Mark Olson, turbine car historian

Mark Olson

Mark Olson’s father was chosen to live with one of the Ghia-built Chrysler turbine cars during its customer evaluation program, sparking a lifelong interest in Chrysler and turbine cars.  Mark, who was 16 at the time, was able to drive the car, preserving his memories later at turbinecar.com. He was Jay Leno’s guest for a time … Read more

GM keeps the same dividend

2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 engine

For all the crisis talk around the UAW strike, particularly from leaders of Ford, one might think that American automakers and Stellantis were in danger of bankruptcy. GM’s leaders don’t seem to agree; they announced no change in their dividend, set at 9¢ per share for the last five quarters (since 8/30/2022). Stockholders as of … Read more

Ram plant in Sterling Heights on strike

2023 Ram Rebel Lunar

Today, the UAW started striking the only plant to make the “DT” Ram 1500. The company is still making heavy-duty models in Mexico and prior-generation “DS” Ram 1500 Classics in Warren, Michigan. The union said that Stellantis had “the worst proposal on the table regarding wage progression, temporary worker pay, conversation to full-time, cost-of-living adjustments, … Read more

All the new Stellantis vans launched today (revised)

large vans

Three new vans were unveiled today. They have new cockpits and control interfaces, aiming at higher safety and productivity, and stress-free driving. Driver assistance features include LED headlights. The second-generation zero-emissions systems were fully designed and built by Stellantis, including new regenerative braking systems. Compact vans The new compact van series was customized for each … Read more

e-PTO (power even when the van is off) and geofencing

17 minutes EPTO

e-PTO, Electric Power Take Off, lets contracts use the internal 400V battery (the traction battery normally used for forward motion) to run their equipment. It can be set for up to 17 minutes of power when the vehicles is off, e.g. to run refrigeration gear, or can provide longer-term power while the vehicle is on. … Read more

STLA renewing entire van range; hydrogen, second-gen BEVs coming

Jean-Philippe Imparato

Stellantis today announced the renewal of its entire van range at the same time, including a fully electrified van range—which has been the case in Europe since 2021.  In the EU30, Stellantis had a 43% share of the electric van market—the largest of any company. The company is releasing its second-generation battery-electric (BEV) technology this … Read more

No STLA at SEMA, LA

2022 Ram SEMA

Stellantis is dropping out of SEMA and the Los Angeles Auto Show, blaming the UAW for its move. The union and company are at odds mainly over planned factory and warehouse closings in the United States, which include Indiana Transmission, Trenton Engine, and Belvidere Assembly; and over unionization of new battery plants. The union is … Read more

Why Wrangler remains the king of the aftermarket

Jeep D-Coder Concept by JPP

Wrangler remains the king of the aftermarket for several reasons, consistently winning SEMA awards as vendors praise the ease of making extra parts—not just “trinkets and trash,” to quote one retired Jeep engineer, but also factory-quality parts that increase actual performance or add things the company refused to make available (like camper attachments).

New Dodge Challenger Trans Am Racer Roars in Forza Motorsport

2019 Dodge #9 American V8 Road Racing TA Challenger

Forza Motorsport – the 8th edition of the popular racing simulator for Xbox systems – formally came to market on October 10th (or the 5th for buyers of the game’s Premium version) and among the 500+ vehicles available so far are 17 Dodge products, 2 Plymouth vehicles, 1 Eagle and 1 Chrysler Charger. Of those … Read more

2025 Dodge Charger prototype photos: deeper dive and updates

2025 Dodge Charger shell

These images of Dodge Charger chassis from the assembly plant were posted recently to Allpar’s forums by member con383, who only said they were “found online.” The body shells, with a paper whose only readable letters are “TT,” appear to be ready for a standard engine, unless the apparent gasoline filler area is actually a port for a charger…

STLA provides “Pro One,” a vague outline of commercial-vehicle plans

STLA - Ram global trucks and vans launch (2023)

Stellantis has six commercial vehicle brands with five vans, ten pickups, and one “micro mobility offer.” It plans to renew all of them, unveiling the series on October 23—including the new (2024?) Ram ProMaster EV and 2025 Ram 1500 REV, along with a new hydrogen fuel-cell solution for the future. (Past plans showed Ram Heavy Duty pickups running on hydrogen; and Cummins has a hydrogen version of their B-series diesel in the works, though this won’t use fuel cells).  

Is this the 2025 Dodge Charger?

2025 Dodge Charger chassis

These images of Dodge Charger chassis from the assembly plant were posted recently to Allpar’s forums by member con383, who only said they were “found online.” The body shells, with a paper whose only readable letters are “TT,” appear to be ready for a standard engine, unless the apparent gasoline filler area is actually a port for a charger…

Mopar/STLA dropping out of CES show, citing money troubles

Stellantis at CES 2022

Stellantis has dropped out of January’s consumer electronics show in Las Vegas, after years of splurging on concepts, reveals, and displays each year—in some years, to the detriment of its Detroit auto show unveilings. The company cited a shortage of cash, blaming strikes. While last year’s revenues were remarkably strong for the company in North America…

NHRA Factory Stock Showdown Update: Camaro Rule Change (Updated)

Chevrolet Camaro COPO Supercharged Engine

Last week, we brought you the unfortunate news that the Dodge Challenger Drag Pak teams in the NHRA Factory Stock Showdown class had essentially been penalized for Mark Pawuk setting class records, so they had to move to a larger supercharger pulley. The FSS class was in action this past weekend and the semifinals saw … Read more