Hyundai and Kia, which quietly invested in hybrid and electric-car technologies while maintaining their conventional engines, both announced record sales. The two companies sell essentially the same cars, with Kia acting as the cheaper value brand and Hyundai as a somewhat higher-end value brand. Stellantis has not yet announced its sales, but nobody expects them … Read more
According to Wards Auto, a fuel cell-powered Ram 5500 with electric motors is already being produced in Poland, and a North American version is coming to Mexico with hopes of getting 100,000 sales per year. Fuel cell vehicles (such as the Cummins truck shown below) run on electrical power, but use hydrogen and oxygen to … Read more
The 2025 police car tests from the Michigan State Police are out now, and while you can view the report yourself, this the summary is that the only Mopar was the Durango, and it did reasonably well. The 2025 Durango Pursuit is a carryover from 2024. In theory it was supposed to have Hurricane engines … Read more
Recently, UAW Local 1166 president Dave Willis told the WRTV of Kokomo that they had negotiated for collective bargaining at the new “StarPlus” battery plant in Kokomo, a joint venture of Stellantis and Samsung. The news is now official, according to a letter from David Green, Region 28 UAW director. The plant will be represented … Read more
I believe that a relatively low number of Jeep Wagoneer owners go off-roading and when the all-electric Wagoneer S hits dealerships early next year, I expect that even fewer of those owners will spend time playing in the mud. The ultra-plush Jeep Wagoneer S BEV could be the least likely vehicle from the brand in … Read more
It really seemed as though 2024 would be the final model year for production of Hemi-powered Dodge products, but yesterday, the brand announced that the Durango production will continue into the 2025 calendar year with two of the three current Hemi V8 engine options. This includes the high volume 5.7-liter Hemi with 360 horsepower and … Read more
Earlier this year, Dodge shared the basic pricing details for the 2024 Charger Daytona BEV in R/T and Scat Pack trim, with the R/T starting at $59,995 and the Scat Pack starting at $73,190. Neither of those prices included the destination fee, but they both included 2024-specific options without any further breakdown of pricing. Luckily, … Read more
In an unsurprising move, given recent Stellantis launches, the Ram 1500 REV pickup will not be released until 2026. The company blamed slowing demand for half-ton electric pickups; Ford and Tesla have both had issues selling their products, albeit partly because Ford played pricing games and Tesla’s product has numerous flaws. The surprise was moving … Read more
While Chevrolet made pickup trucks before the Silverado, yesterday General Motors celebrated the half-century anniversary of the nameplate. The first Chevrolet Silverado was the top of the line pickup for Chevrolet, whose other models simply used letter/number codes (like F150, but starting with a C for rear wheel drive or a K for four wheel … Read more
Jeep had three Top Safety Picks for the 2024 model-year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which rates cars on several crash tests as well as crash avoidance, including headlight brightness and freedom from glare. Jeep’s three Top Safety Pick winners were the two 2024-25 Jeep Grand Cherokees, in regular and L form, … Read more
Last week, I was invited by Dodge to travel Radford Racing School in Chandler, Arizona, to test the all-new 2024 Charger Daytona – the brand’s first ever battery electric vehicle (BEV) – on both the road and the track. If you are reading this with the expectation of a poor review, you might as well … Read more
Earlier this year, Jeep stripped away the popular automatic transmission option from the Wrangler V6, giving buyers a choice of the manual transmission V6 or an automatic 4xe or 392 Hemi setup. Today, Jeep announced that the automatic was back with all three engines, while the manual transmission remains restricted to the V6. The 4xe … Read more
Jeep has recalled two sets of vehicles for two different problems. 2021-2024 Jeep Grand Cherokees may have front seat airbags that do not work in a crash, because of an improperly secured connector. The solution is obvious, and every affected vehicle has already been fixed, making the paperwork seem superfluous; and only 14 vehicles sold … Read more
When a reader claimed that their dealership had gotten a number of formerly backordered parts, Stellpower had to investigate. Stellantis had been reluctant to spend on warranty work for some time, and many parts seemed to be on semi-permanent backorder—quite aside from a relatively new policy of checking out every warranty repair, even at trusted … Read more
The “Fiata,” properly the Fiat 124 Spider, was a Mazda Miata heavily modified by Fiat, with a retuned suspension and Fiat powertrain. One thing they do share in common is the gas cap, and the way that is sold may be emblematic of two ways of doing business. The car parts are both sold online … Read more
Braun, an aftermarket company, is recalling 44 Chrysler minivans sold in the United States under the Pacifica and Voyager names because the seat limiter may not have been included, so that owners may be too close to the airbags. Some more minivans outside the US are likely recalled as well. This only affects minivans which … Read more