When it comes to the critics of the federally mandated transformation of the Dodge Charger into an electric vehicle, there are two main groups. The first is comprised of those folks who simply will not accept the idea of driving an electric vehicle, so they have nothing good to say about the electric Dodge Charger … Read more
The original Hemi V8 debuted on the 1951 Chrysler and then moved out to Dodge and DeSoto cars; Plymouth never had one because at that point Chrysler, Dodge, and DeSoto were strictly upscale and Plymouth was mass-market. To make a V8 practical for Plymouth, it had to be cheaper and faster to make—much cheaper, much … Read more
During the Street Car Takeover event in Bradenton, Florida on February 25th, Jody Otwell’s Ram 1500 TRX ran a 9.99 in the quarter mile, just one hundredth of a second behind the world record for a boost only (no nitrous oxide). After that 9-second pass, he knew that with the recent tuning help of Tim … Read more
In gasoline-burning cars and trucks, waste heat from burning gasoline is tapped to heat up the cabin. But what about electric cars? They typically have to use electric heaters—or maybe not.
A new FCA US patent, filed three years back (November 2020) by Michigan’s Craig Lindquist and Changchun Li and Italy’s Attilio Crivellari, would re-use waste heat in electric cars, too—a technology which could be handy in PHEVs as well as BEVs.
This afternoon, Dodge released the second teaser video for the final Dodge Last Call muscle car, which will debut on March 20th at the Las Vegas Roadkill Nights event. While Dodge is calling this the second teaser video, it is actually the third teaser-type videos pertaining to the final Last Call special edition Dodge, since … Read more
If you have been looking forward to building your ideal 2023 Dodge Challenger or Dodge Charger on the company’s website to see just how much that dream muscle car will cost, your wait is over. We are not exactly sure when the 2023 Challenger and Charger Build and Price pages went live on Dodge.com, but … Read more
Stellantis, which includes FCA US, the former Chrysler, has decided to build its electric drive modules (EDM) at Kokomo, Indiana-area plants. The EDM is an all-in-one solution for electric vehicles; making them in Indiana will keep 265 jobs intact at three plants (Indiana Transmission, Kokomo Transmission, and Kokomo Casting).The gearbox cover will be cast at … Read more
It is widely known that on March 20th, Dodge will debut the seventh and final Last Call special edition muscle car at the Roadkill Nights event at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Over the course of the past week, many people have posted on social media about receiving an invitation to the event from Dodge and … Read more
Late 2022 Jeep Compasses, made from May 12, 2022 to August 8, were made with no way to make the gauge cluster bright enough during some lighting conditions. This is not so much a defect as a design issue; as a result, starting by the end of March, Jeep will start adding a light sensor module and wiring jumper, and replacing the windshield and headlamp switches, so the display backlighting will be able to handle ambient lighting.
The second Mopar recall of the week is lack of rear-view images in 2021-23 Ram Ram 1500 and 2500 pickups….
Recently, S&P released their Global Mobility vehicle registration data for 2022. Among other tidbits, as Automotive News revealed, Ram rated dead last in the percentage of female buyers in the US, at 17%. That’s well below the other main truck-only brand, GMC, at 29%.Dodge was the fifth lowest brand for percentage of cars purchased by … Read more
We have talked a great deal about the new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer with the new Hurricane Inline 6 engine lineup, as well as the possibilities of seeing that turbocharged I6 in a next generation Dodge Challenger. What we haven’t talked about, even though it is the most likely vehicle to carry the Hurricane … Read more
In the video, we see a leprechaun hooked to a medical drip bag that contains some yellowish liquid. The leprechaun starts the drip bag and a few seconds later, he is clearly effected by the fluid. He eyes turn red and begin to emit lightning-type electrical flow. When the lightning dissipates, a more sinister leprechaun with glowing gold eyes swaggers out of the smoke and the video ends.
This means more than one might think.
Dodge is teasing a final 2023 “Last Call” special edition, with the first video teaser arriving today. The car will likely be more than a sticker-and-spoiler edition, given its reveal at the Dodge Last Call Powered by Roadkill Nights Vegas reveal at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. That would be quite a serious shindig for … Read more
If you have a Jeep Wrangler that you take off-roading, you have likely dealt with the cleaning out the interior after a day in the dirt or mud. As modern vehicles go, the Wrangler is easier to clean out, but if you get into a situation where mud of flying into the cockpit, cleaning the … Read more
Thanks to high profits in the United States, around 40,500 union employees in the country will get profit-sharing checks averaging $14,760. It’s a mild increase form last year, and comes as car prices have shot up due to supply-chain constraints.
Stellantis is a new company, still, but the results still set a record with a roughly $18-billion net profit; adjusted margin hit 13%. What’s more, Stellantis became a bigger BEV player with a 41% year-over-year growth, key to fighting Tesla (whose European sales shot up by a factor of ten, but remain small) and Volkswagen. Battery-electric car sales are rising fast in Europe, where fuel is far more expensive.
Last year, Dodge announced that the new Hurricane inline-six would join the Direct Connection crate engine lineup, alongside various Hemi crate engines. Those who can’t get over the possible demise of the Hemi refuse to see any upside to the new Hurricane engine, but for those who are happy to have an internal combustion engine in the future of the brand, this engine presents an opportunity.
If nothing else, the fact that Dodge is discussing this engine is proof that the brand doesn’t plan to go all-electric in the immediate future. The trio of Hurricane crate engines, one of which is slated for the next generation Drag Pak car, shows that these engines will pack a serious punch.
The first production application of the Hurricane inline-six engine family was the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer. In the big Jeep, the “base” Hurricane pushed out 420 horsepower and 468 lb-ft of torque while the Hurricane 510 in the Grand Wagoneer delivers 510 horsepower and 500 lb-ft of torque. Those engines effectively replace the 5.7-liter Hemi in the Wagoneer and the 6.4-liter Hemi in the Grand Wagoneer, and each of the smaller engines pack more power than the V8s that they are replacing. The 5.7-liter Hemi in the Wagoneer offers 392 horsepower and 404 lb-ft of torque while the 6.4-liter Hemi in the Grand Wagoneer delivers 471 horsepower and 455 lb-ft of torque, so there are significant increases in both horsepower and torque when comparing the Hemi to the Hurricane in the Wagoneer line.
