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2014 Jeep Patriot and Compass ditch CVT for six-speed auto

It was reported in Automotive News a few months ago, but a new report on Allpar.com adds some details to news that the 2014 Jeep Compass and Patriot will get a six-speed automatic to replace the CVTs they currently use. According to a tip provided to Allpar, the 2014 models will begin production in March and be on sale sometime in the summer. The Jatco-sourced CVT in use until now - Jatco is owned by Nissan and Mitsubishi - has been often criticized, and many won't be sad to see it go.
The incoming six-speed automatic is said to be an all-wheel-drive cog-swapper that's the work of Hyundai and Magna and has been paired with the DynaMax AWD system used in the Hyundai ix35 and Kia Sportage. It won't be the only Chrysler product using a transmission with ties to Hyundai: the six-speed automatic in the Dodge Dart comes from Powertech, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai. With the Patriot and Compass said to be driving down the trail for the last time this year, it will be a short run for the new tranny and the rumored addition of a backup camera and power rear liftgate on the Compass.

2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk shows off its hellish supercharged V8

We've seen the spy shots of this thing, the 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee TrackHawk, before. But only from the outside. The external changes are plenty telling, but there was always the slight chance we were looking only at an extra-hot SRT version, not a full-blown (pun intended) TrackHawk with a Hellcat motor. Until the hood goes up, there's no telling what we're really looking at. Well, seeing is believing. We have been looking at TrackHawks all along. And Mike Manley, Jeep's CEO, wasn't selling the world a bill of goods when he said to expect the thing "by the end of 2017". As you can clearly see in the slightly noisy engine shot, that's a supercharger parked on top of FCA's 6.2-liter V8, just like in the Charger and Challenger Hell-twins. Chances are it'll make the same power as it does in those two – 707 hp, in case you're just waking up from cryo-stasis and aren't aware of the most famous power output figure on the planet. There are some differences between this Grand Cherokee and ones we've previously pegged as TrackHawks. The fog lights in the lower grille vents are gone, and the rear fascia gets a bit more aggressive. Perhaps these will be the external details that separate the TrailHawk from the lowly non-supercharged SRT versions. We've also been hearing about quad exhaust tips, but haven't seen them on a prototype yet. If Jeep wants to get this thing out on the road by the end of the year, we're likely to see it coming to an auto show soon. Keep your eyes peeled. Related Video:

Ford, Stellantis workers join those at GM in ratifying contract that ended UAW strikes

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union overwhelmingly ratified new contracts with Ford and Stellantis, that along with a similar deal with General Motors will raise pay across the industry, force automakers to absorb higher costs and help reshape the auto business as it shifts away from gasoline-fueled vehicles. Workers at Stellantis, the maker of Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles, voted 68.8% in favor of the deal. Their approval brought to a close a contentious labor dispute that included name-calling and a series of punishing strikes that imposed high costs on the companies and led to significant gains in pay and benefits for UAW workers. The deal at Stellantis passed by a roughly 10,000 vote margin, with ballot counts ending Saturday afternoon. Workers at Ford voted 69.3% in favor of the pact, which passed with nearly a 15,000-vote margin in balloting that ended early Saturday. Earlier this week, GM workers narrowly approved a similar contract. The agreements, which run through April 2028, will end contentious talks that began last summer and led to six-week-long strikes at all three automakers. Shawn Fain, the pugnacious new UAW leader, had branded the companies enemies of the UAW who were led by overpaid CEOs, declaring the days of union cooperation with the automakers were over. After summerlong negotiations failed to produce a deal, Fain kicked off strikes on Sept. 15 at one assembly plant at each company. The union later extended the strike to parts warehouses and other factories to try to intensify pressure on the automakers until tentative agreements were reached late in October. The new contract agreements were widely seen as a victory for the UAW. The companies agreed to dramatically raise pay for top-scale assembly plant workers, with increases and cost-of-living adjustments that would translate into 33% wage gains. Top assembly plant workers are to receive immediate 11% raises and will earn roughly $42 an hour when the contracts expire in April of 2028. Under the agreements, the automakers also ended many of the multiple tiers of wages they had used to pay different workers. They also agreed in principle to bring new electric-vehicle battery plants into the national union contract. This provision will give the UAW an opportunity to unionize the EV battery plants plants, which will represent a rising share of industry jobs in the years ahead.