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Stellantis will give its brands 10 years to prove they deserve to live

Formed by the merger of PSA Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles, Stellantis has 14 brands under its roof, a number that makes it one of the largest groups in the industry. Rumors claimed not every brand would survive, with Chrysler often earmarked to get axed, but the firm said it will give them all a chance to shine. "We're giving each (brand) a chance, giving each a time window of 10 years and giving funding for 10 years to do a core model strategy. The CEOs need to be clear in brand promise, customers, targets, and brand communications," announced Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares during the Financial Times' Future of the Car event. His comments confirm Chrysler fans and dealers don't need to worry about the future — at least not yet. And, against all odds, Lancia enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief, too. Former FCA head Sergio Marchionne warned of the brand's demise on several occasions. Alfa Romeo is safe for now, too, as is Vauxhall, which are basically just Opels sold in the United Kingdom with a different badge. The engagement made by Tavares also means Stellantis won't divest any of its brands to raise capital until at least 2031. It's now up to each executive team to make a case for the brand they run, an unusual survival-of-the-fittest strategy in an era when cutting costs is more common than spending cash. Diving into the vast Stellantis parts bin should help even the most troubled brands turn their fortunes around on a relatively tight budget. It seems likely that survive Chrysler will need to look beyond the 300 and the Pacifica/Voyager, the only models in its range, and completely reinvent its image, which is currently nebulous at best. Lancia, once the champion of luxury, performance, and innovation, faces the same challenge. It's not starting quite from scratch, it's relatively popular in its home country of Italy, but it will need to think globally and expand outside of the city car segment to survive. Featured Gallery 2020 Chrysler 300 View 24 Photos Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall

Are Chrysler's Stow 'N Go seats really that great?

Are Chrysler's Stow 'N Go seats really such a great thing? Seriously, I'm asking. Do owners of the Chrysler Pacifica, as well as the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country before it, actually use the innovative functionality that see the second-row captain's chairs fold away into the floor? Frankly, I've always had my doubts. Car reviewers have long sung Stow 'N Go's praises, impressed with the ability to quickly turn the minivan from people carrier to work van. You'll frequently read mentions of needing to move sheets of plywood or treadmills or their kids' entire dorm room. Doing so is without question far easier when you can quickly make the second-row seats disappear as opposed to giving yourself a hernia lifting the things out and storing them in the garage – if removing them is even possible at all. Except here's the thing. We car reviewers have borrowed that van for the purpose of moving whatever it is we needed to move. Maybe the van in question is a long-term test vehicle like our old Pacifica Hybrid, maybe it's the more typical weeklong test loan. Either way, this is not a typical use case. The van is being considered more for its cargo-carrying abilities than its people-carrying abilities, and I just don't think that's representative of the typical minivan owner. Further to that point, the Stow 'N Go seats' flipping and folding capability might be great for versatility, but it makes for less comfortable seats. Although they have definitely improved in the 15-plus years since they were introduced, the Pacifica's Stow 'N Go seats remain thinner and flatter than the typical captain's chair. One can deduce that even Chrysler is aware of this as a downside. You see, the Pacifica Hybrid does not have Stow 'N Go seats since the giant underfloor hole they stow and go into is full of batteries. Instead, it has second-row captain's chairs  that don't seem to be discernibly different from those up front – they're far more comfortable. You can see the difference in the pictures above, with the gas-only Pacifica in red and the Hybrid in blue. I'm therefore left with the question: Would you rather have a far more comfortable seat, or an improved ability to carry some plywood? Considering the second-row designs of rival vans, it would seem that market research for Honda, Toyota and Kia isn't skewing in the direction of plywood. Much like the rest of the automotive industry, the minivan segment is rife for copy-catting.

Stellantis aims to eliminate separate inverter, charger to improve EV efficiency

Stellantis has announced that, in collaboration with French battery company Saft and French National Center for Scientific Research, has made significant progress in eliminating two major components of an electric vehicle powertrain: the on-board charger and the power inverter for the motor. The company claims that doing this will allow for better space use in vehicles, as well as improvements in efficiency, cost and reliability of components. As a quick primer, also explained in the below video, the on-board charger and power inverter are sort of translators to get the right current to different parts of the electric powertrain. The on-board charger takes AC power from the grid and converts it to DC to charge the batteries. Then when power goes from the batteries to the electric motor, the power inverter converts that DC power back to AC. These components aren't exactly small. Frequently you'll find them packaged somewhere under the hood. What Stellantis and its cohorts have developed, and have been using on a test vehicle since last summer, are small power inverter boards that can be mounted very closely to the battery packs. They can handle both conversion needs, for charging and discharging, instead of needing two separate devices. The most obvious perk to this is that you can do away with those traditional components and free up more space, either for making smaller vehicles without losing interior volume, or adding space to a vehicle that wouldn't have had it otherwise. There's the additional benefit of reduced weight, something that EVs struggle with. Stellantis also claims improvements in efficiency, reliability, and cost, however, it didn't go into detail as to how this setup would do that exactly. We'll try to get in touch with representatives from Stellantis in order to get more information. We're still a ways out from seeing this technology in production Stellantis vehicles. The company said it aims to apply it to vehicles by the end of the decade. Saft is also looking at using it on stationary battery systems as well. So maybe we'll see it on a 2029 Ram 1500 REV, but for now, we'll be living with traditional chargers and inverters. Related Video: Green Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Fiat RAM Technology Electric