The Don Schumacher Racing team got off to a slow start this season, but the team drivers in both Funny Car and Top Fuel have been building momentum over the past few events. Ron Capps has routinely been one of the quicker cars in his class with his Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat funny car, he … Read more
The Jeep Gladiator has climbed to #3 among midsize pickups, which is admittedly not a large group of vehicles, partly by being available during a time of shortages. Now, parts shortages are hitting the Gladiator too, but only for one week of production—so far. Americans bought 48,784 Gladiators in the first half of the year, … Read more
Second news brief first: The Jeep Gladiator is temporarily being paused due to parts shortages, while the Wrangler will stay in full production. First brief second: Ralph Gilles provided a snapshot of a global design meeting, bringing together design leaders for every Stellantis brand. Ralph wrote, “What an honor to team up with Jean-Pierre Ploue, … Read more
According to AutoWatching, Stellantis is losing three former Chrysler people to retirement. Scott Garberding was FCA’s highly regard head of manufacturing; he joined Chrysler in 1993 and rose to become head of quality, purchasing, and manufacturing for FCA US, before becoming FCA’s global chief of manufacturing. Michael Keegan, who joined Chrysler in 1990, was FCA’s … Read more
Jeep Gladiators can now be ordered in Gecko Green, originally reserved for Wranglers. In addition, as noted earlier, Corning Gorilla Glass, once reserved for iPhones, can now be ordered as a factory windshield upgrade to avoid scratches in harsh offroad conditions. These options are available in the US and Canada, and possibly other nations. Special-run … Read more
A few weeks back, we brought you the news that a Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat had become the first of its kind to break into the 10-second quarter mile range. That 3-row SUV is owned by Melissa Satera, wife of tuning mastermind Jeremy Satera of Satera Tuning, and after breaking into the 10s, she wanted … Read more
Don Schumacher Racing drivers Matt Hagan and Leah Pruett each finished second in their class at this past weekend’s NHRA Sonoma Nationals in California, while Ron Capps and Antron Brown both made it to the semifinal round of Funny Car and Top Fuel, respectively. This comes a week after Hagan pulled down his first win … Read more
When AMC built its state-of-the-art plant in Brampton, they named it Bramalea to avoid confusion with their existing factory in the area. Time went on, Brampton closed, and Bramalea was renamed to Brampton; it started making large cars for Chrysler, Dodge, and Eagle in the early 1990s, and never looked back (except to change some … Read more
If you like this movie, stay tuned for a 15-minute film debuting on Wednesday at 7 pm EDT. Trailer for Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack Documentary Watch this video on YouTube. This film, to be released on Jeep’s YouTube channel, will include Stellantis’ chief operating officer, the governor of Michigan, the mayor of Detroit, the … 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
The Chrysler Pacifica has had a tough sales year, due to parts shortages, while the new Toyota Sienna has surged ahead. Good Housekeeping has, though, rated the Pacifica PHEV above the Sienna, which is only available as a hybrid starting with 2021. While they preferred the Sienna’s gas mileage, they really liked the Pacifica’s space and … Read more
Last night, a black 2021 Ram 1500 TRX became the first to crack into the 10-second barrier on a quarter mile drag strip. While other owners have recorded 10-second quarter mile times on phone apps, this is the first TRX to run 10s on a sanctioned drag strip with a proper laser-based timing system. We … Read more
Stellantis released three stories recently, one noting that the company had arranged for a $12 billion credit facility—always handy, one showing CEO Carlos Tavares on tour, and another announcing that Stellantis’ design facilities are available for consulting by companies inside and outside of the automotive business. The second part takes a little explanation. Automakers often … 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
If you own a 2020-2021 Dodge Challenger or Charger, or a Chrysler 300, you may have one of 21,258 vehicles (in the USA—there are a couple thousand more in the rest of the world) whose windshields may come out during a crash. Recall Y47 (NHTSA 21V516000) has the dealers take out the windshield and reapply … Read more
This past weekend, the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series headed to Colorado for the Dodge//SRT Mile-High NHRA Nationals Presented By Pennzoil. This year hasn’t been as great as past years for the Don Schumacher Racing team, coming into the race at Bandimere without a win in Funny Car or Factory Stock Showdown. The team’s … Read more