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…
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
Many in forums and social media have complained that Chrysler is not living up to its warranties—but who is to blame? Long delays aren’t always the company’s fault. As for the long delays for warranty work, a good deal of this appears to be on the dealership end. The most likely culprit is sending the … Read more
The NHTSA has issued their weekly listing of recalls; this week was fairly light on the passenger-car front, only affecting GM, Ford, Volkswagen, and Mercedes. Stellantis/FCA US did not have any new recalls in the past week. GM had possible ruptures in roof rail airbags in the 2014 Cruze/Verano small cars. Ford had yet another … Read more
This past weekend, both of the Dodge-sponsored NHRA Top Fuel teams won at the Texas Nationals, with Matt Hagan winning in the Funny Car class for the second event in a row while Leah Pruett took the big win in the Top Fuel Dragster class. With these two big wins, the Tony Stewart Racing Top … Read more
GM and Unifor, the Canadian union that includes former UAW workers, have agreed on a deal with increases of around 20% over three years. Over 80% of the union members voted to approve the deal, which also moves newer workers up to maximum wages faster and includes one-time bonuses of up to around $7,320 (USD) … Read more
Stellantis announced the introduction of “reimagined” commercial vehicles from most of its brands on October 23. The lineup, to be launched by the heads of Ram, Citroën, Fiat, Opel/Vauxhall, and Peugeot itself, will be shown off at 9 am EDT, with streaming video available.
It’s possible to make some educated guesses about the vehicles shown. On the left is the little Ami; on the right, the Rampage
The UAW has broken its recent pattern of adding plants to the on-strike list by walking out of the Kentucky Truck Plant at 6:30 pm today, according to CNBC. The plant makes Ford F-250 and F-350 pickups, the Expedition, and the Navigator—all heavily profitable, but not as core to the company as the F-150 would … Read more
The Rebelle Rally begins tomorrow (October 12th) and the Jeep brand is looking to win its third-straight overall event win and seventh win in the eight years that the all-female off-road event has been held. The event covers 1,500 miles through the desert of Nevada and California in eight days and competitors cross the land … Read more
Stellantis and Samsung SDI have chosen the location for their final pre-announced “gigafactory,” or battery-and-cell plant. Scheduled to start production in early 2027, it will be able to produce 34 GWh of batteries per year, and will cost the two companies $3.2 billion. The plant is going to be built in Kokomo, which is also … Read more
Years ago, Chrysler introduced faux-automatic programming to the CVTs it bought from JATCO and used in the Caliber, Compass, and Patriot, to make the cars more comfortable for people used to automatics. Today, Stellantis has patented a fake transmission feel for battery-electric cars, making vehicles with single-speed transmissions feel like conventional four-or-more-speed automatics. The idea … Read more
Mopar provided a quick sneak preview of … something … for the upcoming aftermarket products show in Las Vegas on October 31 through November 3.
The text was: “A serious charge is coming from Mopar at the 2023 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show, Oct. 31 – Nov. 3 in Las Vegas.”
The image appears to be…
Opinion. Stellantis’ North American car lineups are going through some rough times right now, with the EPA coming down on them hard for emissions fines, the discontinuation of the V8s, the introduction of EVs, and on top of all of that the slow, painful demise of Chrysler. Stellantis needs to do something to pull themselves … Read more
A software glitch has left roughly 300,000 Rams—an odd mix of Ram 1500s (2022-23), light-GVWR Ram 3500 chassis cabs (2022-23), and Ram 2500s (2022-24)—without the rear view image displaying when in Reverse. The fix is simply a software update, which must be done at the dealership. The Ram 3500s affected are only chassis cabs with … Read more
From the moment it rolled onto the scene, the Dodge Charger captured the imaginations and hearts of motor enthusiasts across the world. Its striking blend of raw power and aggressive design set it apart—as did its generous passenger space. This American classic has witnessed several revisions and incarnations over the years, but through it all, … Read more
Stellantis, Mercedes, and Hyundai, all of which backed battery startup Factorial, are all collecting on their investment with the first samples of new “solid state” batteries. These have a sold electrolyte, possibly providing safer, more reliable performance than traditional lithium-ion batteries; yet they appear to be compatible with conventional lithium-ion battery manufacturing gear. At the … Read more