2007 Jeep Commander Limited on 2040-cars

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Ford extends shutdown, Stellantis confirms layoffs due to chip shortage

Ford and Stellantis this week announced new production cuts due to the global semiconductor shortage, with popular models including the Ford F-150 and Jeep Grand Cherokee facing cuts. Stellantis plans to temporarily lay off workers at one facility as production is curtailed.  According to Automotive News, Ford is extending shutdowns at some of its North American facilities into May. The Blue Oval has been forced to reduce or idle production of both its redesigned F-150 pickup and the popular Explorer due to the chip shortage. The Mustang, Transit, Edge, Lincoln Nautilus and Aviator will also continue to be affected. Stellantis is planning to temporarily lay off workers at a Jeep plant in Detroit during April and May due to a shortage of semiconductor chips. The company will cut two work crews at its Jefferson North plant in Detroit for three weeks starting April 26, then call them back and lay off a third crew from May 17 through the week of May 31, according to a schedule obtained by Bloomberg News. The plant on Detroit’s east side normally operates two shifts with three work crews six days a week to keep it running 20 hours a day. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” company spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in a statement. “Due to the unprecedented global microchip shortage, Jefferson North will adjust its production schedule through the end of May.” Jefferson North employs about 4,800 hourly workers and makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the top-selling Jeep model last year, and the Dodge Durango SUV. A redesigned version of the Grand Cherokee is scheduled to start production in August, according to researcher AutoForecast Solutions. This article contains reporting from Bloomberg. Plants/Manufacturing Ford Jeep Lincoln Technology chip shortage

2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Alaska Cannonball | Oregon is on fire

Our man Jonathon Ramsey is driving a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon on a 14-week, 14,000 mile journey across North America. Check out his first, second, and third installments.Port Orford, Ore. – On arrival at Battle Rock, just off the southern coast of Oregon, I had completed the (other) Trans-America Trail. It's a worthy Bucket List endeavor even before you get to the bits that challenge a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. The first tests came in western Oklahoma, tiptoeing through and around swampy farmland. Once I got to Colorado, the difficulty scale increased with each day's driving. By the time I hit wildfires and constant detours in Oregon, I was ready for the trail to end. Here are a few more notes from the last half: When I filled up in Columbia, North Carolina just before getting to Oregon Inlet, the odometer showed 12,294 miles. When I filled up in Port Orford before heading north to Seattle, the odo read 18,008, for nearly 6,000 miles in three weeks. GPSKevin says his trail covers 5,184 miles, but detours are an unavoidable part of the experience. Utah wins my vote for the widest variety of beauty. Crossing into southeastern Utah from Colorado, the landscape is full of desert farms and endless visibility to mountains at the ends of the Earth in Monticello. It's plush high plains greenery on the way up and down Geyser Pass, then the rocky red pioneer-killing cauldron of The Spanish Valley and Moab. Scrub-filled rock formations stretch to Salina, then back up to verdant forests in both halves of Fishlake National Forest. A final rocky stretch west of Sevier, Utah fell into a rolling golden land past Black Rock, another trip into sparer mountains, then the final comedown to Baker, Nevada. Moab gets all the Jeep love, but there's plenty of fun all over the state. In Ely, Nevada I met a Harley rider headed east out of Oregon who told me, "It's all on fire. Whole state. On fire." The haze began not long after leaving Ely. By the time I departed Battle Mountain, Nevada hills showed their own scorched-earth scars, and science-fiction gray skies hid entire mountain chains. Detours were already longer and lengthier in the West because of closed roads, locked gates, and "No Tresspassing" signs. Now fire-centric detours and turnarounds joined the routine. The last day on the trail in Oregon, a 114-mile route from Glendale, through the Rogue River Siskiyou National Forest to Port Orford, was the hardest.

Anton Yelchin's family suing FCA over the actor's death

UPDATE: Anton Yelchin received a recall notification for his Grand Cherokee a week after his death, family attorney Gary Dordick told Variety at a press conference. Dordick called FCA's recall "way too little and way too late." The family of actor Anton Yelchin is suing FCA for negligence and product liability, according to Automotive News. Yelchin was killed in June when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled away, pinning him against a brick pillar and a gate. The Jeep Grand Cherokee, along with 1.1 million other FCA products, is currently under recall for a poorly designed shifter that may lead drivers to believe the car is in park when it isn't. Vehicles affected by the recall are at risk of rolling away. The recall was issued two months before Yelchin's death on June 19. It's believed that this is the first wrongful death lawsuit related to the recall. Although the shifter recall is linked to hundreds of injuries, Yelchin's death is currently the only fatality. There is a class-action lawsuit currently being filed against the automaker. FCA, in a statement to Automotive News, declined to comment and said it had not been served with a lawsuit. The automaker continues to urge drivers to follow the instructions in their owner's manual and become familiar with the instructions that were included with the recall notice. Related Video: