The Jeep Wagoneer, a luxurious full-sized SUV, now has official fuel economy numbers. These are for the Wagoneer, not the Grand Wagoneer; the Grand Wagoneer comes with a 392 cubic inch high-performance Hemi, while the Wagoneer comes with the more mainstream 5.7 (345 cid) Hemi. With rear wheel drive, the Wagoneer is rated at 16 … Read more
Stellantis, like every other major automaker, is betting on a more electric future. In this case, the company is investing $35 billion in electrification, using a scalable family of three electric-drive modules. The company is working on solid state batteries as well as two conventional chemistries. The company is planning four flexible BEV platforms with … Read more
Social media is abuzz with an Australian site’s story, “Jeep confirms death of the V8 engine,” posted on July 23. Since most readers don’t go past the headline, though, they are missing a key point: Jeep is not saying that V8s are going away any time soon. The quote in question was Christian Meunier, global … Read more
Ram, probably the main profit driver of Stellantis in North America, has been increasingly popular thanks to its “new-plus-old-generations” sale strategy. In the future, though, electric power may be the key to success; and Ram is apparently set on staying relevant, without losing its character. The cutaway in the Ram EV Day presentation shows a … Read more
Head of design Ralph Gilles revealed in a recent video that Stellantis North America (SNA) is planning eight new electrified vehicles within the next five years. These will include: A luxury sedan with a long range An “all conquering” muscle car, which has been teased An SUV hitting the “heart of the market” A “very … Read more
A plugin-hybrid (PHEV) 2022 Grand Cherokee is being prepared, according to a Jeep release today. The new SUV will bear the 4xe name. No other specs were released, but there is a photo. Current 4xe systems use a turbocharged four-cylinder engine which produces more power than the 3.6 liter V6 used as the Grand Cherokee … Read more
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 … 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 … 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. … 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 … 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 … 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. … 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