1999 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Extended Cab Pickup 2-door 5.2l on 2040-cars

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The Dodge Neon is coming back... to Mexico

It's been a long time since we've seen a new Dodge Neon putt-putting around. But soon it will be back, and in North America, too, if you want to get technical about it. But this time, the Neon will be limited exclusively to Mexico. According to Ward's Auto, FCA is planning to import the Fiat Tipo to Mexico, but rebadged under the Dodge brand and with the Neon nameplate on the trunk... even if it doesn't have those signature round headlights, or a three-speed automatic transmission. Never heard of the Fiat Tipo? It debuted almost a year ago as the Aegea Project, and went into production shortly thereafter – similarly called the Egea in Turkey where it's made, but the Tipo in other European markets. It's a budget-oriented, C-segment compact with a range of four-cylinder engines, and though designed from the get-go as a four-door sedan, it rolled into Geneva last month in hatchback and wagon forms as well. The Tipo is built at the Tofas plant in Bursa, Turkey, alongside the Fiat Doblo – which is also shipped over to North America, rebadged as the Ram ProMaster City. In the Mexican market, FCA also sells the Fiat Siena sedan as the Dodge Vision, the Mitsubishi Mirage rebadged as the Dodge Attitude, and the Fiat Strada as the Ram 700 – all nameplates exclusive to our neighbors to the south. Whatever its origin, it'll be interesting to see a Neon again the next time we venture South of the Border – particularly considering that the Neon was arguably the last time that Chrysler had a competitive compact on its hands. The Caliber that followed never gained the same kind of traction, so to speak, and FCA recently ceased production (for the time being at least) of the Dodge Dart and Chrysler 200 to focus on larger trucks crossovers – the likes of which the Caliber tried to emulate (in style, if not in substance).

Ralph Gilles publishes futuristic sketch that lampoons yellow spoiler guards

FCA design boss Ralph Gilles doesn't want to see yellow spoiler guards on future Dodge models. He joined the chorus of internet users urging Challenger and Charger owners to remove the protective strips installed at the factory by telling the story behind a futuristic-looking design sketch on his official Instagram account. The stylist explained the coronavirus work-from-home order isn't stopping his team from organizing design reviews. And, while he's not normally allowed to post images of future products on social media, he decided to make an exception. "This experimental design of a Dodge of the future fell on the cutting room floor ... because the designer decided to make the yellow spoiler guards a permanent part of the theme," he wrote. This isn't the first time Dodge has spoken out against owners who decided to keep the yellow spoiler guards on their car. The company even recently decided to make them pink to curb their popularity. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Looking beyond the spoiler's yellow accents, the sketch depicts what appears to be a coupe with a front end that shares very few styling cues with Dodge's current design language. The round headlights seen on cars like the Challenger are replaced by ultra-thin LED lines, the grille is little more than a gap, and there's a gaping air vent right below it. The entire front fascia is painted black, a look oddly reminiscent of SEAT's Bocanegra models. Sculpted sides, wheels that stick out of the wheel arches, and a glass roof add a finishing touch to the design. Gilles only posted one sketch, so we don't know what the rear end looks like. His team is busily designing the next-generation Challenger, tentatively due out by 2023, but we don't expect it will look like the sketch that surfaced on Instagram. Mark Trostle, Dodge's head of design, previously affirmed the retro lines are here to stay. The four-door Charger is due for a makeover, too, and its design isn't as firmly anchored to tradition as the Challenger's. Time will tell whether the sketch subtly previews the direction Dodge is taking the model in. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.    

Dodge, Ram, Jeep — Stellantis — dumped a ton of news: Here's a roundup

Stellantis hit us with an absolute deluge of information regarding its future electric vehicle plans Thursday, including a roadmap for each of its brands to reach a goal of making electrified vehicles 80% of the company's total global volume by 2030. We'll hit all of the highlights here, with an emphasis on those that matter most to the U.S. marketplace.  Stellantis previews 4 electric platforms: Here's how they'll be used This is the method behind the rest of Thursday's madness. Eventually, Stellantis will migrate its electrified vehicles onto one of these core platforms based around a new common EV powertrain architecture.    Dodge will launch the 'world's first electric muscle car' in 2024 It looks like Dodge will invoke its 60s heritage (peep the illuminated "Fratzog" on the nose) for a new, all-electric muscle car. Based on the STLA Large platform, it's projected to have a 0-to-60 time as low as 2 seconds and a range of up to 500 miles. The automaker also hinted at a maximum power output of as high as 886 horsepower courtesy of a pair of 330-kilowatt electric motors.   Jeep will have 4xe plug-in hybrid models across the lineup by 2025 The iconic 4x4 brand will have a plug-in hybrid variant of every model by 2025. The U.S.-market Compass 4xe is expected to debut this summer, and the Wagoneer 4xe has already been announced. The Grand Cherokee 4xe will be shown at the New York International Auto Show in August.    Fully electric Ram 1500 will begin production in 2024 You didn't think the Ford F-150 Lightning would get the space all to itself, did you? Ram says it will have an electrified Ram 1500 on the market soon. Will it be fast enough to beat GM?   Stellantis teases mystery electric Chrysler concept This one's a genuine puzzler. We've reached out to Chrysler for details, but for now, all we know is that this all-electric concept appears production-friendly and will ostensibly ride on the same STLA Large platform as the Dodge muscle car.    Opel Manta E will be the electric revival of the classic German coupe We'll forgive you if you'd forgotten that Opel was now part of Stellantis, and with new ownership comes new opportunity. The company revived the Manta nameplate as a high-riding coupe/hatchback concept.   Fiat says all Abarth models to be electric from 2024 This likely won't matter much in the U.S. market, where the 500X will soon be the only vehicle it sells, but Fiat's performance division is going all-electric.