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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

2018 Dodge Challenger GT Drivers' Notes Review | The right car for the season

Associate Editor Joel Stocksdale: Dodge uses the Challenger GT trim to denote its V6 all-wheel-drive model, but it seems apt for reasons besides that. The Challenger, even with a V6, is an excellent, affordable American grand tourer. It's still extremely stylish, despite barely changing looks since Dodge introduced it for the 2008 model year. The solid gray on this one was particularly attractive. It also seemed appropriate considering the Challenger's battleship size. This thing is truly massive. That's beneficial in the sense that it has an enormous trunk (perfect for touring), but not so much for maneuvering. But thankfully, it's easy to spot the corners, which helps a lot. The Challenger GT is a pretty able handler, too. It feels composed in corners, not too heavy, only mild body roll, and steering that weights up very naturally. The ride is relatively comfortable. It takes the edge off of most pavement imperfections, but you feel more than you might expect. So the Dodge Challenger GT has the style, space, and a decent balance of sportiness and comfort — which just leaves one thing left to address, the powertrain. And as it turns out, the V6 actually works quite nicely in the big Dodge. Under full throttle, you get an angry, throaty honk from the intake that, while not as smooth and classic as a V8, is still fairly satisfying. It also has more than adequate acceleration, if not exhilarating. It's a combo that makes not only a fun affordable GT car, but just a solid commuter with an extra dose of style. The only caveat is that if you need something more truly sporty, you may still want to look at a Camaro or Mustang. Associate Editor Reese Counts: I spent the latter half of last week in Idaho and Wyoming driving a pretty sweet Nissan 370Z in the snow. That car was equipped with tracks and skis and allowed me to do some pretty dumb things with few repercussions, though it was one of the loudest and most uncomfortable cars I've ever driven. Coming home to Detroit and a Destroyer Grey Challenger GT was a very nice change of pace. The thing is, this car is still plenty capable in the snow. I like the Challenger quite a bit, especially in the bonkers Hellcat and Demon guise. But not everyone needs a 700-plus horsepower brute that guzzles gas with a nearly unequalled thirst. The Challenger GT checks a lot of boxes. It looks good, it's comfortable, roomy and thanks to all-wheel drive, genuinely usable year round.

Junkyard Gem: 1991 Dodge Stealth R/T

Chrysler's relationship with Mitsubishi goes back to the early 1970s, when the first Mitsubishi Colt Galants arrived from Japan with Dodge Colt badging. Plenty of Mitsubishi-built Arrows and Ram 50s and Challengers followed, and the joint Chrysler-Mitsubishi plant in Illinois began building cars in 1988. By the 1990s, you could find Mitsubishi DNA throughout the American Chrysler family, and the Mitsubishi GTO was brought over to become the Dodge Stealth starting in 1991. Here's one of those first-year Stealths, now residing in a Colorado self-service boneyard. Four grades of Stealth were available here in 1991, with the R/T Turbo AWD at the very pinnacle. This car, a regular R/T, is one step down from that model but still a pretty quick machine for its time. MSRP was $25,155, or about $55,370 in 2022 dollars. The R/T got this naturally-aspirated DOHC 6G72 engine, displacing 3.0 liters and making 222 horsepower. If you got the turbocharged version in the R/T Turbo AWD (or the Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4), power went up to 300 horses. The 3000GT (as the GTO was known here) was mechanically identical to this car but had slightly different styling. The GTO/3000GT/Stealth replaced the Mitsubishi Starion and its Chrysler/Dodge Conquest siblings, which were sold here from the 1983 through 1989 model years. The Starion was a rear-wheel-drive machine that competed for sales against the Toyota Supra and Nissan Z, while the Mitsubishi GTO was available with either front- or all-wheel-drive. As illustrated by this photo of the rear suspension, this car is a front-wheel-drive version. Americans loved automatic transmissions 30 years ago, nearly as much as we love them today, but this car has a proper five-on-the-floor manual. If you wanted the optional four-speed automatic, it cost 813 bucks ($1,790 today). The Stealth R/T AWD had a mandatory five-speed manual transmission. This car has been hit hard by junkyard shoppers and the ravages of time, but it was fairly luxurious when new. Air conditioning was standard equipment on the R/T, though not on the lesser Stealths. This car came close to 150,000 total miles, but fell a bit short of that milestone. The final year for the Dodge Stealth was 1996, though the Mitsubishi 3000GT remained available here through 1999. The Mitsubishi GTO held on through 2000 in its homeland. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Outhandles the Lotus Esprit!