Imprisoned Harvey Weinstein suing FCA US

2017 wrangler crash test

From his prison cell, where he resides after a conviction for sexual assault and rape, former producer Harvey Weinstein is suing FCA US for $5 million because, three years ago, his Jeep flipped over. He claims he has been “catastrophically injured and rendered paralyzed” and remains in pain due to the event. Weinstein claims he … Read more

Jeepster insider “spy shot”? surfaces in Italy

jeepster and renegade

In March, Carlos Tavares showed renderings of a new Jeep battery-electric (the color photo) which was to be sold in Europe, built in Poland, and measure around 16 inches less bumper-to-bumper than the Renegade which it closely resembles. Next, a spy shot, which appears to be an insider photo (the scan looks as though it’s … Read more

New generation of engines boosting power

2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4xe PHEV

A new generation of engines has bolstered power across the entire former-Chrysler lineup, with the possible exception of the four-cylinder realm—where output is higher, but reviewers have gotten slower acceleration.The across-the-board increase was highlighted by comments from “vbondjr1”: New / Old Old HP Old Torque New HP New Torque 1.3T / 2.4 184 177 177 … Read more

Surprise: Windsor to get large cars; current model production extended

Windsor plant

The Windsor plant will be making cars built on STLA Large, presumably sending minivan assembly elsewhere. Production of the cars at Brampton will continue into 2024, later than previously thought (2023 had been forecast). At that point, Brampton will begin retooling, with production to resume in 2025 on an “all-new, flexible architecture to support the … Read more

STLA nabs some Californian lithium

BEV skateboard design for Chrysler Airflow

Stellantis has signed a deal to get battery-grade lithium hydroxide from Controlled Thermal Resources (CTR)’s Hells Kitchen project in California. The deal is good for up to 25,000 metric tons of lithium hydroxide per year, for ten years. CTR’s process produces battery-grade lithium products without evaporation brine ponds, open pit mines, or fossil fuels. CTR … Read more

Jeep to be all-hybrid-or-BEV in EU

Detroit News wrote that Jeep is dropping its pure-gasoline and diesel options in “major European countries” at the end of this year. The only Jeeps will be hybrids until Jeep’s first all-electric, which appears to be a Renegade-sized  two-door crossover, debuts. That will just be the first Jeep battery-electric (BEV) in Europe; it should have … Read more

Marelli, key supplier, trying to turn around and dump debt

Just three years ago, Fiat Chrysler sold Fiat’s parts group, Magneti Marelli, to KKR-owned Calsonic Kansei Corporation’s CK Holdings. Fiat Chrysler—now Stellantis—remains a primary customer of (as it was now called) Marelli; as in the past, Marelli also sells to numerous other automakers. Today, Bloomberg announced that Marelli has chosen a group to restructure its … Read more

Jeep breaking out of Indian niche

Jeep Meridian (Compass based)

Jeep had less than a 1% market share in India in 2020. It’s a tough market, partly because a former Willys licensee, Mahindra & Mahindra, makes inexpensive vehicles that look just like today’s (and yesterday’s Jeeps)—and they have every legal right to do so. Some believe that Jeep’s drive to increase sales is also not … Read more