Chrysler

Windsor minivan plant down

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Windsor plant

The Windsor minivan plant has cancelled all production for today without giving a reason. Skilled trades and employees engaged in launching new vehicles were called in for work.

The UAW has struck a number of Stellantis parts distribution centers, which will start to impact dealers trying to get service parts and may impact factories as well. However, the company has a large inventory of minivans at dealerships, so the production stoppage might not be related to the strike.  <>Read more

Clarifying the “selling the Chrysler headquarters” rumor and plan

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CTC partial blueprint

Yesterday, a rumor that Stellantis was planning to sell the Chrysler Technology Center, whose campus also houses the American headquarters, made the rounds—and turned out to be both accurate and possibly a little misleading. 

The rumor was all the more credible after Ford chose to move its engineering headquarters from Dearborn to a brand new campus in Mexico, an oddly under-reported event which though covered by the Reuters news service didn’t make many front pages. Yesterday, in the absence of official comments <>Read more

Peugeot E-3008 Could Preview American Market Stellantis EVs

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Peugeot E-3008

Peugeot recently introduced the 2023 E-3008, and while that vehicle will likely never have any role in the United States market, it is based on the STLA Medium platform. We know that the STLA Medium platform will be used for vehicles sold in North America at some point, so there is a possibility that some … Read more

“Branding” is cheapening Mopar brands

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branding

As time goes on, FCA US (Stellantis North America) press releases increasingly refer to “the Dodge brand,” “the Jeep brand,” and so on. Maybe this made sense for Chrysler before FCA, to avoid confusion between the marque and the company (many car folk eschew the term “brand” in favor of the more dignified “marque”), but there is no Chrysler Corporation or Chrysler Group today.

There has never been any reason for Dodge people to refer to “the Dodge brand.” It’s just Dodge. Nobody thinks that Dodge City is producing cars—or Phelps Dodge—or Grace Dodge. There’s only one Dodge that makes cars, and it’s the group that used to be Dodge Division and before that Dodge Brothers… and Dodge Brothers didn’t make other brands of cars. <>Read more

Mopars flunked Mozilla’s car privacy test (and so did others): Here’s the down-and-dirty and what it all means

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UConnect 12 screen

Automakers including Stellantis have been rebuilding their in-car platforms using Google software. That might be one reason why so many are flunking Mozilla’s privacy test; indeed, nobody passed it.

Automakers “can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive,” with microphones, cameras, phones, and sensors in the car, as well as their car apps, web sites, and dealership systems. They combine the data to make inferences about buyer traits. None appear to use encryption in the car to keep this data safe. <>Read more

Chrysler’s now made 100,000 Pacifica PHEVs

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Pacifica PHEV 100,000

The first Chrysler PHEV, the Pacifica, was not quite as large a success as the Wrangler 4xe system; but it provided a remarkably fuel-efficient minivan and beat Toyota’s Sienna Hybrid to the punch by years. The Windsor (Ontario) plant which makes all Chrysler minivans has now produced the 100,000th PHEV, nearly seven years after production … Read more

Numerous Ford truck recalls; small Pacifica fuel line leak recall

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recalls

… 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. <>Read more

Who bought the last Chrysler 200? and other oddballs of 2023

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final 2017 Chrysler 200

In the second quarter of 2023, long after the last one was made, someone bought a Chrysler 200.

This sale was made after the car availability crisis hit its peak, and dealers could pretty much sell anything with four wheels. The 200 was a fine car, but the last one was made in 2016.

Other oddball sales were four Dodge Journeys … <>Read more

2025 Challenger, Charger timetable forecasts

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Dodge Charger Daytona BEV

According to AutoForecast Solutions’ Sam Fiorani, the 2025 Dodge Challenger will start rolling off the assembly lines faster than many had predicted—and it will be coming from a new home at the historic (but quite modern) Windsor, Ontario assembly plant. In addition, a new crossover for Chrysler is slated for the same plant.

All modern Challengers and Chargers have, until now, come off the assembly lines at Brampton, an Ontario facility created by American Motors not long before the Chrysler deal.

The “LB” Challenger is… <>Read more