All of Stellantis’ 14 brands have committed to selling “best-in-class fully electrified solutions,” according to today’s announcement, but Europe will be a more extreme changeover than the US. The target is for 70% of sales in Europe, but just 40% in the U.S., to be low-emission vehicles by 2030.New battery-electrics (BEVs) are to have ranges … Read more
On July 8th, Stellantis will hold the company’s first ever “EV Day”, and on that day, it is expected that we will get our first look at how the Dodge brand will introduce electrification. Of course, all of the other brands under the newly-formed corporate umbrella are likely to be addressed as well, but for … Read more
Four years ago, I wrote about the “Tornado,” as the turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine then being development was coded. Insiders were certain that the 5.7 Hemi would be dropped so Chrysler could boost its fuel economy ratings and drop its lavish support for Tesla. (The project nickname honored the airplane, not the classic Willys-Jeep engine.)The straight-six … Read more
Dodge is expected to announce a new powertrain on July 8, with many believing there will be a battery-electric or serious-hybrid version of the Charger and Challenger on that date. The rationale is Dodge chief Tim Kuniskis’ statement that “we will have some pretty interesting stuff [on] July 8” to Muscle Cars and Trucks, on … Read more
The reduced production of Dodge Charger and Challenger last year due to production stoppages stemming from the early onset of the Covid-19 pandemic coupled with the ongoing component shortage, most recently pertaining to microchips, has led to an extreme short supply of new Hellcat-powered Dodge cars. That short supply of new models has led to … Read more
The Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk is one of the world’s most powerful production sport utility vehicles, packing 707 horsepower officially trailing only the Dodge Durango with the same supercharged Hemi at 710 horsepower. The Hellephant is the most powerful crate engine ever offered by Mopar, packing an awesome 1,000 horsepower from the supercharged 7-liter V8.Some … Read more
Dodge’s hottest cars, the Charger and Challenger with the 392 (6.4) or Hellcat 6.2 V8s, are getting a software update which will let owners restrict the engine to idle speed—675 rpm—with a peak horsepower of roughly 3. That’s less than 1% of their usual power.The update is available back to model-year 2015, and should deter … Read more
“Who killed the electric car?” asked a movie, some years ago, implying that General Motors deliberately destroyed the rebirth of electrics. The movie ignored Chrysler’s epic electric car program of the same time—a program which sold cars, rather than leasing them, and was something of a success.Made in Plymouth and Dodge versions, the EPIC was … Read more
Stellantis is planning to put more effort into battery-electric cars as it sees hybrid powertrains eventually fading out.The automaker, which includes the 14 brands of the former Chrysler, Fiat, and Peugeot groups, is acting like others on the belief that making mass-market internal combustion engines will eventually be banned in Europe and other regions. This … Read more
If you drive a Dodge Dart, Chrysler 200 or Jeep Cherokee, Renegade or Compass with the 2.4-liter TigerShark 4-cylinder engine, there is a chance that you have oil use issues. Some of these engines burn a significant enough amount of oil that owners find themselves regularly adding oil between changes, which is both costly and … Read more
American Axle, one of the largest auto suppliers, will continue to supply Ram heavy duty pickups—that is, the Ram 2500 and 3500—with their axles and driveshafts all the way to 2030. The company’s statement promised that they would provide “our latest and most efficient driveline technologies… for the next-generation of this key vehicle program.”American Axle … Read more
About a week ago, there were reports from two websites – Opposite Lock and Grassroots Motorsports – that the SRT Performance division had been disbanded under the new corporate umbrella. Neither of these reports cited any sources, so we reached out to our contacts at Stellantis for the official world. Unfortunately, that word is not … Read more
Nearly four years ago, I wrote about the “Tornado,” as the turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine then being development was coded (not after the Jeep engine, but the airplane, in line with other Chrysler engine projects).Insiders were certain that the 5.7 Hemi, which was overdue for upgrades—upgrades which had reportedly been at least partly created, but … 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
According to the Kokomo Tribune, the United States won’t be pumping out 2-liter turbo engines until the last quarter of 2021, rather than starting out in the next few months. The reason is that the transformation of a transmission plant into an engine plant has been delayed. That left FCA trying to get production out … Read more
