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
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.
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.
The 2024 Grand Caravan continues, but only in Canada, where it is a lower-cost version of the Pacifica. For 2024, new colors are the opposing Baltic Grey and Red Hot.In the United States, changes range from clever to minor:Emergency vehicle alerts in UConnect give drivers cluster and touch-screen notices of active fire trucks, ambulances, and … Read more
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
Harry’s U-Pull-It, which has four locations in Pennsylvania, sometimes comes across cars too good to junk—and in this case, they have a neat Chrysler 300, with some rust, up for grabs.The car has a clean title, an amazingly low 45,401 miles, skirts, caps, and trim, and a reasonable amount of rust. It needs upholstery repair … Read more
… perhaps Toluca, now that it’s only running the Compass at reasonable volumes, can handle all the Medium cars Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep need—and perhaps they won’t be doing Small in the US at all. Here’s the logic behind these ideas.
Weeks ago, a mainstream auto magazine claimed that, as part of the re-examination of Chrysler, the Airflow had been killed—both the name and the concept.
Ralph Gilles countered on Instagram, and rather than summarizing-while-injecting-our-views, we are reproducing his full reply:
… 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.
Stop driving your truck. Seriously. Oh, and call your mom.
That’s the essence of a message just sent out by the company which inherited Dodge and Ram, because around 29,000 owners of 2003 Dodge Ram pickups are still driving them with defective Takata airbags.
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 …
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…
Many people remember being told by their parents, “Shut off the light when you leave the room!”According to Automotive News, Stellantis said much the same thing to FCA US, also known as “the former Chrysler,” which had been metaphorically leaving the lights on when leaving the room.PSA, the former Peugeot, had a protocol called Excellent Plant … Read more
Stellantis announced three new leaders in its design offices, two at Jeep and one heading the global user experience. Ralph Gilles, the company’s chief design officer, is remaining in his post.Vince Galante has been appointed vice president of Jeep® exterior design; he joined what became Stellantis in 2005, rising through the ranks and working on … Read more
Chrysler-the-marque may end up with no cars in current production due to factory scheduling, for what may be the first time in its history (not counting ordinary factory model-year changeovers).
The 300 appears to be the first on the schedule to end production as Brampton shuts down for an extensive changeover. Then the Pacifica will cease production as its plant in Windsor closes for its own changeover. Windsor is one of the most recently renovated plants in the company’s portfolio, having shifted to a modern ergonomic assembly line system for the Pacifica. (Sterling Heights and Detroit/Mack Complex were converted afterwards.)
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.
