An old Chrysler-Mitsubishi plant is pumping out electric trucks

Rivian electric pickup

The old Mitsubishi-Chrysler joint venture, “Diamond Star Motors,” was created when Chrysler owned a hefty chunk of Mitsubishi Motors and had agreed to buy the rest. Mitsubishi’s keiretsu partners applauded the idea, since the car company perennially struggled to make a profit. For a while, the plant pumped out vast quantities of Mitsubishi Galant derivatives, … Read more

Dodge Challenger Redeye Resets the Record with an 8.18 1/4-mile

James Golden Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye

This past weekend, the Holley Moparty – one of the largest all-Mopar show and racing events in the world – was held at Beechbend Raceway Park in Kentucky. Rainy weather brought an early end to the drag racing program, but that didn’t stop James Golden and his F8 Green Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat Redeye from … Read more

Manley jumps ship to AutoNation; Stewart, Filosa take his place

mark stewart

Mike Manley, CEO of Fiat Chrysler after the departure of Sergio Marchionne, has left to lead the country’s largest dealership group, AutoNation. Mark Stewart, COO of North America, and Antonio Filosa, COO of Latin America, will take his place and report directly to Carlos Tavares. Mark Stewart had risen to Mike Manley’s former job of … Read more

GRMPYCAT Dodge Challenger Hellcat Runs a 7.01 Quarter Mile

Kevin Helmick Grumpy Cat 7.01

This past weekend, many of the top Mopar drag racers headed to Beechbend Raceway Park in Kentucky for the Holley Moparty and among them was the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat known as “Grumpy Cat”. Owned and driven by Kevin Helmick, this heavily modified Hellcat Challenger recently claimed the world record for the quickest car in … Read more

Stellantis testing vehicle-to-everything in USA

2021 Jeep Wrangler in Tuscadero exterior paint color

Stellantis is testing V2X (vehicle-to-anything, or, perhaps more accurately, everything-to-vehicle) communications technology in the United States. These systems, first codified by IEEE in 2010, are designed to alert drivers and autonomous driving systems to emergency vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, roadway hazards, and other problems. The issue with emergency vehicles started developing over a decade ago, … Read more

More Mopar plant downtime; Tavares giving up second job

painting pacifica at windsor

Automotive News reported this morning that the Windsor minivan plant and Belvidere Cherokee factory will be down for another week due to the semiconductor shortage. Windsor will then be down for the entire month of September. Belvidere is scheduled to return to duty after October 1, but as at most automakers now, scheduling is week-to-week. … Read more

Camp in your L: Mopar adds Jeep goodies

If you wanted to take your Jeep Grand Cherokee L camping, Mopar has you covered with a $390 tent kit ($321 from Internet discounters). The blue and gray tent has a 10×10 sleeping area, overhead storage net, inside pockets, two doors, three mesh windows, an exterior canopy, and a 7×6 screened room. What has this … Read more

Dodge, Ram top APEAL study

2021 Apeal

Dodge has, for the second year in a row, topped the mass-market brands in J.D. Power’s APEAL™ study, which looks at the “emotional bond” between customers and their vehicles after three months of ownership. The surveys are placed on a thousand-point index; APEAL stands for Automotive Performance, Execution, and Layout. For 2021, Dodge and Ram … Read more

Grumpy Cat Dodge Challenger Hellcat Runs a 7.07 Quarter Mile

Grumpy Cat Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat

For the past few years, the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat campaigned by the Epling Family race team has held the record for the world’s quickest and fastest Hellcat car in the quarter mile. Most recently, the Epling “007” Challenger ran a stunning 7.33 at 186 miles per hour to once again reset their own world … Read more