GM’s pretax profit in North America rose by 14% in the first quarter, to $3.6 billion, but the company as a whole saw net income drop by 19%, to $2.4 billion. This was largely due to $875 million for employee buyouts; the company also set aside $99 million to buy out those Buick dealers who are leaving rather than supporting electric cars. Like Chrysler, Buick sees itself as all-electric in the future. <>Read more
A couple of days ago, photos from the Illinois Toll Road’s social media feed made a stir as a car carrier loaded mainly with new Jeeps was clearly on fire. Two Wranglers were most badly burned, and one of them was a 4xe, which could have stirred some anti-EV hate. An inquiry to Stellantis North America media relations yielded no answers. <>Read more
It’s the 2023 Dodge Journey, but you can’t buy it in the United States.
There is very little information available on Dodge’s web site. The Stellantis North America media site doesn’t mention it at all. But the 2023 Dodge Journey is on sale in Mexico, with over a thousand sales reported in March. There are three trim levels, SXT, Sport, and GT; the Sport raises the price to MX$667,900 and the GT to over MX$700,000. It’s not a new story, really—the ’23 follows a 2022 model. <>Read more
Analysis. In 2025-26, Mopars will have access to a variety of gasoline, hybrid, and electric powertrains. Where should they put them? Chrysler would probably be a better marque for EVs than Dodge, especially in terms of pricing. Even with the performance aspect taken into account, a Chrysler 300R would be in a better position to … Read more
According to a source inside Brampton, Stellantis officials recently visited the plant and told workers that Stellantis was happy with its work—and had big plans for its future. They confirmed that the plant would have a major transformation to make electric cars on a new, flexible platform.
Last year, Stellantis announced that it would be spending nearly US$3 billion to upgrade the Windsor and Brampton plants. A major battery factory, a joint venture with LG, is being placed in Windsor to support the Canadian factories, both of which are in Ontario. The company could not commit to the number of shifts, but previously announced that it expected to run three shifts. There was some concern expressed over wage growth and the need for competitive costs. <>Read more
Ram has yet to announce changes to its 2024 models, which makes sense given that they usually come out in August. 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. Ram has … Read more
Analysis. Social media, forums, and comments sections have all seen complaints about Dodge’s future, which many claim will be “all BEV.” In point of fact, there’s never been any indication that this is Stellantis’ plan for Dodge—only for Chrysler.
What we know so far is that Chrysler-the-marque, as opposed to the no-longer-around Chrysler-the-company, is planning to go all-electric by 2030, and at last report was only working on STLA Large—but these are subject to change. FCA US, on the other hand, was looking at being just 50% electric in 2030. That means it’ll still be 50% not-electric.
The last credible installment from our sources claimed that an LB Challenger was indeed on the way, powered by a Hurricane twin-turbo straight six engine…
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The New York Auto Show is closing soon; this is a quick overview of what you might miss if you’re not there, starting with the outdoors attractions—the Toyota Thrill Ride (professional drivers in a small paved area do make for some thrills) and Camp Jeep, also a thrill ride as you go up and down a steep, tall steel-surfaced roller coaster in your choice of Jeeps. <>Read more
The Dodge Hornet, after a long sea voyage, is finally reaching dealerships.
Dodge called the Hornet a “gateway vehicle.” Some thought it would be a hybrid Challenger or Charger to bridge the gap between gas-powered models and EVs; but it was a gateway in different ways—
A gateway to Dodge for first-time buyers
A gateway between FCA and Stellantis—between SUSW and STLA Small
A gateway between gasoline and electric
A gateway between Dodge as “only big cars and trucks” and Dodge as a full line
One could also call the Hornet a gateway between past and future; the original Hudson Hornet was a full sized car, sold in several body styles, that won NASCAR and AAA racing championships with its six-cylinder engine and either two-barrel carburetor or twin single-barrels (Twin-H Power). <>Read more
A woman listed as “missing” with the police was found under water, protected by a Jeep Wrangler. A fisherman in Marion County, Texas, reported a submerged vehicle around forty feet from a boat ramp to the sheriff’s office. The dispatcher sent deputies and a tow truck, and as the operators were preparing to fish the … Read more
There were no “Mopar” recalls again this week, but Volkswagen had a particularly bad time with front camera heaters overheating on 2020 Q7s, surprise-opening doors on 2023 the ID 4, breaking fuel pumps on the 2022 Taos, and inoperative airbags on the 2018-21 Atlas.
Tesla recalled the 2018-19 Model 3 for separating front suspension links, and Kia is fixing 2022-23 Carnival minivans whose power sliding doors may not stop for occupants. Oh, and the 2023 Hyundai Genesis G90’s seat belt pretensioners may explode (see robot’s rendering).
What’s left? 2019…
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While most of the rumble at the New York International Auto Show came from the 1,025 HP Dodge Challenger 170 on the upper level, this interesting, and perhaps more historically significant, Mopar sat quietly parked among other vintage iron in the lower-level displays. <>Read more
With both Canadian plants scheduled for an extended downtime and conversion for new products, Stellantis has been pumping out massive quantities of Chrysler and Dodge cars to keep sales up while production is down. According to Cox Automotive, Chrysler had over 130 days’ supply of cars in inventory (mainly on dealer lots); both their vehicles … Read more
When the 2025 Ram 1500 REV all-electric half-ton pickup reaches dealerships in the latter portion of 2024, it will only be offered in a single configuration. The production version of the electric Ram pickup will only be offered in the four-door Club Cab, short bed layout that has been shown, according to a Ram Trucks representative talking with Stellpower’s David Zatz during the initial media day of the New York International Auto Show.
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Earlier, we reported on the Jeep Wrangler’s infotainment system updates, which include giving each and every model the same huge center screen—a screen kept horizontal and in “widescreen” format, so that it doesn’t stick up out of the dashboard. It’s a nicely integrated setup which fits right in, but while it adds utility on trails and on the road, it’s hardly the only improvement. Indeed, Jeep seems to be trying to greatly increase the value proposition of the Wranglers without dropping prices—and that includes adding a new, less-expensive 4xe option. <>Read more
Today, Christian Meunier, CEO of Jeep (global), unveiled the 2024 Wranglers. It was an unusual reveal, focused largely on emotion for the first ten minutes or so—the spirit of Wrangler, the Wrangler family, the Jeep wave, Jeep events and gatherings, groups of Jeepers helping in crises, and the “duck duck Jeep” tradition, giving credit to … Read more
