Convertible Coupe Manual Chrysler Retro Utility Droptop 4 Cylinder Mpg Gas Saver on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Jeep Wrangler 4xe's hybrid powertrain: Could it be headed to other FCA products?

On its own, the 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid is a big deal for the brand and the model line. It's the most powerful and most efficient Wrangler by significant margins, and it doesn't give up the off-road capability that makes the Wrangler so special. But another great thing about this hybrid powertrain is its potential to be transplanted into other FCA vehicles. Just to recap, the layout of the Wrangler's hybrid powertrain, front to back, is as follows: engine, clutch, electric motor, clutch, transmission. The engine is the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that's a standalone engine for the Wrangler. The transmission and electric motor are sort of one unit, with the motor and clutch replacing the torque converter of the transmission. And the transmission itself is the ubiquitous eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox. Its transmission code name is 8HP75PH. The ZF eight-speed is available in every FCA product with a longitudinally-mounted engine and rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, with variations in the amount of power and torque it can handle. Not only that, but the Ram 1500 and 2500 and the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator all have powertrains that utilize the non-hybrid version of the 8HP75 transmission specifically. Even the gear ratios for that transmission as well as the 8HP70 used in the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 are nearly identical to those in the 8HP75PH. And a Fiat-Chrysler representative confirmed that the transmission portion of the hybrid drivetrain is basically carry-over from the regular 8HP75. So a transplant could be a relatively simple process. As for which of these models would be the most likely to receive the hybrid powertrain first, the Jeep Gladiator and Ram 1500 would seem like good bets, since they likely have the most similar transmissions, and the Gladiator in particular because of its closely-related underpinnings to the Wrangler. Both are also highly profitable trucks that sell well and could justify the development costs of adapting another powertrain. And in the case of the Ram, there's the impending F-150 hybrid to think about. Although Ram isn't going after a fully electric model, a PHEV could be a nice middle ground. A potential limiting factor would be whether the hybrid powertrain would be sufficiently robust to handle heavy payload and towing demands, particularly over longer periods.

Junkyard Gem: 1964 Plymouth Valiant V-200 Wagon

When Chrysler introduced the Valiant for the 1960 model year, the automotive world had no idea that this new compact would become one of the most successful products in the company's history. Valiants and its A-Body siblings were built and sold by the millions around the world, with production continuing into the early 1980s (in Australia and South America). The sales pinnacle for the Valiant in the U.S. was 1964, and today's Junkyard Gem is one of those cars: an upscale V-200 station wagon, found in a Denver-area wrecking yard a few weeks back. The Valiant began life as its own marque, became a Plymouth for 1961, left Plymouth for 1962, then returned as a Plymouth model until American Valiant production ceased in 1976, and the Volare took its place. You'll barely see any mention of the Plymouth brand in the 1964 Valiant brochure, and Plymouth badging on the '64s was minimal. You could get the 1964 Valiant wagon as the base V-100, starting at $2,273, or as the nicer V-200 with its $2,388 price tag (that's about $21,150 and $22,220 in 2022 dollars). Valiant coupes and convertibles could be had with the even swankier (by cheap small-car standards) Signet trim level. As Ford showed us in the middle 2000s, numbers are just classier if you spell them out on emblems. In the middle 1960s, substituting an automatic for the base three-on-the-tree column-shift manual transmission jacked up the price of an affordable car by an eye-watering amount. The Torqueflite three-speed automatic and its slick-looking push-button shifter cost 172 bucks extra (around $1,600 today), which made the car more than 7% costlier. A four-on-the-floor manual was available for the first time in a new Valiant that year, but it cost $180. Also new for the 1964 Valiant was a V8 option (a 273-cubic-incher rated at 180 horsepower), but this car has the good old Slant-6. If it's the engine that came with the car when it rolled off the assembly line, it's a 101-horse example with 170 cubic inches… but these cars are notorious for getting engine swaps early and often and I didn't check the block casting numbers. The cassette deck tells us that it was being driven as recently as the late 1980s through middle 1990s. There's some rust in the usual spots, about what this car would have acquired by 1967 if it had stayed in Michigan. This car could have been restored, though the expense for rust repair and interior refurbishment wouldn't have been a good investment from a financial standpoint.

Why a Renault-FCA merger could be good news for Nissan, Mitsubishi

TOKYO — Nissan's advanced technologies including platforms and electric powertrains could give it leverage in a merger involving Renault and Fiat Chrysler, thanks to a royalty system it has with the former, two people with knowledge of the matter said. A merged Renault-Fiat Chrysler could face an extra hurdle each time it uses technology developed by Nissan or Mitsubishi Motors, while the two Japanese automakers stand to gain a client in Fiat Chrysler (FCA), one of the people said. Both sources declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. Nissan's technology, particularly in electrification and emissions reduction, could give it some sway in the $35 billion potential tie-up between Renault and FCA, even as its stake in the newly formed company would be diluted. Currently Renault SA pays less for technology developed by Nissan than the Japanese automaker pays for French technology, a third person said. This has long been a sticking point for Nissan, and an area where Nissan could seek more favorable terms. "Whenever Nissan transfers platform, powertrain or other technology to Renault, there is a margin or royalty which Renault has to pay for use of that tech," one of the people said. "In that sense, FCA, if everything went well, would become another 'client' of ours and that's good. More business for us." A Nissan spokesman declined to comment on its royalty system. The potential Renault-FCA deal has complicated the Japanese automaker's already uneasy alliance with Renault. A further deal with Fiat Chrysler looks likely at least in the near term to weaken Nissan's influence in the 20-year-old partnership. Renault owns a 43.4% stake in Nissan and is its top shareholder. Nissan holds a 15% non-voting stake in Renault and would see that diluted to 7.5% after the FCA deal, albeit with voting rights. The imbalance between the two has long rankled Nissan, which is by far the larger company. Alliance imbalance Renault had previously angled for a merger with Nissan but has been rebuffed by CEO Hiroto Saikawa. Securing benefits from the merger deal will be important for Saikawa, who is grappling with poor financial performance while he struggles to right the company after the ouster of former chairman Carlos Ghosn last year.