Hemi Power And A Hot Hatch, Now That’s A Renegade: Members’ Rides

Last week’s episode of Members’ Rides introduced us to Drew and his Ford collection with two Mustangs, including the EV that makes (some) people mad. One thing I have heard repeated often regarding the Mach-E is that “they don’t make them like they used to,” so this week we’re going to continue with that and look at a couple fantastic cars. Both of them are the kind of automobiles that used to be everywhere, but nothing of the like is in production today. But before we get to those, we’ll look at the commuter.

Welcome to Members’ Rides! This is where we share the cars and stories of Autopian Members. The potential to be featured here is a perk for Autopian Members of every level, from the ultra-affordable “Cloth” tier all the way up to “Rich Corinthian Leather.” Click that link and join today!

Spencer is an engineer with a fascinating breadth of experience. His greatest hits even include working for SRT! Nowadays you’ll find him working for Rivian. His choice of cars as an engineer at Rivian made me chuckle, let’s check them out.

How did you get into cars?

I’ve been into cars as long as I can remember, reading Motor Trend and playing Gran Turismo and such, but I think the origin story involved tagging along with my grandparents at the Buick dealership when they bought a 1995 LeSabre (which eventually became my first car!

I got my mechanical engineering degree from Western Michigan and went on to work at an engineering consulting company; at that point I started really getting into the details of how engines work. I spent a lot of time in engine dynos and even worked on a clean-sheet design for one of the big OEMS.

From there I went on to work at FCA (and eventually Stellantis). For the first couple years I worked on some cool valvetrain technology projects as part of the Advanced Powertrain group. After that, I moved into the SRT Powertrain team as a release engineer for the engine programs that went into the TRX, Rubicon 392, and the Grand Wagoneer (which had a version of the 6.4L engine). I split my responsibilities between cranktrain components and oil handling parts (pans, pickup tubes, windage trays, etc).

When Stellantis closed up shop on SRT Engineering, I moved into battery pack design, opened my eyes up to completely different engineering challenges (electrons!?) but also introduced me to the world of EVs and eventually landed me a position at Rivian, where I work today!

What’s currently in the garage?

• 2017 Jeep Renegade
• 2015 VW GTI
• 2023 Chrysler 300C

So I will of course get to the cars, but first, how did you enjoy your time at FCA/Stellantis?

For the most part it was awesome! I know a lot of folks have had issues with the bureaucracy at big OEMs, but I was admittedly shielded from that a bit since I spent most of my time there in Advanced Powertrain and SRT Powertrain. The amount of engineering talent on the engine side of the business was pretty inspiring, for one. And even though our timelines and workloads were pretty intense on the SRT projects, the team was amazing. I’m still friends with quite a few of them!

My biggest complaint from my time there was honestly the red tape around union/non-union tasks. I completely understand the reason they exist, but sometimes a guy just wants to take some torque measurements or run a quick test without submitting a request and hoping a tech is available!

How did you transition from working on the development of a massive V8 to battery packs?

The learning curve was steep at first! It did help that I was in grad school (after a bit of an educational hiatus) during that transition and I could tailor my courses toward EV/electrical topics. The hardest part for me initially was just making sense of the high-voltage circuits with all of the contactors and fuses and such. I definitely didn’t have to do that on a Hemi! Once my head was wrapped around that, though, it became easier to ask the right questions and “know what I don’t know,” to use a cliche. I’m still learning something new every day, which is super fun and probably why I didn’t go into finance or something that would actually buy me a house in Orange County.

Since you’re working at Rivian, I have to ask: what are your thoughts on EVs?

I think they’re awesome and probably the best vehicle choice available for probably 75% of people. I made that number up, completely. If you tow a lot, EVs aren’t great. If you’re one of those super-commuters that does like 150 miles each way, probably not great unless you have DCFC at work. For regular driving and commuting, they’re honestly a better choice than anything I drive.

The “silence” that people complain about is overblown in my opinion. You still have wind and tire noise and such – maybe not in an i7 or EQS but I don’t have experience with those. The NVH, or lack thereof, though, is amazing for crawling in traffic or sitting on cruise control.

Ok, let’s get to the cars. How did you end up getting a Jeep Renegade?

We don’t have to beat around the bush and pretend anyone cares about a Jeep Renegade. My wife had a 2006 Scion xB – an amazing car, I don’t think I need to sell anyone at The Autopian on it. It was pushing 200k miles and running great of course, but it really struggled with the deep potholes and unplowed streets around the school where my wife taught. We had a few criteria for a replacement, but obviously they weren’t too strict because we ended up with a Jeep Renegade …

The main criteria were:

1. It had to be able to handle snow (real snow, like driving-to-Traverse-City-in-January snow)
2. Have enough sidewall and ground clearance to survive Detroit potholes
3. Be small enough to squeak into those awkward kind-of-a-parking-spot spots on trailheads and parks
4. Be inconspicuous (undesirable?) enough to comfortably leave street-parked in certain areas

How long have you had it?

We bought it in early 2018. It worked out very well because it’s a 2017 and there was a lot of cash on the hood. Adding to that, I got the employee discount. Simpler times.

How do you like it?

It certainly meets all of the criteria listed above, and it hasn’t needed anything besides routine maintenance in almost seven years of ownership. So, sure, I like it just fine!

Anything you don’t like?

I truly do not understand how something so small and so slow can also get such poor fuel economy. It’s almost impressive, like Ron Burgundy’s dog in Anchorman. We’ll probably replace this one with an R2 (fingers crossed).

Now to the fun cars. What made you purchase the GTI?

At the time, I was driving a Pontiac G8 GT (which … man if I had a garage at the time I might still have that one). I took a trip to Italy and my cheapo rental was a Lancia Ypsilon, which was hilariously my first time driving a manual on public roads.

It went from terrifying to frustrating to tons of fun over the course of like two days and I was hooked on driving a stick. I came back home and started shopping around for a car with a stick that I could afford and could also daily about 40 miles each way to work. GTI fit the bill pretty perfectly!

You mentioned the GTI was modified, what have you done to it?

The big mod is an IS38 turbo; most of the other mods exist to support that (inlet elbow and tube, a high-flow downpipe, FMIC, a heavy-duty clutch). Then some little quality-of-life mods include a BFI shift knob (that still has the golf ball pattern; it’s pretty neat!) and an amp/subwoofer that fits into the spare tire well (also neat because the spare still fits in there!). Beyond that, it has a roof rack to carry my bikes if you want to call that a mod.

Was the extensive mod list intentional or was it a case of a “simple” project that quickly spiraled?

You must have experience with this one eh? My wastegate actuator flaked out, and I was working from home at the time so I figured I’d take it apart first and see if I could figure it out instead of paying for an entire new turbo. Once the turbo was sitting on the bench in my garage it was one of those “Well, I’m halfway done with a turbo swap anyway …” moments. Fast forward several FCP Euro purchases, and here we are.

Any additional mods planned or anything?

Not much actually. I really like how it handles on the stock suspension but it’s getting a little creaky up front, so I’ll refresh all of that stuff but probably just stick with stock parts. I have a beefed-up rear engine/trans mount and insert sitting on a shelf, I think I’ll install that along with some fresh motor mounts to settle down a bit of axle hop.

The mod that I’m actually most interested in, and this will sound lame, is updating the infotainment system to MIBII. The 2015s had an old system that doesn’t have Android Auto/Carplay. There’s an expensive way to do this, and a hard way. I’ve been going back and forth but will probably try that this year.

Has it been reliable after you upgraded everything?

It has! I have probably 20k miles on the setup with no issues other than an exhaust clamp working itself loose (my fault) and the stock clutch with 90k miles on it being comically unprepared for the turbo (also my fault).

Have you had GTIs or hot hatches in the past?

Nope! The G8 was the first car I really shopped for and bought myself, but driving that tiny Ypsilon around really made me appreciate the “hatch” part!

Does it live up to the hype?

It does, it’s great. Every time I get in it, even after coming out of my 300C or something much nicer, I think “This car is just perfect.” Whenever someone asks about it, I offer to let them drive it. Everyone should appreciate it.

How do you feel about the new ones not having a manual anymore?

Yeah, that’s a bummer. I’m not one of those “I’ll only drive manual cars forever” guys but I think cars like that are best appreciated with a manual.

What is your favorite thing about it?

Maybe a weird answer, but it has to be the seats. I have the base plaid seats and they look great, and they look and feel basically new after 10+ years. And more than that, they’re all-day comfortable.

Least favorite?

The MIBI infotainment system is pretty worthless, and it doesn’t even have a real USB port. The whole setup is a half-step up from only having an aux port.

You mentioned preordering the 300C as soon as it was announced, do you love it as much as you expected to?

It’s a stupid car, and the fact that I love it as much as I do is evidence no one should ever take car-buying advice from me. But yes, I love it!

What is the best thing about the 300C?

I’d just put a GIF of the “that thing got a HEMI?” commercial here. But really, the Apache sounds SO good. There are a lot of things I like about the car but I think most people (correctly) buy these for the engine.

What’s your least favorite thing about it?

At this point, I think the Autopian and every other site has written about how the non-widebody Scat Packs are super under-tired. I cannot emphasize just how under-tired this car is. If someone got in my car and said “make it go sideways,” all I would have to do is turn off traction control and give it 30% throttle. That may be an exaggeration but not by much.

Anything you think is awesome about this that most people likely would not be aware of?

Heated and cooled cupholders! Is it gimmicky? Maybe. But they do actually work, and I keep my coffee warm and my water cold in them almost every day.

Why did you want this over the comparable Charger?

I think the 300 is one of the best-looking cars of the past … decade? Maybe two decades since it feels like that’s how long it’s been around? Regardless, I think it looks great, especially in 300C/Australian SRT trim.

Additionally, everyone knows what a Charger is. Even if you get a 3.6 it still has that same stereotype/association. Whereas the 300C is kind of like my own stupid secret.

What would be in your dream garage?

1. My 2015 GTI mentioned above,
2. Rivian R3
3. Volkswagen Vanagon Westy Syncro (with an engine swap),
4. Kawasaki Z900RS
5. Prius Prime (the new one)

Can’t argue with any of those. Thanks Spencer!

Are you an Autopian Member? Don’t miss out, we have a lot of fun and you could be world famous and see your cars plastered all over the best car site on Earth! Click Here to learn more and become a Member today!