A huge, online Mopar auction is coming, to break up a collection held in Texas and gathered over the course of many years. Some of the cars are pristine, some are junkers; and there is memorabilia for those who can’t afford the cars (or the shipping). The auction materials are already posted, via Spanky’s Freedom … Read more
Over the past two days, several automotive media outlets have shared a story about a Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat with a badly broken front wheel. While quite a few outlets have written about this car, literally no one has reached out to the owner of the Charger in question. Fortunately, I happen to know the … Read more
The Uconnect 5 system has more changes than just capitalization, which moves from UConnect to Uconnect. Now, the system is four times faster than Uconnect 4, with three times as much memory, WiFi capability, and more flexibility. Ram. The new Uconnect 5 telematics system will be standard on Ram Chassis Cab Laramie and above, and Ram … Read more
A new compact crossover dubbed Dodge Hornet is destined for sale in the United States in calendar-year 2022. The Hornet will carry a 2-liter dual-cam GME engine, currently made in Italy but possibly to be imported from Indiana if demand is high enough. A plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version is expected—and, really, needed for Stellantis North America … Read more
American Stellantis owners are less likely to stay loyal to the company than buyers of GM or Ford cars, by a wide margin, according to Experian data published recently by Automotive News. However, Stellantis is not at the bottom of the automotive field—though its competitors are generally much smaller.Among major manufacturers, GM is surprisingly the … Read more
It might be the last truly new engine made by Stellantis—the engine coded Tornado, after the British fighter. Four years ago, I wrote about this turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine for Allpar. At the time, people in the company said this powerplant would replace the 5.7 Hemi. There were six advantages of this engine over the Hemi:Higher … Read more
FCA had already started making a strong four-cylinder turbo engine and was near production on a strong turbo six when it merged with Peugeot. So, months later, why are we still seeing Jeeps with low-power four-cylinder engines, and nothing to compete with Ford’s turbo sixes?The answer is production. The Jeep version of the turbo-2.0, while … Read more
Collectors Keith and Denise Neufeld brought together an interesting mix of cars and parts over 30 years; and all of their collection is now being auctioned off, including a 1967 Dart GT, 2008 Dodge Magnum SRT8, Dodge 400, Fargo pickup, Plymouth Special Deluxe, Chrysler New Yorker, and various Brand X and other trucks. Among the … Read more
US dealers will be clear of one more large sedan in 2023, according to Larry Vellequette of Automotive News, who reported this week that the Toyota Avalon is being dropped at the end of the 2022 model year. Originally created out of the Camry by mainly ex-GM engineers in the United States, the Avalon waxed … Read more
The Jeep Wagoneer, a luxurious full-sized SUV, now has official fuel economy numbers. These are for the Wagoneer, not the Grand Wagoneer; the Grand Wagoneer comes with a 392 cubic inch high-performance Hemi, while the Wagoneer comes with the more mainstream 5.7 (345 cid) Hemi.With rear wheel drive, the Wagoneer is rated at 16 mpg … Read more
Every brand gets ten years to prove itself. That’s the promise of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, and it’s going to be a tough wait for Chrysler, which might go down to a single model before it starts expanding again—then to either succeed or, in 2031, be dissolved, ending a 107-year run and being replaced by … Read more
Stellantis has reported high first-half-of-2021 results, with an 11.4% margin; all segments were profitable. The following results are listed in euros; currently, €1 = US$1.19. First, net revenues were €72.6 billion, compared with €19.6 billion one year ago; the net profit was €5.8 billion, vs €797 million in the first half of 2020. Pro format, … Read more
Second news brief first: The Jeep Gladiator is temporarily being paused due to parts shortages, while the Wrangler will stay in full production. First brief second: Ralph Gilles provided a snapshot of a global design meeting, bringing together design leaders for every Stellantis brand. Ralph wrote, “What an honor to team up with Jean-Pierre Ploue, … Read more
When AMC built its state-of-the-art plant in Brampton, they named it Bramalea to avoid confusion with their existing factory in the area. Time went on, Brampton closed, and Bramalea was renamed to Brampton; it started making large cars for Chrysler, Dodge, and Eagle in the early 1990s, and never looked back (except to change some … Read more
Social media is abuzz with an Australian site’s story, “Jeep confirms death of the V8 engine,” posted on July 23. Since most readers don’t go past the headline, though, they are missing a key point: Jeep is not saying that V8s are going away any time soon. The quote in question was Christian Meunier, global … Read more
Ram, probably the main profit driver of Stellantis in North America, has been increasingly popular thanks to its “new-plus-old-generations” sale strategy. In the future, though, electric power may be the key to success; and Ram is apparently set on staying relevant, without losing its character.The cutaway in the Ram EV Day presentation shows a 2008-Dakota-like … Read more
