Dodge, Ram take MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice awards

2024 Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack Stage 2

Dodge and Ram took two of the 15 MotorWeek Drivers’ Choice awards, while General Motors won the best choice of the year with its Chevrolet Equinox EV. The editors noted that the Equinox has a range of over 300 miles with a price starting under $35,000; its Ultium batteries can be repaired after a crash. … Read more

Jeep Wagoneer S Limited vs Tesla Y and Others (updated)

The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Limited

At the Chicago Auto Show today, Jeep showed off the new Wagoneer S Limited, which is considerably cheaper than the Launch Edition but also has fewer luxury features and a 100-hp power cut—albeit to 500 hp, which means it has more horses than the old 392 SRT engines did. The Limited may not be the … Read more

2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Limited: 500 hp, lower price

The 2025 Jeep Wagoneer S Limited

When the all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S was introduced, it was only offered in fully-loaded Launch Edition, with 600 horsepower, every premium feature imaginable, and a price of $71,995. At the Chicago Auto Show today, another model for the battery-powered Jeep arrived at last. It has lower power, fewer standard features, and a lower price. The … Read more

Massive Ford profit follows strong GM results

Chevrolet display

Recently, GM’s Mary Barra told shareholders that GM had increased its full-year revenue by 9%, leading the United States in total, retail, and fleet deliveries alike. GM was not the only company to make profits off Stellantis’ sales drop, though; Ford has just weighed in with high profits from 2024. Ford’s adjusted earnings before interest … Read more

Canadian tariffs also postponed, still possible; Chinese tariffs kick in

Brampton Assembly Plant

To avoid American tariffs, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continued an existing plan to beef up border security. The plan had been negotiated with President Biden, and included 10,000 more people at the 5,500-mile border, two helicopters, and 60 drones; the equipment was deployed last month. Canada also promised to work on criminal investigations into drug … Read more

Stellantis still in global top five

2022 toyota at new york auto show

Toyota was by far the largest automaker in the world by production in 2024, with 11.4 million vehicles made. They were followed by Volkswagen, which includes Audi, Skoda, Seat, and other marques, at 8.8 million, then by Hyundai, which includes Kia, at 7.4 million. Stellantis was in fourth place, with 5.7 million global sales, followed … Read more

Loose Ford bolts and other recalls

recalls

Ford had two recalls this week, one for loose transmission crossmember bolts on around 260 2025 Explorer/Aviators, and one for using the wrong rack in the steering gear of three 2024 F-150s. Honda had the same number of recalls, one for missing rearview camera images on the 2025 Acura MDX, and one for software-based stalls … Read more

STLA software chief replaced, Jeep Global now led by Bob Broderdorf

Bob Broderdorf

The head of Jeep North America, Bob Borderdorf, is now the head of Jeep globally as the North American and global positions are merged into one. That means Jeep’s European, Asian, and South American sales, operations, product, communications, and marketing groups will be run by a single global team. Mike Koval, head of Mopar North … Read more

Jeep, Ram, Chrysler, and Dodge may all be crippled by Trump’s new 25% tariffs (updated)

Windsor plant

President Trump has levied tariffs of 25% on all goods coming to the United States from Mexico and Canada, effective Tuesday. Canada has been America’s top ally since the mid-1800s; the two countries have been sending massive amounts of material back and forth over the border since the 1960s. Stellantis has two major factories in … Read more

Ram, Jeep, Ford, GM, and other recalls

2022 Ram 3500 Heavy Duty Limited

GM and Stellantis dominated last week’s recall list. First up is side-curtain airbags which may throw sharp metal fragments at passengers, on both the left and right; only 6,066 vehicles might be affected, all made from December 6, 2015, through October 19, 2019 (there are specific dates for each type of truck in this file). … Read more

Stellantis promises US dealers affordable Rams, predictable incentive programs

2024 Jeep Recon BEV

When Stellantis was eager for margins, it let dealership lots get clogged with high-margin cars while competitors cut their prices. When the company needed to sell its inventories quickly, the incentives were both massive and unpredictable, coming and going quickly. Some dealers took advantage of this to offer huge “discounts” including some rebates few may … Read more

STLA now making Punch hybrid-transmissions on its own

EP6 Peugeot engine for Stellantis STLA Medium 1.6 hybrids

Stellantis bet hard on Belgium’s Punch Powertrain, creating a joint venture to make their electrified dual-clutch transmissions (eDCTs) in Metz, France, and Turin, Italy. They are to be used in all Stellantis mild-hybrids (except Rams) and plug-in hybrids. The company said the move was intended to support Stellantis’ increased range of hybrid cars. Today, Stellantis … Read more

Ram 1500 remains Full Size Truck of Texas

2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten

The Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA)’s annual truck rodeo finished up recently, after 262 drives. The Ram 1500 took home three awards, while the Ram 2500/3500 grabbed one: Full size pickup truck – 2025 Ram 1500 Luxury – 2025 Ram 1500 Tungsten Powertrain – Ram 3.0 Hurricane HO Heavy duty – 2024 Ram Rebel The … Read more