For many years, Dodge was serious about trucks. The Dodge Division built the usual half-ton, three-quarter-ton, and one-ton pickups, but they also made big rigs for heavier-duty trucking needs. In the mid-1970s, they even tried marketing pickups to ordinary people as a replacement for muscle cars, using the unfortunate term “adult toys.”This 1977 Dodge pickup … Read more
Jeep is almost certainly readying a vehicle to take on the Bronco’s dimensional challenge, though matching its independent suspension may prove much harder.Chances are we will see something like the Jeep XTreme Recon package mentioned by Jalopnik, from a page that’s no longer visible; it would be on four-door Wranglers, including the 392.The first numbers … Read more
Jeep tweeted an image of a sign showing a Wrangler, with an arrow pointing up, and the cryptic message 40.4 in big numbers. The code at the bottom right might read “JL 106” but it’s too fuzzy to be sure.Motor1 had a fine analysis by Christopher Smith going over the many possible explanations, while also … Read more
The luxurious Ram-based Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer are due for the ’22 model year; the first out of the gate in EPA gas mileage ratings is the Grand Wagoneer, suggesting that will be the first available for buyers. The pricier of the two vehicles, the Grand Wagoneer seems to come with a standard 6.4 … Read more
Take the Dodge Charger Hellcat Redeye, with its 797 horsepower supercharged Hemi, and round up to the nearest thousand—or just take a Hennessey Performance Hellcat, which goes one-up with both a twin turbo and a supercharger to claim a thousand horsepower. Add in a name related to the limited-production, 840-horse Dodge Challenger Demon, and you … Read more
The Dodge Durango has one more model year; after that, it might keep on going indefinitely, or it might disappear from dealer showrooms. It’s quite possible Dodge hasn’t decided yet; Chrysler was surprised by the longevity of the original Jeep Cherokee (XJ) design, and has kept the old Ram 1500 Classic (DS) going alongside the … Read more
If you missed Dodge Viper: The full story of the world’s first V10 sports car when it first hit the stands, you can now get an updated version, edited with input from Viper experts Dick Winkles, Jon Brobst, and Maurice Liang.The 136-page-long book from Veloce is available now on Amazon, bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, and in … Read more
Remember hitting the junkyard to get parts to fix or upgrade your old beater of a car? Remember the friends you made putting things together? How about the old Slant 6 Club of America? Gary Platz does, and with Ed Dreistadt has moved his memories (and period drawings and photos) onto the printed page in … Read more
Some people might have read the title to this article and thought that it is ridiculous to compare either of the Dodge Hellcat cars to the Dodge Viper, but over the past year or so, I have received a surprising number of emails from readers who are considering swapping their supercharged V8 for a naturally … Read more
The reduced production of Dodge Charger and Challenger last year due to production stoppages stemming from the early onset of the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the ongoing component shortage, most recently pertaining to microchips, has led to an extreme short supply of new Hellcat-powered Dodge cars. That short supply of new models has led to … Read more
Several publications recently ran stories on the death of the sort-of-new Giorgio platform, designed to support medium-sized and large cars and crossovers for Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Jeep, and possibly Chrysler.The reality appears to be different: Giorgio has simply been brought into a new naming system, which simply calls its platforms Small, Medium, Large, and Frame. … Read more
How fake is this letter posted to Facebook, “from a Stellantis employee,” which came with a possibly-real Stellantis letterhead? Pretty fake. Let’s look at the issues.First, while there is a semiconductor shortage, it’s not only China that’s the problem; the sudden Texas shutdown meant hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of semiconductors in-process were lost. … Read more
General Motors may not be selling any Hummers until next year, but they’ve just reposted the specs. Shall we compare it with the top Ram, the supercharged-Hemi-powered Ram 1500 TRX? Stay with us as we see if the TRX can beat the Hummer — and compare the Hellcat to GM’s new electric pickup. (There’s also … Read more
Peugeot SA, like Volkswagen AG, tended to reflect American automakers of the 1930s-to-1980s: similar cars were sold under different brands, varying in trim, soundproofing, convenience features, and such. Peugeot maintained four brands—Citroën, DS, and Opel being the other three. That system, in Chrysler’s case, led to extremely similar cars being sold, with varying sizes, trim … Read more
With Chrysler down to one already-redlined car and one minivan, and Peugeot choosing to sell its cars through existing brands in North America rather than creating a new Peugeot or Citroën line, many believe that Peugeots and DS near-lux cars will be rebadged and modified (depending on the model) as Chryslers in the United States … Read more
Frank Rhodes, great-grandson of Walter P. Chrysler, has been crusading to save the brand, making his points on television, newspapers, and the Web. His work on making contact with the Stellantis chief executive yielded a note from Mr. Tavares’ office, which reads in part: “We do reaffirm that we are very proud of this powerful … Read more
