2014 Dodge Dart Sxt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak will debut at SEMA

Mopar fans have countless reasons to get hyped about the 2019 SEMA show. Speedkore is bringing a twin-turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody, Mopar is bringing a done-up 1968 Dodge D200 "Lowliner," Ram is bringing a diesel 1500 overlander, and Jeep is bringing a custom off-road Wrangler. But the launch of the new 2020 Dodge Challenger Drag Pak might garner the most attention from the brand's most serious customers. Prior to the show, Mopar teased a photo and a short video clip, both showing a new Dodge Challenger from the overhead view. The white Challenger showed a wide blue stripe down the center of the car with two pinstripes along each side. "Powered by SRT" runs across the top of the windshield, and Mopar logos grace both sides of the car just beneath the side windows. Red decals run back from the rear quarter panels and connect across the rear of the car. It also has hood pins on the SRT Hellcat hood and a parachute attached the rear. There's a parachute because this is the factory turnkey drag-race-focused Dodge Challenger racecar. Mopar released no other information on what type of hardware the Drag Pak will be using, or what's under the hood, but the video gives a great preview of the exhaust note in full tire-smoke mode. As some Drag Paks in the past have dropped roughly 1,000 pounds from their production starter vehicles, the 2020 model will surely utilize plenty of weight-savings methods such as the removal of all interior comfort features that don't apply on the racetrack. Mopar has also previously altered the position of the engine and changed the wheelbase to the benefit of better weight distribution. Mopar is set to livestream the unveiling starting at 7:26 p.m. ET (that's 4:26 on the West Coast, which not coincidentally coincides the the displacement of the vintage 426 Hemi engine) on Nov. 5, 2019. Until then, check out the 2009, 2010, 2011, or 2016 Drag Paks.

Dodge Grand Caravan reportedly will cease production in 2020

The Dodge Grand Caravan looks like it may finally be reaching its demise next year. A report from Automotive News Canada says the old Dodge minivan will cease production in May 2020. The report cites AutoForecast Solutions as the source of its news. FCA confirmed to us that the van will be going away eventually, but the company is not ready to put an official end date on it yet. For the time being, it looks like the Grand Caravan’s long run will eventually grind to a halt in Windsor, Ontario, the vanÂ’s only production site. With the introduction of the Chrysler Voyager as the budget minivan option from Chrysler, FCA may think it no longer has any use for the outdated Dodge. The Grand Caravan has a starting price of $28,535, whereas the new Voyager is priced from $28,480. ThatÂ’s an almost identical starting point, but we still donÂ’t know what kind of incentives FCA will offer for the Voyager. There are typically big cuts for the Grand Caravan, which have pushed recent average transaction prices down to $24,972. We imagine itÂ’ll be much more difficult for FCA to offer discounts of that magnitude to Voyager shoppers. Still, AutoForecast Solutions told Automotive News it believes FCA will transition folks away from the Grand Caravan. “For the 2020 model year, theyÂ’ll likely run to fleet and then get the consumers to buy the new Voyager,” says Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions. Eliminating the Grand Caravan would be a strong bet on ChryslerÂ’s strategy of splitting the Pacifica into two different model lines. Nearly every month, FCA sells more Grand Caravans than Pacificas. The Pacifica is the far superior minivan to own, but you canÂ’t argue with a cheap price. Once the Grand Caravan is gone, budget minivan buyers will have no choice but to buy a Voyager if they want the cheapest new option out there. Entries from the few other manufacturers that produce minivans are all going to be more expensive than the Voyager. The 2020 Pacifica and Voyager team are slated to reach dealers later this year, but it wonÂ’t be until next year that weÂ’re able to fully take stock of how this plays out for FCA.

Stellantis is official: FCA and PSA merger finally sealed

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler and PSA sealed their long-awaited merger on Saturday to create Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest auto group with deep enough pockets to fund the shift to electric driving and take on bigger rivals Toyota and Volkswagen. It took over a year for the Italian-American and French automakers to finalize the $52 billion deal, during which the global economy was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. They first announced plans to merge in October 2019, to create a group with annual sales of around 8.1 million vehicles. "The merger between Peugeot S.A. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. that will lead the path to the creation of Stellantis N.V. became effective today," the two automakers said in a statement. Shares in Stellantis, which will be headed by current PSA Chief Executive Carlos Tavares, will start trading in Milan and Paris on Monday, and in New York on Tuesday. Now analysts and investors are turning their focus to how Tavares plans to address the huge challenges facing the group – from excess production capacity to a woeful performance in China. Tavares will hold his first press conference as Stellantis CEO on Tuesday, after ringing NYSE's bell with Chairman John Elkann. FCA and PSA have said Stellantis can cut annual costs by over 5 billion euros ($6.1 billion) without plant closures, and investors will be keen for more details on how it will do this. Marco Santino, a partner at consultants Oliver Wyman, said he expected Tavares to disclose the outlines of his action plan soon, but without divulging too many details at first. "He has proven to be the kind of person who prefers action to words, so I don't think he will make loud statements or try to over-sell targets," he said. Like all global automakers, Stellantis needs to invest billions in the years ahead to transform its vehicle range for the electric era. But other pressing tasks loom, including reviving the group's lagging fortunes in China, rationalizing its huge global empire and addressing massive overcapacity. "It will be a step by step process, also to allow the market to better appreciate every single move. I don't think we will have all the details before one year," Santino said.