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Stellantis pledges $2.8 billion investment in Canadian plants

Stellantis has re-upped its commitment to two pivotal Canadian factories. The Brampton Assembly Plant, where the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger are built, and the Windsor Assembly Plant, where the Chrysler Pacifica minivan is made, will receive a $2.8 million investment in the coming years.  The announcement came as welcome news for Brampton, as the plant's future was very much in doubt. The company had only promised to build the three models, sharing an aged platform, through 2023. Now the future is more clear. Stellantis will begin retooling the facility in 2024 once production of the muscle car trio winds down. When it comes back online in 2025, it will produce "at least one all-new electric model". It will also serve as the production facility for an all-new flexible architecture, but which models it will support were not disclosed. As for Windsor, retooling will begin in 2023. Stellantis didn't say when it would finish, but that it would be home to a "new multi-energy vehicle (MEV) architecture that will provide battery-electric (BEV) capability for multiple models." Both plants are expected to return to a three-shift schedule after layoffs at the plants dropped them down to two shifts. The reaffirmation of investment in Canada follows last month's announcement that Stellantis and LG Energy Solution would establish a $4.1 billion joint venture to make battery packs for electric vehicles. The project is being billed as Canada's first large-scale lithium-ion battery plant. In addition, Windsor's Automotive Research and Development Centre (ARDC) will now become North America's first battery lab. Stellantis is expanding the site by 100,000 square feet, where engineers will conduct R&D into BEV, PHEV and HEV cells, modules and battery packs. Stellantis North America Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart said, "These investments reaffirm our long-term commitment to Canada and represent an important step as we move toward zero-emission vehicles that deliver on our customers’ desire for innovative, clean, safe and affordable mobility.”  Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

How to turn a Dodge airport tug into a trail slayer

Sometimes, having a ton of fun requires takes a ton of work. Just nine days before the so-called Ultimate Adventure 2014, the folks behind 4-Wheel & Off-Road had 40 tasks to complete in order to turn the ratty truck pictured above into a machine that could excel on treacherous off-road trails while still being able to handle highway jaunts. Much of process behind the build was chronicled on the latest episode of Dirt Every Day.
The team's vehicle started life as a 1990 Dodge tug truck that spent part of its life hauling around airplanes. The builders hung on to the Cummins six-cylinder diesel, but they tossed out practically everything else for the project, with some seriously heavy-duty replacement parts for the transmission, transfer case, axles and a whole lot more. The process was certainly a ton of work, but the end result looks like a fantastic crawler.
Sure, it might have been easier to bring a truck that was already prepared, but where would the fun in that have been? Stay tuned until the end of the video for a few glimpses of the completed Dodge and peek at some of the punishment it goes through.

Dodge's divisive splitter guards are now pink and might become black

There is an infinite amount of real problems out there in the world, but for some reason, one of the most dividing issues in the car community relates to a piece of protective plastic on cars. Yes, splitter guards. Since the plastic parts were introduced to SRT variants of the Dodge Challenger and Dodge Charger for 2015, the enthusiast community has been split like a '63 'Vette on the merits and aesthetics of not removing them. Originally, the protectors, which are there to protect the splitter while the car is in transit to dealers, were yellow, which contributed to their popularity. But Dodge has now shifted that color to pink, as Car & Driver reported and Autoblog confirmed.  On one side, upset purists beg they be removed from the cars. They were only put on to protect the vehicles' lower front fascias during shipping and handling, and if left on too long, they will collect dirt and grit and damage the new paint. SRT lead designer Mark Trostle is included in this camp and is quoted saying, "I wish they would take them off." On the other side, there are people who enjoy the contrasting look and see it as a way to stand out or be different.  "Yes, they are designed to be removed before delivery," said Tim Kuniskis, global head of Alfa Romeo and head of passenger cars for Dodge, SRT, Chrysler, FIAT, FCA for North America, in an email to Autoblog. "But today, they have their own Facebook page, and many of our performance enthusiasts have active debates on whether to keep or remove them. Some owners say they are even selling them in the aftermarket!"  The Facebook page he speaks of is called "Hey Pal, You Forgot To Take Your Splitter Guards Off." The private group was started on April 11, 2019, and as of this writing, it is 11,855 members strong. With FCA recently changing the guards to pink, that number will likely continue to grow. "Obviously, they weren't part of the original design," Kuniskis said. "We started with yellow guards and shifted to pink, but they are still so popular that we may shift them yet again to black. Wherever we land, this is another example of how our customers are passionate about every part of their Dodge muscle cars — from the high-horsepower engines that power Charger and Challenger to the splitter guards designed to protect them, so we expect the conversation to continue."  Yellow, pink, black, purple, rainbow, whatever. People will like what they like and hate what they hate. Just do you, and keep the negativity away.