The Dodge brothers generally didn’t make trucks; they made cars, and the Graham brothers turned some of them into trucks. Chrysler, acquiring both companies, focused on Dodge for the truck market, which was still too small for more than one corporate brand (Fargo, the Plymouth truck division, was relegated to export duty). Dodge made four … Read more
The 710-horsepower Durango SRT Hellcat, which propels the big SUV from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and can run a muscle-car-humiliating quarter mile of 11.5 seconds, has already sold out. Those who want instant power will have to settle for the 392 Hemi. The hot Durango lists for $80,995 plus $1,495 destination, and is … Read more
The 2021 Ram 1500 TRX has begun reaching owners around the country, but the very first Hellcat-powered half-ton built when production began was held back. That vehicle, TRX VIN #001, will be sold to the highest bidder at the upcoming Barrett Jackson Scottsdale auction in March and the proceeds will go to United Way for … Read more
The 2021 Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat Redeye has just started showing up in dealerships around the country. According to the details accompanying this video from Satera Tuning, this is one of just nine that have been delivered, with shop owner and new Redeye owner Jeremy Satera picking the car up earlier this week. For most … Read more
Since the 1960 Valiant shook up Chrysler’s product line, resulting in changes to every other car’s brakes, axles, and front suspensions, Chrysler has done well when it set up skunkworks or other arrangements that led low-level employees have more of a say. Indeed, the revolutionary changes of the 1990s centered mainly on empowering groups to … Read more
The signs are up at Auburn Hills and other headquarters. The old FCA and FCA US email address are already being replaced by stellantis.com. But who is running the show? It appears that Stellantis is using matrix management, with both regional and brand leaders. For the Mopars, we have Christian Meunier running global SUV / … Read more
Back in the days when there was still a Chrysler Corporation, engineers started working an a manual transmission that shifted itself—a dual-clutch automatic of the style later produced by Fiat, Ford, and others. At the time, such transmissions had never been successfully used in light-duty vehicles, but were used by heavy-duty trucks. The transmission was … Read more
The Hellraisin 2020 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock shown here is owned and driven by Ron Silva. Silva was one of the first 2018 Demon owners to get into the 9-second range while routinely being one of the quickest stock Demon owners on the track. Silva has sold his Demon and moved onto the gorgeous … Read more
Today is Betty White’s 99th birthday and while she may not seem to have much connection to the Mopar world, she actually starred in a commercial for the 1958 Plymouth lineup. In doing so, not only did Betty White introduce the world to the 1958 Plymouth lineup, but she also introduced the world to a … Read more
Groupe PSA (Peugeot S.A.) and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) have now merged; the stock appears tomorrow and Tuesday, respectively, on Euronext and Mercato, then on the New York Stock Exchange, under the symbol STLA (Stellantis). In other news, Stellantis will be the first automaker to use Amazon’s Alexa Custom Assistant, which can be tailored to … Read more
This weekend, Houston Raceway Park will host the Clash of the Legion – a three-day drag racing event that showcases the best of the modern Mopar performance machines. This event includes the Legion of Demons, which is comprised of scores of dedicated drag racers who participate in a 2018 Challenger Demon, but it also includes … Read more
Canoo came to my attention due to a report that Apple had talked with them about making electric vehicles together. Of particular interest to me was their electric minivan. Like Rivian, Canoo has created a modular platform for making electric vans, cars, and trucks. Like the old body-on-frame cars, which long ago were jettisoned for … Read more
For years, some buyers of 2.4 liter engines have been afflicted by oil use. Not all the engines had problems, which was even more puzzling; manufacturing tolerances are extremely tight, so how could it be that one person would do oil changes every ten months or 10,000 miles and never have to add any, while … Read more
The original Avenger was a Hillman—and since Hillman became Chrysler Europe, re-using the name was perfectly fine. The first Dodge Avenger was a two-door coupe, based on the Mitsubishi Galant platform. For the 2008 model year, the old four-door, midsized “cloud-car” platform was replaced by a new JS platform, based on the Mitsubishi GS platform, … Read more
Frank Rhodes, Walter P. Chrysler’s great-grandson, has been battling to save the Chrysler brand for years. Chrysler has been battered and abused since the 1970s; its upscale image was diluted with thinly disguised Plymouths, and then the brand was starved of new product—the always-in-the-future Portal and Americanized Grand Commander notwithstanding. The 300 went from being … Read more
Chrysler is down to just one traditional car now, but at one time they had a reasonably full lineup, from the Windsor up to the 300 letter-car. The Windsor was introduced back in 1939, to be one level up from the base Royal model; it started roughly where the top DeSoto left off, while the … Read more