Monster Jeep on 2040-cars

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Stellantis is open to putting a gas engine in its EVs to meet demand

With the EV segment caught in a tug-of-war between market demand and government regulations, carmakers are having to adapt to avoid losing both money and sales. Stellantis is keeping every option on the table, including putting a gasoline engine in its electric models. Natalie Knight, the chief financial officer for Stellantis, made the announcement while presenting the carmaker's first-quarter shipment and revenues results. She cited the Jeep Wagoneer S as an example: Unveiled in January 2024, it will go on sale with an electric powertrain, but the brand hasn't ruled out expanding the lineup with a gasoline-powered model later on, according to Wards Auto. It could be a hybrid, or it might not get any type of electrification. The call will depend on whether there is "a clear demand for that in the market," the executive said. Compare that with comments from new Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa, who has said hybridizing the Wagoneer S isn't in the cards — but making a PHEV version of the all-electric upcoming Recon, however, might be. "I don't want to ignore the fact that we want to stay close to the consumer, and if we see there's an opportunity with those models that we introduced as BEVs first, we'll look into that," Knight said. Stellantis plans to launch 25 new models globally in 2024, and 18 of those will go on sale with electric power. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll remain electric-only throughout their production run. The brands that live under the Stellantis umbrella can build a gasoline-powered version of an EV with relative ease because many of the cars in the group's portfolio ride on a multi-energy platform. For example, the new Dodge Charger (pictured) will go on sale with an electric drivetrain later in 2024, but the range will grow with the addition of a 3.0-liter straight-six in 2025. Across the pond, the Jeep Avenger (a small, hatchback-like crossover not designed with our market in mind) was hyped as an all-electric model when it made its debut in 2023, but it quietly gained a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain in early 2024. The city-friendly Peugeot 208 is offered with piston or battery power, too. One of the next electric recipients of a gasoline engine might be the new-to-us Fiat 500e. The retro-styled hatchback has exclusively been available as an EV since it went on sale in Europe in 2020, but executives are reportedly looking at turning it into a hybrid due to slow sales.

Zombie cars: A dozen discontinued vehicles people still buy new

Car models come and go, but as revealed by monthly sales data, once a car is discontinued, it doesn't just disappear instantly. And in the case of some models, vanishing into obscurity can be a slow, tedious process. That's the case with the 12 cars we have here. All of them have been discontinued, but car companies keep racking up "new" sales with them. There are actually more discontinued cars that are still registering new sales than what we decided to include here. We kept this list to the oldest or otherwise most interesting vehicles still being sold as new, including a supercar. We'll run the list in alphabetical order, starting with *drumroll* ... BMW 6 Series: 55 total sales BMW quietly removed the 6 Series from the U.S. market during the 2019 model year. It had been available in three configurations, a hardtop coupe, a convertible and a sleek four-door coupe-like shape.   BMW i8: 18 total sales We've always had a soft spot for the BMW i8, despite the fact that it never quite fit into a particular category. It was sporty, but nowhere near as fast as similarly-priced competitors. It looked very high-tech and boasted a unique carbon fiber chassis design and a plug-in hybrid powertrain, but wasn't really designed for maximum efficiency or maximum performance. Still, the in-betweener was very cool to look at and drive, and 18 buyers took one home over the course of 2021.   Chevy Impala: 750 total sales The Impala represented classic American tastes at a time when American tastes were shifting away from soft-riding sedans with big interior room and trunk space and into higher-riding crossovers. A total of 750 sales were inked last year.   Chrysler 200: 15 total sales The Chrysler 200 was actually a pretty nice sedan, with good looks and decent driving dynamics let down by a lack of roominess, particularly in the back seat. Of course, as we said regarding the Chevy Impala, the number of Americans in the market for sedans is rapidly winding down, and other automakers are following Chrysler's footsteps in canceling their slow-selling four-doors. Even if Chrysler never really found its footing in the ultra-competitive midsize sedan segment, apparently dealerships have a few leftover 2017 200s floating around. And for some reason, 15 buyers decided to sign the dotted line to take one of these aging sedans home last year.

Jeep Gladiator high-speed off-roader reportedly in development

Before the 2020 Jeep Gladiator was revealed, it seemed like there was a never-ending flow of tidbits leaking out about the truck. Now it's out, and while the flow has slowed, there are still interesting reports floating about. The latest comes from Jeep Gladiator Forum, which cites an anonymous inside source as saying there's a high-performance version of the pickup coming designed for fast off-roading similar to a Ford F-150 Raptor or Chevy Colorado ZR2. We reached out to Jeep regarding the possible truck, and a representative said the company had no comment. That's certainly exciting news if it turns out to be correct, but there are reasons not to get your hopes up just yet. The forum reports that the truck is in the early stages of development, and it's still being decided whether there's enough of a market for it. From our perspective, such a model is neither a dead end nor a shoo-in. Certainly there are people willing to buy fast off-roaders, as the aforementioned Raptor and ZR2 have shown. Also, Jeep has proven that people are willing to spend a lot on Wranglers, both from the factory and on aftermarket parts, so an even more expensive model wouldn't necessarily put people off. So those are two important points in favor of a fast Gladiator. Points against a fast Gladiator start with the existing Gladiator Rubicon. While it isn't necessarily designed for bashing dunes, it does come with a huge amount of trail-ready equipment already. It has differential locks and anti-roll bar disconnects, big tires and burly shocks. On slower trails, it may already be as capable as the Colorado ZR2, which would be the closest competitor to the hypothetical high-po Gladiator. And since the Gladiator Rubicon will be available with comparable engines to the ZR2, would something more potent be necessary? It would seem that to further differentiate, the Gladiator might need more power. That's certainly possible by way of a V8 transplant, but that would mean a lot of money spent on getting the engine to fit, making it reliable, getting it emissions compliant, and ensuring the drivetrain is strong enough. All those costs would make it harder to get approved. We may sound a bit pessimistic, but don't get us wrong, we would be excited to see a high-speed Gladiator, or any other Jeep for that matter. But we also want to be realistic, and there are certainly some significant hurdles to bringing such a truck to market. Related Video: