Ram Promaster City Cargo Tradesman SLT, page #5

Auto blog

U.S. asks Mexico to probe whether Stellantis parts plant abused labor rights

MEXICO CITY and WASHINGTON — The United States has asked Mexico to probe alleged worker rights violations at an auto-parts plant owned by Italian-French carmaker Stellantis, the fourth such complaint under a revised trade deal, U.S. officials said on Monday. The U.S. request for Mexico to examine possible abuses at Teksid Hierro de Mexico in the northern border state of Coahuila comes under the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Teksid, which employs nearly 1,500 people and makes iron castings for heavy vehicles, has been embroiled in a union dispute since 2014. Workers say the company has blocked them from being represented by the group of their choice, the Miners Union, and that it dismissed workers who backed the group. The U.S. Trade Representative's (USTR) office said in the request it was concerned workers had been denied collective bargaining rights in connection with an "invalid" contract with the Confederation of Mexican Workers (CTM), one of Mexico's most powerful unions, that had been registered with state authorities. The office asked Mexico to investigate if efforts had been made, including threats and incentives, to encourage backing for CTM or to dissuade support for the Miners Union. Labor disputes in Mexico have long featured intimidation tactics by powerful unions cozier with employers and governments than workers. Under the USMCA, the trade pact that replaced NAFTA, factories that violate worker rights could lose their tariff-free status. Companies have been watching how the tougher labor rules will play out. Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest auto group which formed from the merger of Peugeot maker PSA and Fiat Chrysler, said it "respects and supports the collective bargaining rights of its employees around the world and will comply with all local laws in that regard." The United Auto Workers union, which represents U.S. Stellantis workers, along with the AFL-CIO labor federation and the Miners Union, flagged the potential violations, the USTR's office said. Teksid, CTM and the local Conciliation and Arbitration Board should be included in the review, it added. CTM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The union's leader in Coahuila, Tereso Medina, recently told Mexican newspaper El Economista the union would abide by the USMCA and that the conflict should be resolved with a workers' vote. Mexico's federal labor center in May said the Miners Union held the only valid contract.

Stellantis unit FCA reaches plea deal in U.S. emissions probe

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON — The U.S. business of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has agreed to plead guilty to criminal conduct and pay roughly $300 million in penalties to resolve a multi-year emissions fraud probe surrounding vehicles with diesel engines, people familiar with the matter said. FCA US LLC, now part of Stellantis NV, has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge arising from its efforts to evade emissions requirements for more than 100,000 older Ram pickup trucks and Jeep sport-utility vehicles in its U.S. lineup, the people said. The plea deal, negotiated with U.S. Justice Department officials, is set to be unveiled as soon as next week, though the timing could slip. The company would then enter its guilty plea during a subsequent hearing in a U.S. district court. The affected diesel-powered vehicles span model years 2014 to 2016. FCA merged with French Peugeot maker PSA in 2021 to form Stellantis. Stellantis and the Justice Department declined to comment. The plea deal comes five years after Volkswagen AG pleaded guilty to criminal charges to resolve its own emissions crisis affecting nearly 600,000 vehicles in a scandal that became known as "Dieselgate." Volkswagen's deception precipitated additional scrutiny that resulted in officials on both sides of the Atlantic cracking down on automakers accused of using illegal software known as defeat devices to dupe government emissions tests. European automakers relied on so-called clean diesel technology to make vehicles that could comply with tougher environmental regulations only for officials to find they were polluting more on the road than during the tests that certified them for sale. Automakers are now focusing efforts on battery-powered electric vehicles. Negotiations between FCA lawyers and U.S. officials to resolve the current probe dragged on for years and across presidential administrations as the two sides haggled over whether the company would plead guilty and, if it did, the exact details in any criminal charge, one of the people said. One of FCAÂ’s employees is preparing to face trial on charges he misled regulators about pollution from the vehicles targeted in the investigation. Last year, the Justice Department disclosed charges against two additional FCA employees in the alleged emissions fraud. An indictment alleges the employees conspired to install defeat devices in vehicles so they could dupe government emissions tests and then pollute beyond legal limits on roadways.

Win the ultimate glamping package: an Airstream Caravel and a Ram 1500

Autoblog may receive a share from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability is subject to change. No donation or payment necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes. See official rules on Omaze. The first time I ever saw an Airstream was as a kid in Canada, where a friend’s neighbor had actually built the camper into the side of his house (not recommended). It wasnÂ’t until recently did I have the opportunity to use one as it was originally intended. Outside of Yosemite is a place called Autocamp, a luxury campsite made up of Airstreams, complete with spa-like showers and memory foam queen mattresses. This is the world of glamping.  The thing with Airstreams, though, is while they are iconic and incredibly thought out and comfortable, they are not cheap. Sure you can find rotted-out examples on Craigslist for a couple thousand bucks, but the money and sweat equity youÂ’d have to put into it would make you wish you had bought a new one. ThatÂ’s where Omaze has you covered. TheyÂ’re giving away a classic Airstream Caravel 20FB, and, because youÂ’ll need something to tow it with, theyÂ’re throwing in a Ram 1500 too. And if you enter today, you can also win a Mercedes Sprinter camper van. YouÂ’ll never have to worry about roughing it on a road trip ever again.  Win an Airstream Caravel and Ram 1500 - Enter at Omaze Imagine this, instead of taking road trips across the country, waking up with a sore back from camping on the ground or getting bedbugs in some cheap Route 66 hotel, you and three others — thatÂ’s right, the Airstream sleeps four — will wake up well-rested, thanks to memory foam mattresses, pet friendly leather seats, and climate control, ready for whatever adventure awaits. And if you donÂ’t win, you can still sleep easy knowing that your donation went to a good cause.  YouÂ’re probably asking yourself, what does it take to win? First of all, according to Omaze, "no donation or payment is necessary to enter or win this sweepstakes." If you do choose to donate, $10 will get you 25 entries, while $50 will get you 500 entries and $100 will get you 1,200 entries. Donations benefit the JuJu Foundation. If you want the ultimate glamping prize, and letÂ’s be honest, who wouldnÂ’t, enter quickly as the deadline to enter is August 26, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Stellantis won't race to split electric vehicles from fossil fuel cars

MILAN - Stellantis is not considering splitting its electric vehicle (EV) business from its legacy combustion engine operation, its finance chief said on Thursday, as the carmaker presented above-expectation revenue data for the first quarter. Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer told analysts he did not see huge benefits in the kind of separations pursued by rivals such as France's Renault and U.S. Ford. "We need to manage the company and the assets we have through this transition," he said. "There are benefits to having the cash flow being generated by the internal combustion business for the investments we need to make." Palmer said the group, formed by a merger last year of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, was not averse to considering adjusting its structure "but we aren't anticipating any big changes." Palmer's comments came after the world's fourth largest carmaker said its net revenue rose 12% to 41.5 billion euros ($44.1 billion) in the January-March period, as strong pricing and the type of vehicles sold helped offset the impact of the semiconductor shortage on volumes. That topped analyst expectations of 36.9 billion euros, according to a Reuters poll. Milan-listed shares were up 0.5% by 1415 GMT, in line with Italy's blue-chip index. The impact of the chip crunch was evident in the decline in shipment figures which fell 12% in the quarter to 1.374 million vehicles. It was a similar story for Germany's BMW which posted higher revenues on Thursday and a decline in car sales. Riding the Recovery Stellantis, whose brands also include Citroen, Jeep and Maserati, confirmed its 2022 forecasts for a double-digit adjusted operating income margin, after 11.8% last year, and a positive cash-flow despite supply and inflationary headwinds. Morgan Stanley analysts said after the results that Stellantis had better management than many peers and benefited from its significant exposure to a stronger U.S. economy and a European recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. They also said it was less affected by a slowing Chinese economy. Palmer said it was important for the group to maintain double-digit margins and keep delivering positive cash flows. "A 12% increase in revenue with a 12% decrease in volumes indicates a very strong performance on price and mix, which augurs well for our margin performance," he said. He said semiconductor supply problems were expected to ease this year with continued improvements in 2023.

Full-size trucks are the best and worst vehicles in America

You don’t need me to tell you that Americans love pickup trucks. And the bigger the truck, the more likely it seems to be seen as an object of desire. Monthly and yearly sales charts are something of a broken record; track one is the Ford F-Series, followed by the Chevy Silverado, RamÂ’s line of haulers, and somewhere not far down the line, the GMC Sierra. The big Japanese players fall in place a bit further below — not that thereÂ’s anything wrong with a hundred thousand Toyota Tundra sales — and one-size-smaller trucks like the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger and Chevy Colorado have proven awfully popular, too. Along with their sales numbers, the average cost of new trucks has similarly been on the rise. Now, I donÂ’t pretend to have the right to tell people what they should or shouldnÂ’t buy with their own money. But I just canÂ’t wrap my head around why a growing number of Americans are choosing to spend huge sums of money on super luxurious pickup trucks. Let me first say I do understand the appeal. People like nice things, after all. I know I do. I myself am willing to spend way more than the average American on all sorts of discretionary things, from wine and liquor to cameras and lenses. IÂ’ve even spent my own money on vehicles that I donÂ’t need but want anyway. A certain vintage VW camper van certainly qualifies. I also currently own a big, inefficient SUV with a 454-cubic-inch big block V8. So if your answer to the question IÂ’m posing here is that youÂ’re willing to pay the better part of a hundred grand on a chromed-out and leather-lined pickup simply because you want to, then by all means — not that you need my permission — go buy one. The part I donÂ’t understand is this: Why wouldn't you, as a rational person, rather split your garage in half? On one side would sit a nice car that is quiet, rides and handles equally well and gets above average fuel mileage. Maybe it has a few hundred gasoline-fueled horsepower, or heck, maybe itÂ’s electric. On the other side (or even outside) is parked a decent pickup truck. One that can tow 10,000 pounds, haul something near a ton in the bed, and has all the goodies most Americans want in their cars, like cruise control, power windows and locks, keyless entry, and a decent infotainment screen.

2022 Ram 1500 Laramie now offers Front Lighting Value Package

Were Audi dealers onto something with their Semiconductor Shortage Package? A few days ago, we posted about the Ingolstadt brand's cars adorned by Monroneys featuring the aforementioned package. That line item summarized the vehicle's missing features thanks to global semiconductor woes, and how much money had been subtracted from the MSRP because of the exclusions. Now, Mopar Insiders reports that the Build & Price tool for the 2022 Ram 1500 Laramie includes a Front Lighting Value Package. Choosing the option swaps the Laramie's standard-fit LED headlights and fog lights for halogen headlights and fog lights, saving buyers $495. The image above is a side-by-side of trucks configured with the standard LEDs (left) and the halogens (right). Playing around with the configurator, it appears the change can't be ordered with the Laramie's standard 3.6-liter Pentastar V6. When attempting to add the value package, a dialogue box requires choosing one of the two optional 5.7-liter Hemi V8 engines or the 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel, and one of the 8HP75 eight-speed automatic transmissions fitted to those three engines. The Pentastar comes with the 850RE eight-speed auto.  Thankfully, the Front Lighting Value Package is an option; you can get all the way to the end without selecting it. Nevertheless, we're intrigued by the order constraints. Seems to us that a buyer happy with the entry-level engine might prefer to save some dosh on the headlights, as opposed to buyers spending either $2,795 for a V8 Hemi or $4,995 for the oil-burner. And that's before one considers the savings. The luxury-oriented Laramie trim sits in the lineup $9,000 above the Bighorn, $7,000 below the Limited Longhorn. Swapping the standard halogen headlights and fog lights on the Bighorn to LED units costs $995 for the Premium Lighting Group, the discount to take LEDs off the Laramie is half that. Getting aftermarket LED headlights for the Laramie would cost at least $300, and that's before the hassle of install and questions of quality. So where is the point in saving $500 for objectively worse lighting that will likely cost more to add later? As if it needed saying again: These are strange days. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2020 Ram 2500 Power Wagon POV drive

Ram to debut electric truck concept this fall

Another day, another tease. Ram is clearly enjoying the super-slow reveal of its upcoming electric pickup truck, but at least this time they've included a date. Sort of; it's actually a season, not a specific date. We assume the exacting timing will be clarified in the coming months, but in a tweet today, Ram says we should expect the teasing to end and will debut an electric concept in the fall of 2022. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We also get a new and predictably dark view of the truck, this time a straight-on shot of the EV hauler's face. As before, the highlights are all lit up, which we are currently assuming means they are the actual lighting elements. The R-A-M lettering in the middle of the grille is similarly radiant, which again makes us think it will be that way for the production version. We don't yet know its official name. We've been told the truck will go into production in 2024, that it will use the STLA Frame EV platform with a battery capacity up to 101-118 kWh and a range of up to 500 miles. That means prospective buyers will have quite a wait ahead of them even after it makes its official debut. By that time, the Ford Lightning should be a fairly common sight on America's roadways, the Hummer EV will have been on sale for a couple of years and the Chevy Silverado EV will similarly be ready to make its appearance. Ram is also promising to have a range-extended electric truck to show off, but we don't yet know if that will make its online debut this fall alongside the full EV. Lastly, we're not entirely sure what "thunder" Ram is stealing with its teaser and date announcement today. It could be a little shade thrown in the direction of the electrified Corvette, which was also announced today, or it could just be a play on words since Ford's truck is called the F-150 Lightning. We suppose it doesn't much matter, though. Thunder, shade, rain or snow, we're just happy to see the electrified truck game continue to intensify. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Hennessey Mammoth 1000 6x6 TRX is prehistoric excess

A few things have changed on the way to the Hennessey Mammoth 1000 6x6 TRX, the six-wheeled pickup based on the 2021 Ram 1500 TRX announced in September 2020. Back then, it was going to be powered by the 7.0-liter Hellephant engine, tuned from a stock 1,000 horsepower to 1,200 hp, it would cost $500,000 before customization, and the Texas tuner said there'd only be three built — likely owing to the exceeding scarcity of that crate motor. The good news for folks who thought they'd be left in the cold is that a slightly different but still astonishingly massive Mammoth is going into serial production, and at a lower price. Instead of the Hellephant, a 6.2-liter Hellcat lives under the chest-height hood. In the Ram 1500 TRX the engine makes 702 hp and 650 lb-ft., but a 2.65-liter supercharger is the heart of a Lone Star State overhaul boosting output to 1,012 hp and 969 lb-ft. The rest sticks to the original formula. The lengthened frame stretches overall length to 283 inches, a skosh more than four feet longer than the donor truck — long enough to hold plywood and a picnic in the bed. A Bilstein suspension hangs all that sheetmetal seven feet high over 20-inch wheels wearing 37-inch Toyo Open Country rubber. If for some reason the six-toed contact patch doesn't get a driver out of trouble, the third axle can be locked up. In case of greater calamity, the stinger front bumper is ready to accept a winch, and the rear bumper sprouts a couple of attachment points. There are also footholds in that rear bumper to make rummaging in the bed easier, but those footholds are so high up they could use the same retractable steps alongside the cabin to reach. Naturally, the interior has been reworked, and there are a "dazzling array of LED lights." Hennessey says it will make 12 of these — the largest truck in the company's 30-year history — every year. The Mammoth 6x6 can be ordered directly from Texas or at any authorized Ram retailer for $449,950. We can't wait to see what happens when this meets the GMC Hummer EV pickup on the trail. If you like the idea of the Mammoth but this Mammoth is a tad too mammoth, consider the rest of Hennessey's family of Elephantidae, the four-wheeled Mammoth 900 and Mammoth 1000, or the Mammoth SUV.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ram 1500 Rebel OTG concept shows up in a patent filing

Stellantis filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 12, initially found by Car and Driver, in the generic category "Automobile Body." But the images within portray a specific vehicle: The 2020 Ram Rebel 1500 Off the Grid (OTG) concept from the 2019 SEMA show. That concept dipped a regular old Ram in a vat of Mopar and third-party accessories, the result a rig built for bugging out. Off-the-shelf and custom Mopar gear included a larger grille with flow-through RAM lettering, a steel front bumper with integrated off-road lights, a high-rise snorkel, side steps doubling as rock rails, a two-inch lift kit, and fender flares over beadlock wheels wrapped in 35-inch Goodyear meat. The Ram Power Wagon donated its 10,000-pound Warn winch, the Ram Tradesman donated its rear bumper for a better departure angle and vinyl interior flooring. This could be considered the base form of the truck, and it's what the patent drawings illustrate — a rig Stellantis could put on a dealer floor in 48 hours. The third-party accessories are missing. On the concept, those were a Yakima rooftop basket and utility rack with more LED lighting, a rooftop tent, awning, and solar array, and a bed-mounted slide-out cooking area and cooler from Dometic. With factory-built hardcore off-roaders even more popular than they were in 2019, the question is whether Ram plans to throw a Rebel-based hat in the ring. Muscle Cars & Trucks wonders if Ram is considering dividing its performance truck lineup into a big-bore go-fast TRX side challenging pickups like the Ford F-150 Raptor and a hardcore expedition side taking on pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2. The concept Rebel OTG was powered by the 3.0-liter V6 EcoDiesel with 260 horsepower and 480 pound-feet of torque, which would be another big differentiator on a showroom floor. Or, as C/D muses, this could be a template for a Mopar special edition, something Ram can test the waters with before committing. Or, as with so many other patents, it could be nothing. If nothing else, it's nice to see Ram still thinking about it. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.