Stellantis is a global company, with engineering sources from countries around the world—not just the three headquarters in France, Italy, and the United States. Fiat itself already had engineering centers in India and Brazil, but their work could be handled in relatively large chunks. Recently, FCA US engineers have reported being called back to work … Read more
Yesterday, Stellantis national dealer council president Kevin Farrish accused Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares of short-term decision making which lowered the value of Dodge, Ram, Jeep, and presumably Chrysler. The company dramatically raised prices during the post-COVID car shortages, and is only now slowly dropping prices on some models, such as the Compass, as sales have … Read more
American dealer network leaders have publicly taken Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares to task for “short-term decision making” which they claim that, by boosting the company’s stock price, increased his own compensation. The company had dramatically raised prices during the post-COVID car shortages, only to find customers defecting to other brands and dealership stock cluttering up … Read more
With its release of new information about plant upgrades, Stellantis confirmed that it will make a new GME-T4 EVO engine, which includes improvements made to the GME engine series for the Hurricane Six. The company promised production of the GME-T4 EVO before the year is over; it will be made at the Dundee plant alongside … Read more
Stellantis announced that it is retooling the Sterling Heights plant to build the Ram 1500 REV and Ramcharger electric and range-extended pickups alongside the gasoline-powered versions. In addition, Warren Truck is being upgraded to make “electrified” (probably hybrid) Jeep Wagoneers, and Dundee is being set up to make battery trays and beams. The Ram 1500 … Read more
It appears as though the Dodge Durango will be the final Stellantis vehicle (aside from the Ram HD) to offer a Hemi V8 engine and to celebrate the end of the era, the brand is issuing a handful of Last Call models. Last night, the company announced the next Last Call model in the form … Read more
The Dodge brand recently announced its involvement with the Nitrocross Group E series with the specially prepared Hornet R/T FC1-X all-electric race cars. At the recent season opener in Richmond, Virginia, reigning back-to-back champion Robin Larsson gave Dodge its first win in the growing all-electric rally racing series. He followed that Round 1 win up … Read more
Today, the NHTSA announced that Ram would be recalling over a million 1500s because the antilock brake module could knock out the stability control entirely; and that Jeep was recalling around 33,000 Jeep Wranglers and Wagoneers from multiple years because the instrument panel could blank out. The gauge cluster failures might be due to the … Read more
Engineers at Jeep, or FCA US to be more accurate, have patented a removable window system which lets windows be removed with relative ease. The patent, filed on January 31, 2023, and published on August 1, 2024, comes to us via Tomaz at Allpar.com (who found it at MotorAuthority). The basic idea is that windows … Read more
2024 marks the 9th annual Rebelle Rally – the first all-female off-road navigation rally raid, covering more than 1,500 miles over 8 days – and a new Ram 1500 RHO will be one of the vehicles entered in the Bone Stock and 4×4 Classes. This new twin turbocharged off-road Ram will be campaigned by Team … Read more
The Hurricane Six has been honored by Ward’s in their Ten Best Engines list, a global award, for the second year in a row. This is the eighth consecutive year FCA or Chrysler power has made the list. Ward’s specified the engine as used in the 2025 Ram 1500, where it is rated at 540 … Read more
Earlier this week, Stellantis announced another senior management move, as Ram Trucks brand VP Bob Broderdorf was promoted to head the Jeep brand in North American, effective immediately. He replaces Bill Peffer, who took over the role atop the Trail Rated brand when longtime brand boss Jim Morrison retired last year. This move makes a … Read more
In a happy note for Dodge followers, the Charger EV appears to have gone into actual production, with some dealers taking orders. One dealer advertised their first 2024 Charger, an all wheel drive electric car with a build date of mid-September; they asked for a $500 deposit. The car itself has the Scat Pack, dual … Read more
Few recalls were announced this week, which was dominated by Ford announcements. The timing was good for Ford, since few read recall announcements on Labor Day. Ford fuel injectors may leak, possibly causing a fire, on the 2023-24 Escape, 2025 Explorer, 2024 Mustang, and 2023 Lincoln Corsair. Intake valves may break on the 2021-22 Bronco, … Read more
Dodge has updated half its full lineup for 2025 or, in other words, has added features to the Hornet. Changes to the other Dodge, the Durango, have not yet been announced. The two additions for the 2025 Hornet are steering wheel paddle shifters on the Track Pack option for the GT and GT Plus. The … Read more
Chrysler released the official updates to every car they sell—and it works out to playing with trims and features on the Pacifica minivan, reducing the model lineup to three levels (two for PHEV). A new Select model on both powertrains includes an auto-dimming rear view mirror, one-touch windows for the front and second rows, garage … Read more