Some time ago, a purported screen shot from a dealer’s memo on a secret meeting with Stellantis made the rounds of social media. The “to” line made it seem as though it was coming from the Brickners, who own reputable dealerships in Wisconsin.
Stellpower held off on reporting this memo, as aspects of it seemed unlikely. For example, claiming that the 5.7 Hemi V8 will return to the Ram 1500 suggests a larger stockpile of the Hemis than previously expected, since a good deal of the machining equipment has been converted to Hurricane production. It would be absurdly expensive to bring back the 5.7 at this time, though a short run using engines set aside for the Durango might be feasible.
Other parts of the memo seem to follow from common sense, and other rumors—for example, the 6.4 truck Hemi in the Ram 1500 has been tossed around a bit, since that engine is still in (limited) production. Moving special editions from the old DS to the DT pickup line, with the DS gone, is fairly obvious, and Ramcharger moving up in the schedule has already been announced. The Power Wagon was announced at the start of the 2025 model year, for $68,645, but then mysteriously dropped off the web site. It was only sold with the 6.4 Hemi, so a diesel version would be news, but also something we might expect anyway.
The return to NASCAR has been publicly rumored for some time, as have price cuts, which did come to pass. 5,000 392 Wranglers is an interesting idea given the lack of new SRT engines. The Recon for Q4 would be a normal prediction up to around October 2024, but then saying the Cherokee would start up in October would push the memo back to summer 2024 or forward to February 2025—which would be bad for the Recon, which was supposedly nearing production back in in December.
When our reporter asked about the meeting, dealer contacts said there had not been one in the purported timeframe, and also noted that these meetings are extremely secret and that if a leak as big as this had occurred, there would be serious consequences. Yet, the header of the email memo suggests that someone had an original to work from.
What markers would indicate this memo’s reality? Obviously the 5.7 going back into production would be a huge one, but few seriously expect that. Another Wrangler 392 series, perhaps, or the Cherokee officially launching in October and the Recon being pushed back to Q4 2025 would be clues; along with a real Hornet GLH (rumored on and off as being real) and Pacifica FAV. Adding in content on the Wrangler and Gladiator instead of dropping prices might also be an indication.
Regardless, the “memo” raises some red flags. It might be real, but should probably be treated as either not real, or indeterminate in time, or possibly containing errors and misunderstandings.
Further discussion can be found at Allpar.
David Zatz started what was to become the world’s biggest, most comprehensive Mopar site in 1994 as he pursued a career in organizational research and change. After a chemo-induced break, during which he wrote car books covering Vipers, minivans, and Jeeps, he returned with Patrick Rall to create StellPower.com for daily news, and to set up MoTales for mo’ tales.
David Zatz has around 30 years of experience in covering Chrysler/Mopar news and history, and most recently wrote Century of Chrysler, a 100-year retrospective on the Chrysler marque.
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