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FCA goes all-in on Jeep and Ram brands on cheap gas bet

It's no surprise that as SUV and truck sales remain strong in the wake of unusually cheap gas, Jeep and Ram sales are taking off. What is a surprise is that FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne thinks that cheap gas will be a "permanent condition," and feels strongly enough about it to change up North American manufacturing plans. Jeep appears to be the biggest beneficiary of the product realignment. In addition to increasing the sales estimates for the brand worldwide upwards to 2 million units a year by 2018, the brand will get a flood of investment for new product and powertrains. Consider the Wrangler Pickup to be part of the salvo, as well as the Grand Wagoneer three-row announced in 2014 as part of the original five-year plan. The Wrangler four-door will get at least two new powertrains, a diesel and mild hybrid version, in its next generation. That mild hybrid powertrain may utilize a 48-volt electrical system like the one that's being developed by Delphi and Bosch – which the suppliers think will be worth a 10 to 15 percent fuel economy gain at a minimum. Down the road, in the 2020s, the Wrangler could adopt a full hybrid system. The diesel powertrain is planned for 2019 or 2020. The Ram 1500 is also pegged to receive a mild hybrid system, again potentially based on 48-volt architecture, sometime after 2020. Lastly, Jeep and Ram will take over some of the production capacity of existing plants. The Sterling Heights, MI, plant that builds the Chrysler 200 will now build the Ram 1500; the Belvidere, IL, facility that produces the Dodge Dart will take over Cherokee output; the big Jeep facility in Toledo, OH, will be used for increased Wrangler demand. In 2015, according to FCA's numbers, car and van demand went down by 10 percent, but SUV demand went up 8 percent and truck demand 2 percent. Considering that these are high-margin vehicles, FCA can't ignore the math. FCA also won't build any new factories to supplement production to meet demand, but instead are reshuffling production priorities. Think of it this way: FCA is gambling on cheap gas being a permanent part of our lives, at least into the 2020s. By doubling down on SUVs and trucks, the company stands to win big, unless a spike in gas prices changes the landscape. FCA isn't talking about a Plan B, so they're all in. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Dodge Demon's A/C helps its supercharged Hemi make more power

Staying cool is one important key to performance. Simply, more air means more power, and cool, dense air is better than hot air. While forced induction might help make copious amounts of horsepower, turbos and superchargers produce heat. Intercoolers help, but the new Dodge Demon and its supercharged Hemi need a bit of an extra boost. In Drag Mode, the Demon's engine commandeers the car's air conditioning system to help chill things out. The Demon will have the first production application of a liquid-to-air charge air cooler chiller system. Literally, the car's air conditioning system is used to cool the air going into the engine, dropping temps by up to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Dodge claims the system helps achieve "temperatures previously unattainable by pressure-charged street-legal production vehicles." As cool as this may sound, the technology isn't new. Ford had a prototype system in the early 2000s called SuperCooler, though that system never made it to production. While the Demon's system doesn't have a super cool name like the one from Ford, the pair essentially work in the same way. In theory, it should have the same effect as a bottle of nitrous. According to Autoweek, Ford's system bumped up the output of the F-150 Lightning by about 50 horsepower. Turns out that air conditioning isn't always a huge power suck. Related Video:

Here are the Challenger SRT Demon's bare-minimum performance numbers

This week's Dodge Challenger SRT Demon teaser video provides what seems like more concrete evidence than any of the others before it. We say it seems that way because the numbers flashed on the screen are likely not showing us everything the car has to offer. So we're looking at these as the minimum performance stats and expecting Dodge to reveal even crazier numbers alongside the car next month. The video also provides some hints at features and modes the car will offer. Let's pick it apart. First off, there's the performance data from the various SRT Performance Pages screens. The 0–60 mph time is 3.0 seconds, which compares well to the "regular" Hellcat's 3.5-second manufacturer claim. Then there are two 0–100 times: 6.08 and 6.8. An eighth-mile time of 6.6 seconds at 125 mph and a quarter-mile time of 0.5 seconds at 129 mph lead us to believe the driver lifted off the throttle in that second eighth-mile and that the car will actually do the quarter in the low 10s. For reference, Dodge claims an 11.2-second quarter for the Hellcat on its street tires and a 10.8 with race slicks. View 7 Photos We also get a cryptic message about the supercharger boost pressure, which suggests it will be higher than the 11.6 psi of the 6.2-liter Hellcat engine. A graph shows it heading up toward 10 psi but the final spike is obscured by a Demon head. Cute. There's a hint at horsepower and torque numbers in a graph on the Dyno page, which shows both peaking around 750. In every shot of this video, the clock is set to 7:57, which we think means it either has that much power or, well, more. We think there's more to it because it appears that part of the graph above the dyno run shown, which would reach to 800 or 850, has been blanked out. A horsepower total of 808 would be a nice complement to the Hellcat's 707, don't you think? We can see from the shift indicator screen that the car will come with or at least offer the eight-speed automatic that's also available in the Hellcat and other Challengers. That's likely to be the best option for drag racing. The Demon's user-defined shift light feature, which lets you choose an optimal shift rpm for each individual gear, also suggests that a six-speed manual will be available. We'll cover the many modes and settings highlighted in this video in a separate post. There's a lot to discuss. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.