LG, whose batteries are perhaps best known for causing a $2 billion GM recall, is Stellantis’ joint venture partner for a North American battery plant. The well-publicized LG gaffe may have helped Stellantis negotiators quite a bit. The new plant is to start pumping out car batteries in early 2024, with an annual capacity of … Read more
Whether due to market forces or shortages, Jeep Cherokee production has been down quite a bit, and Stellantis has apparently decided that the second shift is not coming back. The company recently sent around 1,100 letters to employees at the Belvidere plant, offering relocation at other facilities, including Toledo, according to local station WREX. Employees … Read more
The 2022 Chrysler Pacifica is getting more features and small price hikes, while the value-leading Voyager is moving to fleet-only, at least for now. The main reason for this is likely lack of supply, allowing Chrysler to target more affluent customers. The 2021 Pacifica Touring model starts at $36,245; the 2022 model will start at … Read more
This morning, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) held a press conference at zMax Dragway in North Carolina, which was streamed live on the NASCAR legend’s Facebook page. As soon as the video feed went live, it was clear that many of our predictions proved to be accurate. Stewart was shown sitting at a table with his … Read more
While many drivers don’t particularly like the idea of autonomous cars, at least for their own use, having that capability does seem to be needed for credibility among the non-auto-adept public. Fiat Chrysler chose merely to help Google with its self-driving efforts, supplying cars and learning from what Google needed to modify them; Peugeot participated … Read more
Earlier today, we brought you the news that NASCAR legend Tony Stewart will make an announcement alongside the President of the NHRA tomorrow. We expect that Stewart will be announcing his entry into the world of big league drag racing as an owner, as the media advisory from Tony Stewart Racing ended with a list … Read more
Earlier this week, Tony Stewart Racing issued a media advisory, shown below. As you can see, it states that Tony Stewart and NHRA President Glen Cromwell will be in attendance for a major announcement at zMax Dragway in North Carolina. It also lists Stewart’s successes as a team owner, but no other information is provided. … Read more
This past weekend, the NHRA funny cars headed to the Texas Motorplex for the 2021 Texas FallNationals with Don Schumacher Racing team drivers Matt Hagan and Ron Capps holding the top two spots in the championship battle. It was already looking good for Team Mopar before the 20th event on the 2021 schedule, but the … Read more
This past weekend, many of the quickest modern Mopar race cars headed to Houston Raceway Park for the Lone Star Mopar Fest, which is one of the stops on the Modern Street Hemi Shootout series. The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat known as GRMPYCAT was in attendance, and once again, on the first run off of … Read more
This morning, the folks at Mopar issued five teaser images of vehicles coming to the 2021 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. There was no information included, with only this short statement accompanying the teaser images. “Mopar will showcase customized vehicles and hundreds of quality-tested, factory-backed performance parts and accessories in its 15,345-square-foot exhibit in the … Read more
On various forums, some people are impatient for a Dodge and Chrysler comeback—and they’re starting to get itchy, insisting that nothing is really coming and that the ten years allocated to each brand isn’t real. It’s a bit early to be dismissing Stellantis’ promises, though. Each brand was promised a ten year trial in 2021; … Read more
The Michigan State Police have released preliminary data from their tests of 2022 police cars. There were no clear winners, but Dodge did well in a variety of roles, fielding four pursuit cars (Charger and Durango with V6 and V8 power), while Ram had three special-service pickups (Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500). Every Dodge pursuit … Read more
Ram beat the Chevrolet Silverado again to be America’s second-best-selling pickup after the wider-ranging Ford F-series, with 434,772 Ram sales year-to-date comfortably above 407,266 Silverados but well below 534,831 Fords. GM still beat Stellantis, overall, given 191,186 GMC Sierra sales; indeed, GM beat Ford, too, if we include both Silverado and Sierra, as we really … Read more
Stellantis is finally making an eight-speed automatic that can be used in hybrid-electric and gasoline-powered vehicles; at the moment, the “4xe” hybrids use ZF-built transmissions. The changes, which affect three plants near or in Kokomo, Indiana—one casting plant and two transmission plants— will cost around $229 million. The eight-speed transmissions Chrysler builds are modified to … Read more
The 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee L has a place on the Ward’s Ten Best Interiors list, a singular honor only partly due to the optional McIntosh audio system. The 2021 Jeep® Grand Cherokee L Summit Reserve has a standard 10.25-inch frameless digital cluster with a full-screen, turn-by-turn navigation map. 2021 Overland has a 10.1-inch touchscreen … Read more
Lancia, which is currently confined to Italy and a single car brand, will be getting a new, battery-powered Delta model in around four years, according to new Lancia CEO Luca Napolitano, as quoted by motor1. At least one observer believes that a Chrysler version is likely, given that Lancia has a mission which could be … Read more