Why the diesel had to go

VM diesel (Ram)

Buildout for Ram 1500 diesel pickups is coming in January 2023. That spells the end for the small Italian diesels, made by Fiat subsidiary VM, though Cummins diesels will continue to drive heavy-duty Rams.Changes are the Gladiator diesel will follow into oblivion as well. Why?The 3.0 L “EcoDiesel” produces 260 hp and 480 lb-ft of … Read more

Hate the Dodge Charger EV Concept? It Could Be Much Worse

Dodge Charger Daytona

The odds are good that if you are reading this, you are familiar with the new Dodge Charger Daytona EV Concept. The muscular looking EV debuted a few weeks ago, on the final day of the brand’s “muscle announcements” at the M1 Concourse road racing facility in Michigan.Of course, because the Charger Daytona Concept is … Read more

Solid-state battery pilot plant purchased for STLA BEVs

Factorial CEO Siyu Huang and solid state battery

Lithium-ion batteries, despite their almost miraculous ability to store and deliver energy, have some issues when used in cars, most notably the difficulty of dealing with (rare) fires. Many believe the next generation of batteries will use solid electrolyte material, which increases safety and range.Stellantis had already set up an agreement with “solid state” LiOn … Read more

Inside the new engine coming to the USA for STLA Medium

EP6 Peugeot engine for Stellantis STLA Medium 1.6 hybrids

On Monday, FCA US announced that it would be making a 1.6 liter turbocharged engine for use with hybrid powertrains in two American vehicles. This engine appears to be a new edition in the established EP6 series.The first EP6 four-cylinders had rather public issues with the valve timing; when these were fixed, PSA assigned the name … Read more

When will we know? STLA releases the dates

future product releases

Three events are being planned to release new “electrified” cars, which may include both hybrids and battery-electrics.It is clear now that Dodge is bringing back the fratzog, at least for electric vehicles; it will have two previously announced releases in August. Sometime in September, there will be a new Jeep 4xe day showing off that … Read more

Final Dodge Hellcat Variant Could Feature This Key Hellephant Part

Hellephant Hemi Crate Engine

There have been rumors floating around the internet claiming that Dodge is working on one final Hellcat car that will be the most powerful production vehicle to date. Those rumors state that this car will run on E85 ethanol-gasoline blend, but these rumors are being spread by the same people who insisted that there was … Read more

Dodge to Reveal at Least 3 New Products in August

Roadkill Nights Powered by Dodge

This morning, Dodge announced that the Roadkill Nights event in Metro Detroit will be a part of what the brand is calling Dodge Speed Week – starting on August 12th and finishing up on August 20th – with 3 days of worldwide product reveals in the middle. We don’t know exactly what will be introduced … Read more

Refilling the Cummins “hydrogen diesel” (possibly coming to Ram)

Some time ago, we posted a story on Stellantis’ hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). That is one path forward for areas where battery-electric vehicles aren’t practical, but it’s likely Ram heavy duty pickups will have another option: Cummins 6.7 liter B-type diesels hydrogen engines.Cummins, a pioneer in diesel engines (having run them at the Indy 500), helped … Read more

FCA inventors create new Park setup

880RE transmission (pictured: ZF Gen 4)

Creating a new hybrid-electric transmission (with integrated electric motors) brings up some problems and opportunities; one of the more prosaic ones is the humble parking pawl, that little bit of metal that keeps the car or truck from moving when the transmission is in Park.Typically, a notched wheel on the output shaft locks up the … Read more

Dodge Charger with Pentastar Power Runs Consistent 11s

Mike Hillegas 2016 Dodge Charger

We talk a great deal about the shockingly quick quarter mile times turned in by all of the Hemi-powered modern Mopars, but we rarely bring any attention to the folks racing Pentastar-powered cars. While the vast majority of modern Dodge buyers who want to go racing opt for a V8, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 has … Read more