News

New York may hold a more production-intent Chrysler Airflow, and what that means for Cherokee

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The Chrysler Airflow is an ironic name to bring back, since releasing the state-of-the-art car in 1934 was disastrous for the company and the brand. The original Airflow was revolutionary in many ways, but it bombed in the market.

But what of the new Airflow? It is expected to have black paint with dark bronze accents and interior changes to make it more of a production-intent vehicle. This includes changes to the steering wheel and rear seats. The new concept will be shown on April 13 at 11:45 am. The actual release may come in the early morning of the 13th with the unveiling to follow at the show. Stellpower will be covering the event in person.

What this means for the Cherokee…

A Gallery from the 20th Annual Muscle Cars at the Strip

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Muscle Cars at the Strip

Last month, the 20th annual Muscle Cars at the Strip was held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and it was an amazing event. Although winds so strong that the roofs were ripped from golf carts and steel barriers held down by sandbags were blown over on Saturday followed by hard rains on Sunday, the event … Read more

Capps Gets First Win as Team Owner, Hagan’s Dodge Charger Takes Runner-Up

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Dodge Charger Finals

This past weekend marked a major milestone for Ron Capps, as he drove his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat funny car to victory for the first time as a team owner. This big win for Capps occurred at the 2022 NHRA Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas, so in the final round, the two-time champ actually beat … Read more

Ram and Gladiator in the sales race—good news and bad news

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2022 Ram 1500 TRX

Ram actually beat Chevrolet with 127,116 sales, after falling 15% from the same quarter last year. However, like Ford, Ram isn’t anywhere near GM as a whole. By brand, Ram was #2 in the USA; by company, Stellantis was #3. If you were wondering, Toyota Tundra sales totaled just 22,643—and they were up by 18%.

What about smaller pickups? That’s the province of Jeep for the moment…

FCA’s sales drop was not too bad (updated: VW, Tesla)

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FCA US’ first quarter sales fell by 14%, largely on supply constraints, as we reported on Friday. However, FCA appears to have gained market share in the United States—largely at the expense of General Motors, which reported a hefty 20% drop from Q1 2021 to Q1 2022, and Ford, which dropped by 17%.

The chart below shows U.S. sales for most of the “majors,” leaving out Mercedes, which has not reported sales yet (though now including Tesla and Volkswagen).

What you may have missed in the “Ram’s inline six” story

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New inclined six for trucks

According to rumors in Auburn Hills, a second engine is planned for these trucks. It, too, would be an inline six-cylinder, but engineered specifically for truck engines. The new engine is rumored to be larger—3.7 liters—and to have a more traditional design, other than an odd 30° tilt. A source within Engineering told us that it was tilted over to make room for accessories on the side so that it could fit into smaller engine bays; and to provide space for a better air path, increasing its efficiency.

FCA US sales fall, Wagoneer debuts, Canadian sales better (not April Fools)

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FCA US reported their first quarter sales with surprising speed, issuing them on April Fool’s Day—but they are real. Total sales fell by 14%, largely on supply constraints, from 469,651 for January-March 2021 to 405,221 for January-March 2022. Retail sales fell by 13%, slightly better than the fall in fleet sales.

Electrifying news. The Wrangler 4xe did quite well…

Two actual recalls on April Fool’s Day

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2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve and Overland

Jeep is recalling certain 2021-22 Grand Cherokee Ls due to a missing weld in the seatback frame to the child seat anchor. The good news is that, of 4,586 vehicles sold in the U.S. which are potentially involved in the recall—those built from October 13, 2021 to February 2, 2022—only 3% are expected to have … Read more

Second inline six planned for heavy duty Rams

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New inclined six for trucks

According to rumors in Auburn Hills, a second engine is planned for these trucks. It, too, would be an inline six-cylinder, but engineered specifically for truck engines. The new engine is rumored to be larger—3.7 liters—and to have a more traditional design, other than an odd 30° tilt. A source within Engineering told us that it was tilted over to make room for accessories on the side so that it could fit into smaller engine bays; and to provide space for a better air path, increasing its efficiency.

GR Corolla versus Dodge Hornet: some differences

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Corolla GR

Jalopnik just posted specifications from a staging site for the GR Corolla, which comes complete with a hefty restyling of the compact car known in the US mainly for a dull reliability.  The 1.6 liter engine boasts 300 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque, using all wheel drive and an “intelligent” (rev-matching) six-speed manual transmission—using … Read more

Dodge Announces Chief Donut Maker Finalists

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Dodge Chief Donut Maker 10 Finalists

This morning, 10 Dodge enthusiasts got some pretty exciting news, as the brand announced the 10 finalists for the Chief Donut Maker position, each of which will now head to Radford Racing School (formerly Bondurant) for the next step of the competition.“With over 173,500 applications to review, it wasn’t easy, but we’ve selected our top … Read more

Social media droppings: Hurricane engine tidbits

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Mopar twin turbo inline six: Hurricane engine

Mopar-related social media exploded when the Hurricane hit the news, but there are some misconceptions out there which can be addressed with the data already issued by Stellantis.

Originally, we believed the engine was meant primarily for Ram pickups; they will still be used there, but will almost certainly be used in the Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer, and next-generation large cars, as well. Indeed, it might have allowed for the next generation large cars to have a smaller engine bay, saving weight (or providing more space for the interior). It also cuts around 150 pounds of weight, which is handy for acceleration and fuel economy.