Ram is recalling a mere two dozen (24) 2021 Ram 1500 Classic trucks, all SLT models, because someone forgot to add the clip that secures the brake master cylinder pushrod to the brake pedal assembly.Ram has asked owners to avoid driving the trucks until they are inspected and, if needed, fixed. The fix is to … Read more
A popular meme claims shows Dodge engineers shoving a Hellcat into every Dodge, and not stopping there. Since they now sell the Pacifica as a Caravan in Canada, will we see a Hellcat Caravan, as pictured below (credit to abimelecdesign and reposted by Ralph Gilles on his Instagram feed)?In short, well, no. Ralph Gilles’ reaction … Read more
The urbane Pietro Gorlier, a man willing to patiently sit and answer any question a journalist might have for hours (while sipping fresh espresso), has been put in charge of Stellantis’ global part and service.While at Chrysler, Gorlier read every letter addressed to him, righting wrongs, investigating claims, and generally cleaning up any messes left … Read more
The fact that the Dodge Durango Hellcat is a one-year phenomenon should tell you something about how long we can expect these trucks to last.The Durango started out on a truck platform and stayed there for years before becoming a longer, less off-road-tuned version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Rumors at Allpar and Mopar Insiders … Read more
The 710-horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat, which propels the big SUV from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and can run a muscle-car-humiliating quarter mile of 11.5 seconds, has already sold out. Those who want instant power will have to settle for the 392 Hemi.The hot Durango lists for $80,995 plus $1,495 destination, and is a … Read more
The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has begun reaching owners around the country, but the very first Hellcat-powered half-ton built when production began was held back. That vehicle, TRX VIN #001, will be sold to the highest bidder at the upcoming Barrett Jackson Scottsdale auction in March and the proceeds will go to United Way for … Read more
The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye has just started showing up in dealerships around the country. According to the details accompanying this video from Satera Tuning, this is one of just nine that have been delivered, with shop owner and new Redeye owner Jeremy Satera picking the car up earlier this week.For most people, … Read more
Since the 1960 Valiant shook up Chrysler’s product line, resulting in changes to every other car’s brakes, axles, and front suspensions, Chrysler has done well when it set up skunkworks or other arrangements that led low-level employees have more of a say. Indeed, the revolutionary changes of the 1990s centered mainly on empowering groups to … Read more
The signs are up at Auburn Hills and other headquarters. The old FCA and FCA US email address are already being replaced by stellantis.com. But who is running the show?It appears that Stellantis is using matrix management, with both regional and brand leaders. For the Mopars, we have Christian Meunier running global SUV / Jeep; … Read more
The Hellraisin 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock shown here is owned and driven by Ron Silva. Silva was one of the first 2018 Demon owners to get into the 9-second range while routinely being one of the quickest stock Demon owners on the track. Silva has sold his Demon and moved onto the gorgeous … Read more
Groupe PSA (Peugeot S.A.) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) have now merged; the stock appears tomorrow and Tuesday, respectively, on Euronext and Mercato, then on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol STLA (Stellantis).In other news, Stellantis will be the first automaker to use Amazon’s Alexa Custom Assistant, which can be tailored to each … Read more
Canoo came to my attention due to a report that Apple had talked with them about making electric vehicles together. Of particular interest to me was their electric minivan.Like Rivian, Canoo has created a modular platform for making electric vans, cars, and trucks. Like the old body-on-frame cars, which long ago were jettisoned for unibody … Read more
For years, some buyers of 2.4 liter engines have been afflicted by oil use. Not all the engines had problems, which was even more puzzling; manufacturing tolerances are extremely tight, so how could it be that one person would do oil changes every ten months or 10,000 miles and never have to add any, while … Read more
Some reacted to news of FCA’s 2020 sales shortfall by pointing out that dealers were short of cars—a situation that is not likely to be improved by the global microchip shortage, which has shut down the Toluca and Brampton plants. Toluca makes the Jeep Compass and until recently produced the Dodge Journey and Fiat 500; … Read more
Based on information posted online, the Dodge brand produced 6,543 Challengers and Chargers with the supercharged Hellcat Hemi during the course of the 2020 model year. This figure does not come from FCA but rather, an inside source who has responsible for all in-depth Hellcat production numbers over the past five years. In other words, … Read more
This morning, the Jeep brand took the wraps off of the long-rumored three-row Grand Cherokee, but this is not simply the current SUV with an extra row of seats. The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L is all-new and it is far more than just a few more seats. Rebuilt from the ground-up, the Grand Cherokee … Read more
