise up well above street level, is the Camp Jeep setup. When it’s not raining, the massive hill provides a good view of the surrounding city—not as good as … Read more
Former tuner brand Abarth will be turning 75 years old soon, and Stellantis is celebrating the anniversary with a special exhibit within its Heritage Hub in Turin. The exhibit will have 38 vehicles including the first 500 tuned by Carlo Abarth, which set six records at Monza. (No Abarth vehicles are currently sold in the … Read more
After becoming the first Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat driver to run in the 8-second range back in 2019, Zdung Ho held the record for the quickest Hellcat sedan in the world, with his personal best last year sitting at 7.62, until early 2023. That was when Colby Davis and his Charger SRT Hellcat claimed the … Read more
Chrysler seems to be traveling to a future without V8 engines in its light duty cars and trucks. Some hate the idea, but it’s all in the Mopar tradition.The Dodge brothers never made a car with an eight cylinder; they stuck with four-cylinders. When Walter P. Chrysler was President of Maxwell and then of Chrysler, … Read more
Chrysler issued several recalls this past week, after a long quiet period. The 2018-21 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 side curtain airbags may rupture, as reported earlier, due to vendor-side manufacturing errors; the risk is relatively low as so far all five incidents have been in 120°F+ interior heat, but this is not guaranteed to … Read more
Around 400 people were laid off from FCA US earlier today. Stellantis told Automotive News.The layoffs were brought up during online meetings in an unexpected “work from home” day. Rumors had been swirling for some time, with more specific rumors of “hundreds of layoffs today” arriving this morning from Allpar and other sources.The company blamed … Read more
The Hurricane six-cylinder engine is just 3.0 liters in displacement but outpowers the still-competitive 5.7 Hemi V8 used in 2023 Ram 1500 pickups. Some were disappointed in the 2025 Ram 1500’s official gas mileage figures, but a bit of research shows that the gain is really quite substantial—and hidden somewhat by the nonlinear nature of … Read more
The 2025 Ram 1500’s mileage is now out at the EPA web site, for all three engines—the carryover 3.6, the new Hurricane which replaces the 5.7 Hemi, and the Hurricane which would replace the 6.4 “392” Hemi if it had been sold on Ram 1500s.The Ram 1500 with the hot 6.4 engine, which produces 540 … Read more
With 392 engine production reportedly already stopped after building up a year’s worth of inventory, Jeep has launched the Final Edition of its Hemi-powered Wrangler.
Enthusiasts had shoved Hemi engines into Jeep Wranglers for years when the official model came; the factory faced challenges greater than the aftermarket, because they needed the vehicles to pass safety tests, last for a projected 200,000 miles, and avoid problems like overheating in extreme conditions…
As the Dodge Charger Pursuit fades into history—for now, at least—Jeep is taking up part of its mantle with an oddity, the Wagoneer L Unmarked Investigation Vehicle. This takes the largest Wagoneer, the extended-length L model, with the twin turbocharged six-cylinder engine, and adds a number of options including emergency lighting, sirens and speakers, dark … Read more
Over the course of the past two weeks, we have discussed a ton of information on the 2024 and 2025 Dodge Charger. The new Dodge Charger Daytona is an electric vehicle, but the Dodge Charger Six Pack will use the twin turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six engine, so it isn’t an EV-only affair.Since we covered so much … Read more
Two questions have been floating around Mopar circles: is the Hemi really gone, and how can they make enough of the new six-cylinder “Hurricane” engines for Ram pickups, Jeep Grand Cherokees, and Dodge Chargers?The answers are intertwined. Over the years that the Saltillo, Mexico plant has made Hemi V8s, they slowly phased in using flexible … Read more
