Tim Kuniskis, the straight-talking Stellantis exec whose retirement lasted about as long as your new year commitment to jog five miles every day, is back as CEO of the company’s Ram truck division and he’s got a lot he wants to share. This includes: how badly he wants a mid-size truck, how much the company screwed up the 1500 launch, and how he felt about outgoing Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares.
The Morning Dump, as always, doesn’t shy away from politics if it’s relevant. Unfortunately, cars and politics are blending more and more lately. President Biden, in his last week in office, has finalized rules that will make it way more difficult to sell Chinese-built cars in these somewhat United States. What will happen to the automakers who do sell those cars already? Most of them will be fine, though a couple seem like they’re in trouble.
Do consumers care about the brands they buy? Yes! And a new survey shows this is only increasing over time, especially for hybrid owners. And, speaking of hybrid owners, the data we most lack is how often PHEV owners actually charge. Thanks to a new study, we can do a little extrapolation.
‘Whether It Makes Sense Or Not, It Doesn’t Matter. It’s Anti-American, You’ve Taken My Flag Away, F*** You”
Last year, longtime exec Tim Kuniskis retired from the company that was once Chrysler and was now Stellantis. There were conspiracy theories about this, stating that perhaps Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares kicked him out after too many disagreements.
Tavares is gone and, magically, Kuniskis is back. Does that mean that the rumors were true? Not quite. He says he “didn’t need to retire” he just needed a break. Don’t we all?
And are we sure Tavares didn’t give that extra push? Here’s what Kuniskis told the Detroit Free Press:
I was totally fine with Tavares. I didn’t agree with him on a lot of stuff, but that’s not unique to him. That’s my personality. I disagree with a lot of my bosses. It didn’t matter what level of the company I was. It’s just who I am,” he said, describing his leaving as “100% my decision.”
This is a fun interview and Kuniskis lays a lot of blame for Ram’s current issues on the decision to do a bunch of stuff at once, including adding an EV powertrain, designing an EREV powertrain, ditching the V8, and adding a new electrical architecture. It was too much and it threatened the big money-maker for the company.
And, speaking of money-makers, the company basically had the Ram 1500 Classic as the fill-in for the midsize truck market. That’s no longer around and Kuniskis wants something better.
Kuniskis couldn’t offer any news on the midsize front, but he noted that “I desperately want one. … I don’t know how you can be a dedicated truck brand and not have one.”
I agree! You have to have a midsize truck. You know, other than the Gladiator, which is a Jeep.
So what of the decision to swap the Hemi V8 for the Hurricane inline-six? That’s an engine David enjoyed, saying he didn’t miss the Hemi V8. Kuniskis lays it on thick for Road & Track in this interview:
“Honestly, the bigger issue is not Hemi vs. T6,” Kuniskis said in an interview with Road & Track. “The bigger issue is we took away a fundamental American thing. Americans love freedom of choice more than anything. When you take away their freedom of choice and tell them ‘you must take this,’ they revolt. Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s anti-American, you’ve taken my flag away, f*** you. It doesn’t mean they are making an irrational decision, maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, I don’t know. But we as Americans, that’s what we do.”
Because it says “f***” we’ll have to make some guesses as to what he said there. Funk you? Fark you? Fail you?
This doesn’t mean the V8 is coming back because, as Kuniskis points out, the 1500 has been too short of supply to make any conclusions about comparative powertrain sales. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
American Cars With Chinese Software Banned As Of 2027, Hardware As Of 2029
The long-discussed issues related to Chinese-built cars in America have finally resulted in some concrete rules, with the Biden Administration announcing it’ll ban most Chinese-built items like drones and cars, that have “connected” software or hardware.
“It’s really important because we don’t want two million Chinese cars on the road and then realize … we have a threat,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Reuters in an interview, citing national security concerns.
In September, her department proposed a sweeping ban on key Chinese software and hardware in connected vehicles on American roads, with software prohibitions to take effect in the 2027 model year and those on hardware in 2029. They also bar Chinese car companies from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.
In theory, this would screw companies that sell Chinese-made cars in America, which include:
- Lincoln Nautilus
- All EV Lotus cars
- Buick Envision
- Volvo S90
- Volvo EX30
- Polestar 1 and Polestar 2
But, as always, there are some exceptions. Cars with hardware or software that existed before the rules go into place are fine, so long as the software isn’t being managed by a Chinese company. That should help with Lincoln and Buick. It’s the Geely companies that are in trouble here. Does the US Government consider Volvo a Chinese company? Was the EX30 already on sale before the rules went into effect? What is Polestar going to do?
It’ll be up to the new Trump Administration to enforce these rules, although this has generally been an area of bipartisan agreement so I doubt they’ll be immediately reversed.
Consumers Like Their Brands Even More, Are More Likely To Stick With Hybrids Than In The Past
For all the complaints about high prices, people tend to enjoy the brands they already own. This makes sense as you already know where to get service, you’re used to the buttons, et cetera. This is the second year of the LexisNexis brand loyalty survey, and the findings are consistent with what I’d expect post-pandemic.
Loyalty is determined by a buyer returning to the same brand they own, so if you own a Honda HR-V and then buy a Honda Passport you’re counted as loyal. Basically, during the pandemic, there was such a shortage of vehicles that some people migrated to other brands due to availability, not necessarily displeasure with their current car.
That behavior is mostly gone, and the loyalty rate has jumped to 52.6% of all buyers, which is near pre-pandemic levels. What’s more interesting to me is the behavior related to fuel type:
Consumer migration across fuel types saw owners continuing to dispose of an ICE (internal combustion engine) in exchange for hybrid and electric powertrains (see figure 1). Loyalty to ICE was 97.6% in 2019 and has steadily fallen to 85.2% in 2024. Loyalty to electric and hybrid vehicles have both been on an upward trajectory since 2019 however electric vehicle loyalty in 2024 decreased slightly from 77.7% to 74.7%. Hybrid vehicle replacements jumped 5 pp from 2023 to 52% in 2024.
Hybrid owners are the least sticky, in part because many of them probably migrate to EVs, though more and more hybrid owners seem to be happy with their hybrids.
The other reason, of course, is that there are way more and better hybrid options for buyers than in the past.
Do People Plug In Their Plug-In Hybrids?
Most automakers with PHEVs probably have some idea of how often those consumers plug in their vehicles. They rarely, or maybe never, share this data with us. This is annoying. Is this a sign that PHEV buyers never plug in, as sometimes alleged? No. Automakers are just weird like that.
Thankfully, PlugShare did a large survey of Canadian buyers (n=16,041) that helps provide a clue. I didn’t see in here where they ask PHEV buyers specifically how much time they’re plugging in, but they did ask about how they charge. But they did ask where and how.
According to the survey, most PHEV charging (46%) happens at Level 1 at home, 39% happens at Level 2 at home, and about 16% happens anywhere else. Why would you have a Level 2 charger at your home and not use it? It makes little to no sense, so right there we can assume at least a third of Canadian PHEV owners charge at some level. Those who charge at a Level 1 at home are maybe not likely to charge all the time, but I still assume most probably do.
That last about 16% I’m a little more suspicious about, but this does make me think that most Canadian PHEV owners probably charge their PHEV most of the time. If I had to guess, I’d say about 75% of PHEV buyers use charging regularly.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
The new season of Shoresy is coming out, so I’m jamming to the Season 3 music this week. Here’s Art d’Ecco with “Serene Demon” and an enjoyable strange video.
The Big Question
Did taking away the V8 make you feel one way or another?
Top graphic image: Jay Leno’s Garage/YouTube
That flag comment rubs me the wrong way. I dislike “patriotism” wrapped up in comments about consumer items, especially those manufactured in a foreign country for a company based in yet another foreign country. Personally, I don’t care what engine comes in a Ram, it’s still a Ram and out of warranty I wouldn’t trust it as far as I could throw it.
A Ram midsize should be as easy as reskinning the Gladiator with a fixed roof body. There’s a discussion about this going on in an offroad group I belong to right now, with many saying the Gladiator is great as far as trails, but too noisy for long distance travel. A fixed steel roof and a little aero would fix that.
I have little brand loyalty. I’ve owned numerous GM vehicles, a Ford, a Jeep, a Volvo and currently own a Toyota. I don’t know what I’ll replace the 4Runner with, none of the new Toyota vehicles excite me, and they’re too spendy anyway. A Bronco would be good, but they’re too spendy even used. Even though I should definitely get something more commuter friendly, the thing I’m most interested in now is the 2018+ F150. Probably with the 2.7 TT V6.
Should they keep the Gladiator’s straight axle? I’m not sure if it makes much sense to keep it. The straight axle is a differentiator in the segment but what’s the advantage if you’re not doing Jeep stuff, and, if you are, why not buy the JT? It’d be nice if they could adapt the IFS from the 1500, easily.
I say yes, because the main reason I like the JT in the first place is the straight axle.
One of the main reasons I own a 4Runner and not a Wrangler is because as much as I wanted the solid axle, I didn’t want the noisy, drafty body. I’m not one who would often take the top or doors off, so that feature is more of an annoyance to me.
Same with the Bronco, my ideal Bronco would be a fixed roof version.
I think many people would be happy with a Gladiator with a quieter, more refined cab.
From a business standpoint though, yes, IFS probably makes more sense as far as comfort/handling go.
“Old man yelling at clouds” time:
I get the point Kuniskis is trying to make about the choice, and too many people are missing it because Kuniskis did a bad, uncouth job at making the point, at least in the provided quote. It’s not about a V8, it’s about the choice being taken away, and people afraid of that.
(Former and Future) President Trump basically made a whole campaign on telling everyone that the Other Side (being anyone not supporting Trump) was just going to take all your choices away. In the automotive realm, this manifests in the idea that the government is going to force you to buy and drive only EVs. People are mad about that, regardless of how true it is.
That same idea can be extended to engine choices. Yes, there are people who want the Hemi because of some machismo or unfound sense of nationality or populism, but there are also reasons not related to being a luddite to feel more comfortable with a tried-and-true engine, especially in a truck that could ostensibly be a work truck.
I don’t like the cut of Kuniskis’ jib based on what I’ve read of him. However the point is being lost because of overreactions (of which I’ve certainly been prone to in the past).
I said the same, only after you. As a buyer, I would rather NOT have forced induction in my work truck. I’d give up power for reliability and durability. I realize that doesn’t make good marketing copy.
My policy would start with; we will begin to discuss a better trade agreement the day after a newly elected leader of China exists.
Volvo is 100% a Chinese company.
…except abortion, access to cheap healthcare, etc… (sorry, could not help myself)
YES, I personally grieve the loss of the V8. It was a mistake to eliminate it so soon. I personally won’t miss it, but it was too soon. As with many of the logical decisions we have made as humans moving through time, the Democratic knee-jerk reaction to the first Trump administration was perhaps a bit too much, sometimes we need to correct for this to lessen the burden placed on us as a whole nation.
tldr; not everyone was ready to switch to EV’s just yet, nor should they have to (yet)
The weird part to me is how close we got to EVs (and hybrids of all stripes) being a good, almost default choice for many (most?) when buying a new car, to somehow feeling like we’ve regressed 25 years, and it’s all a performative act by hippies and lame environmentalists again.
But the loss of the V8 had nothing to do with EVs or hybrids, just being replaced with an I6, as far as I can tell?
I don’t give a f*** about trucks so I am just reading this as an outsider.
It absolutely did, just not directly. It’s a result of policy change that includes the EV mandates. The I6 is there to curb emissions. I’m sure they started developing the I6 long before any of this, but once the environmental decision was made, it certainly impacted the EOL of the V8.
Under fleet efficiency rules, more efficient ICE cars reduce the need to build EVs.
Fair, but you didn’t necessarily need one for a while either. If GM and Ford hadn’t had a midsize pickup in international markets to begin with, I doubt they would have bothered reentering the segment when they did. Had Fiat had their own entry elsewhere I’m sure it would have been in consideration at some point too. And the “big car cheap” strategy, selling a bigger product for the price of smaller ones from other manufacturers has often worked better for Chrysler, than one sized to the segment.
But they did/do. They’ve had a Ram 700 (similar unibody layout as the Santa Cruz) for a decade now in the South American market, and a fresh 1200/Rampage with decent reviews iirc dropped in the last year or two. It’s got more to do with the chicken tax and Ram not wanting to spend money bringing production here.
Keeping the Ram Classic as the “midsize placeholder” was a really poor excuse of a marketing strategy because it’s still a full size truck, most mid-size buyers opt specifically for the smaller SIZE, and it wasn’t priced much better than the 1500 work truck or the volume Big Horn trim anyway, and it was massively unconfigurable. And now they’re gonna be a decade and a half too late to the party unless they release one absolute knockout of a midsizer, but I don’t see them doing any better than the Ranger/Maverick or any other competitors.
I thought those might get brought up. The 700/Strada is too small and underpowered for American tastes. Just like GM wouldn’t have ever brought the Montana/Tornado over. These usually weren’t designed with US safety standards in mind either.
The Rampage would actually be a great product to bring, but it’s a segment below, not a midsize in the sense of the Tacoma/Ranger/etc. Close, sure, but it and the Maverick are within an inch or two of each other, and it’s automatically going to be lumped in with the Mav/SC in any comparison if it were to come here. That would still leave them with a gap between the two.
I actually hadn’t seen the latest Landtrek-based 1200, only the prior Mitsu Triton one – that would probably be the fastest way they would get one over here, but taxes, tariffs, and so on make it that a long shot as you say.
And all that to say – I do agree with you. Nowadays it’s clear that there’s a segment for the midsizers and people will opt for the smaller size. I myself wouldn’t buy a full size, but I would a midsize. But years ago Ford and GM weren’t dissimilar from Ram, trying to just sell the big trucks for less, in hopes of protecting those sales too. Domestic guys loved to joke about how the Honda Ridgeline got the same fuel mileage as a more capable half-ton or Tacoma prices being near the larger trucks.
The last year would have been a decent time for an entry too, with Toyota fumbling the Tacoma launch. A midsize pickup should be pretty low on the priority list for Chrysler at this point, when all their other product lines are withering away and they don’t even have a credible RAV4/etc competitor. I’d even say replacements for the Promaster vans (big and City) are higher priority. They had a good run with those, and in a way I’ve always thought of the the small cargo vans as standing in for smaller pickups in the fleet segment.
America has a real problem with worshiping a symbol and forgetting what it stands for. Combine that with this weird “buying something literally anyone can buy makes me a man” weirdness, and I don’t think this country can be unfunked.
Careful now, that kind of talk might get the squirrels riled up. ;D
I gave up on Twitter and then Mastodon and started using Fark.com again. The pace is more enjoyable.
Doughy suburb man conflates a non-issue with a national crisis to appeal to other doughy suburb men who also conflate non-issues with national crises: more at 11.
I’m just glad I held a firearm and walked around a very mountainous country for the freedom of upper middle class to consume with no regard for the collective future!
Like I get he’s trying to sell some trucks as the second coming of Washington crossing the Delaware. Just this time, Washington’s boat was made in the soon to be 51st state. And if you can built a comparable truck, you might as well appeal to Nationalism. But, honestly fuck him for this. Read the damn room right now. Groups of people are having their actual flag moved to endangered category. And freedom of choice, turns out is actually just a 6-3 decision away. Let’s stop conflating ownership of *big engine* to some inalienable right possessed by those willing to sacrifice 700 bucks a month for 72 months, while persons actual rights gets thrown out as cost of almighty culture war. Freedom of choice use to actually mean something deeper than the ability to consume. And his language, no mater how innocent moves continues to move the understand from that intention.
Or, I guess, Freedom was never free. But now it’s conveniently sitting down at your local Dodge dealer collecting dust. So, do one for America, get the Hemi and support those hardworking American jobs in Ontario.
Well said. I’m so sick of this nationalistic BS. That quote disturbed me in a way that I couldn’t immediately articulate, but you did.
I think consumerism is the last area in which Americans do have any actual freedom, when you think about it. On average, we get very little in the way of vacation time, parental leave is a joke, salaries are generally stagnant, and we’re told that it’s good and honorable to work yourself literally to death. The sad thing is that half the population actually supports these things, even if they’re directly harmed by them.
The only time people really start hollering about freedom is when they can no longer buy something that they were able to previously.
Sure, if the “hemi” wasn’t obsolete 20 years ago. Bad mpg and power is a poor choice.
Maybe if it was stupid cheap or mostly truck use, but it wasn’t. Instead private numbnuts paid %8 over 84months to enjoy having his car stolen.
Americans love freedom of choice more than anything. When you take away their freedom of choice and tell them ‘you must take this,’ they revolt. Whether it makes sense or not, it doesn’t matter. It’s anti-American, you’ve taken my flag away, f*** you. It doesn’t mean they are making an irrational decision, maybe they are, maybe they aren’t, I don’t know. But we as Americans, that’s what we do.”
Oh, you want to give Americans choices?
Well I’m as American as anyone and I want MOAR hyper efficient REXEV microvans! Of which the US market has exactly zero options. So how about you start cranking out 120 MPGE/60 MPG door sliders too? If you think you can get 60 mpg out of a V8 that’s fine but I’ll be OK with a V2 or whatever too.
“Did taking away the V8 make you feel one way or another?”
I’ve never owned one. I’ve rarely driven one. So no feels one way or the other except I prefer the world to shift to much quieter, more fuel efficient options. The GM V8s are probably the best of the bunch and they don’t seem to be going anywhere.
Oh and make them with manual transmissions as well as automatics because FREEDOM!
Y’all glossed right over the fact that, for the past 25+ years, the biggest, baddest engine you could get in a Dodge Ram or RAM truck has been a straight six… from Cummins.
Near as I can tell (when talking about 3/4 ton+ trucks) the Cummins straight six gets more love by far than the V-8 Diesel engines from GM or Ford.
LOL and that Hemi is still an iron block when everyone else switched to aluminum in the 90s
The one-off Hellephant was aluminum, but that didn’t seem to trickle down to their other Hemis yet
and look, dual spark plugs. That’s so cutting edge!
They could put literally anything in the engine bay of a new Ram and it’s still a shitty Ram.
Every brand that removes their V8s from their half-ton pickups loses me as a buyer when I buy my next one. This diehard Toyota guy is down to Ford, Chevrolet, or GMC, and even though I said years ago I’d never own a GM product, Ford going to a wet oil pump drive belt on the 5.0 has me checking out Sierras.
I remember when a 300ci I-6 was not only more than adequate for half-ton trucks, it was the most reliable choice.
I also remember when a half-ton truck was a half-ton truck, not a mini-Semi or a family sedan on stilts with a lid-less trunk.
There’s a reason a clean 300ci F150 will usually be priced higher than one with a 302, and that’s because people actually want the 300.
The all have their issues. With the GM’s you need to have the DOD tuned out, or eventually you’ll have lifter issues. Unless they fixed that on the new trucks, I don’t know. That aside, the GM trucks don’t really have anything special going for them. Still using leaf sprung rearends and steel bodies this will eventually rust out.
Despite the wet belt, the Ford 2.7L EB would be my top pick for a half ton engine.
GM switched to aluminum several years ago. The 2.7 EB was something I’d consider until Ford ruined it.
There are so many 2018+ 2.7 EB around with wet oil pump belts piling up the miles just fine. The 5.0 has had this setup for the last 4 years. It’ll be fine.
GM’s V8 has never been the same since they went with AFM/DFM in 2007. They might take you to 100K miles and beyond but they have also grenaded at less than 10K miles. There’s no real pattern there….
Oh please, Ford can’t even make a timing chain worth a damn. You think I’m going to trust a rubber belt soaked in oil? Screw that. I do enough Ford timing chains that I don’t even have to look up the torque specs anymore.
Good on you for sticking to your beliefs.
Yep. Wasn’t happy with the loss of the V-8. There should’ve been a choice. Ram buyers are not Toyota buyers. GMC to Toyota probably.
You’ve got choices. They’re called General Motors, Toyota, Ford,…
“Ram buyers are not Toyota buyers.”
Why not?
Go to some truck forums and ask them.
Isn’t this in part a truck forum?
Nope. This is a web magazine with public commentary.
Here’s a forum
https://dodgeforum.com/forum/dodge-ram-20/
Most Toyota owners are upset about losing the V8 too. (as well as the V6 in the smaller trucks)
Sales figures say otherwise, but I think Toyota should offer a V-8 as well.
If ‘Murrica needs “Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevrolet,” then RAM needs a Hemi.
I drive an EV. But it’s a “Murrican Mustang EV, not one named after a Yugoslavian inventor. I kid. I love Tesla s and Nikola Tesla was an American immigrant (as is Elon Musk). Which makes for a great American story on several levels. And Tesla s are excellent cars. But all of my friend’s drive Tesla’s and I wanted an EV with Mustang styling cues because I’ve always admired them and think the car looks great.
Point behind my rambling is that if you build a reputation on a great product, it’s silly to throw it away. I know what a Hemi is. A Stellantis, not so much. People pay attention to brands and marketing, especially when the brand was built on an outstanding product with an relatable identity.
Hey, why you hating on Rimac? 😛
I love the Croatian people. And the people who are headquartered along with Carlos Tavares in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Don’t look at me. That’s where Carlos Tavares said Stellantis headquarters are, presumably in a giant Pineapple under the sea.
And I can tell you, yes sir ee buddy Dogisbadob (?), the next time I’m in the market for a 2,000 hp electric supercar, I’m looking straight at Rimac and Croatia. Because they make the best ones. Even if Richard Hammond can’t handle it!
Baseball: English. Evolved from a game called “Rounders.”
Apple Pie: English and/or German. The way we think of it now is probably more the German way – a WHOLE LOT of Germans immigrated to the U.S. during the 19th century. The hateful comments about them were exactly the same kind of hateful comments (lazy, stupid, etc) that continue about the latest group of people seeking a better life from wherever they’re coming from.
Chevrolet: Swiss/French.
To lend some historical context to my celebration of cultural appropriation, Chevrolet, the car and truck maker, it was half a century ago, had a commercial with a song on the virtues of Baseball, hot dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet!
Somehow, I don’t think “Rounders” will ever sell any cars in the United States. Maybe not even in the UK.
I like apple pie. Who doesn’t? Mid-20th century, yeah, Americans were saying some hateful things about Germans. 19th century? Probably enjoying some hot German apple pie. And still are.
Admittedly, the Chevrolet brothers didn’t benefit financially as well as they might have, but we remember these famous racing engineers. Arthur, in particular, lived an unhappy latter part of his life. He is said to have taken his own life after a series of personal and professionals set backs. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Louisiana, though the Indianapolis Motor Speedway created a marker for him next to his brothers, Gaston, the 1920 Indy 500 Winner, and Louis, in Indiana.
And finally, if you are arguing against “cultural appropriation,” it’s what humans do. Otherwise we’d all be stuck in the stone age, afraid to take an idea and make it better.
Also, to get back to the point of the article, people enjoy rooting for the home team. It doesn’t mean they hate the other teams. It helps us focus. We pick favorites. I suppose a social scientist of some sort could tell us why. Some of us identify with American made Dodge (or Chrysler, Plymouth or Ram) Hemis and it moves the metal. It’s not hateful. It’s marketing!
Yes, I am aware of the ad campaign – I have a vestigial podcast episode half done about it from years back.
I also included hot dogs, which are definitely German. Well, Viennese.
I wasn’t talking 20th century, but mid to late 19th century, the 1800s, the Germans were NOT considered the society of precision-enthusiast engineers that they are now.
Not arguing against cultural appropriation – we assimilate. I never would have learned “bling-bling” if it wasn’t for that.
I just find the phrase you used humorous. “As American as these things that aren’t from America,” which, of course, is the most American thing ever.
I gotta be honest with ya, with how good engine tech is now I’m not sure how much sense V8s make anymore in anything other than the most top-level, ostensibly track-focused specials or exotic valet impressers. And I say this as a guy who owns three V8s and loves them all.
Dad and I went to Bakersfield for the March Meet last year, I rented a Nissan or whatever was cheap. At the counter the lady says well I’m gonna give you a Mustang. Okay, sweet. First time I punched it I was convinced it was a V8, at the hotel I popped the hood to check for sure. It was the turbo four. We drove that thing around the area for two days, I kept putting my foot in it, having a grand ol’ time. I could not believe a four pulls like that, but that’s only because I rarely get to drive new cars and am apparently out of touch with what they can do now.
I’m sure the six is fine for the Ram truck in 99% of most use cases. I’m also sure Ram will lose some sales for not having a V8. Vehicle purchase decisions are not rational things.
Some people like V8 and some people like Clamato… er, I mean, some people like V8s and others like turbo 4s, just like some people like NASCAR and others like F1. Both are entertaining in their own ways and it’s great that both exist.
Anyone subtly including Clamato into their comment wins COTD from me.
It’s the preferred accompaniment to a hearty stick of khlav kalash.
Agreed. Nothing is more American than Hemi Chargers and Challengers built in the great American state of Ontario.
Ontario. Soon to be State 51.
Governor Trudeau may be out of a job soon though.
Need to split off Southern Ontario from real Canada and pack into a separate state with the urban areas in Quebec.
Peter Vieira‘s 2012 Mustang GT with 412hp Coyote V8 getting close to 30mpg. highway speaks to me soulfully. The fact that a lot of modern engines, regardless of configuration, have dubious reliability is unacceptable. Historically, strait 6s were among the most reliable, but modern ones seem plagued with Achilles’s heels. Why manufacturers risk recalls, reputation, and brand loyalty for today’s cost cutting, is beyond me.
Um, in the 80’s our shop used to do about a valve job a day. Today our engine parts stock is so small I wonder why we bother, in fact most aftermarket suppliers have gotten out of the business. You don’t even replace spark plugs until 100,000 miles anymore. Maybe our definition of “reliable” has changed.
Though I’m too young to remember the days of 3000 mile tune ups, owning an old Beetle makes me very aware of how much more reliable cars are now. Air-cooled VWs were, from what I understand, generally perceived as reliable. But you still had to check the valves, timing, point gap, and carb along with changing the oil every 3k miles. You even had to adjust the fan belt tension yourself. My fiancee has a 2018 Mazda3 with over 80k miles on it. It has literally not needed a single thing besides oil changes and cabin/engine air filters. It’s still on its first set of brake pads. Whenever I hear people say “they don’t make them like they used to” I always respond with, “thank God!” (And I’m not even getting into improved safety and corrosion resistance).
Reliability has changed. My first car was a 1969 Galaxie 500 my Grandmother bought new. I got it at 16 years old (both of us) the windows did not roll down, but that was ok they came out of the door and sat in the back seat if I needed an open window. radio did not work. I did plugs, points, condenser, cap, and rotor every year, starter, belts and hoses every other year. I have intentionally forgotten every thing else that went wrong nearly constantly.
I tend to look for the best from 7-14 years prior, at the bottom of depreciation. I don’t know how you got the impression I was talking about 40 plus years ago.
I didn’t get that impression, but I figured you could extrapolate a curve from then until now.
If it was logical, incremental improvements on proven tech. yes. But replacing for example a $27 belt driven water pump with a $500 plus sealed electric unit (BMW), no.
I think the ‘issue’ is more that yesterday’s rock solid engines do not meet today’s emission/fuel standards, so much more complicated tech/design is required, which takes years to ‘shake out’.
Today’s engines are producing numbers that would have been unimaginable in the 70s/80s.
Risk is an operating cost. You factor it in. The alternative is making less money, and rich people become murderous when you even think of making less money.
Incentives Need more scrutiny. If you dangle a $100k plus bonus to a manager if they can trim X dollars per unit from production, they sure as shit will. The end result can include expensive recalls, or class action that will far exceed any short term gain, but may not be realized until the decision maker is gone.
On the V8s, I definitely didn’t understand it, Dodge/Ram’s entire image was V8s, and they went from 2 cars and several trucks with it to almost none in a couple of years, kind of bizarre. Even the cars they could do like the Mustang and just tack on the emissions charge and keep selling them.
On the PHEVs, when we had our Volt I plugged that thing in every night(level 1) religiously, like charging my phone, especially since no added on registration fee at the time it was like getting free money to use electric instead of gas. I think Chevy did a decent job tracking Volt electric stats early on and a lot of owners were using them as intended. I think a large group of buyers getting PHEVs and not plugging them in because they ‘don’t understand’ is a bit of a myth. I can see some getting them and treating like a regular hybrid, maybe because they got a deal and there are no regular hybrid options, but this is a major purchase, a cursory level of research is generally done.
I hear you, “but Volt owners were largely differently than Wrangler 4xe owners,” according to the skeptics. Without data, that’s hard to disprove.
It will be really interesting as better PHEVs/EREVs enter the U.S. market starting with model year 2026 (due to CARB’s “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule which encourages more PHEVs as long as they are “punch it!” type PHEVs with a 50 mile range).
In other words, if the PHEV is so good on electric mode (smoother, faster, quieter, cheaper, etc.), owners will naturally want to plug them in.
I wouldn’t be so sure, the difference in economy on a 4xe is way different when in phev vs hybrid mode, I think drained battery hybrid mode it gets worse economy than the regular 4 cylinder Wrangler, so would think the average user would catch on pretty quick that the magic plug = $$, could be wrong but look at Jeep guy David Tracy and his i3.
Completely agree. I’m a Jeep guy and would love to see the data on how often 4xe owners plug in, especially the Wrangler 4xe ones.
That’s my thoughts on the V8. Honestly I dig the idea of a I6tt for a truck as long as they built the block to be indestructible. Increased torque from the turbos is great for towing. Increased HP from the turbos has given it excellent performance. And tunability should be massive given there’s an appetite for the aftermarket.
But I’m baffled they would not have phased out the HEMI vs going cold turkey seeing as the HEMI/V8 has been their literally entire brand identity long enough that kids born the first time John Reep asked “that thing got a HEMI?” can legally drink. They absolutely should’ve followed Ford & GMs lead and given multiple engine offerings for a while. Pass the cost to buy carbon credits to the ones still demanding to buy the V8’s.
It makes me happy to find out there’s a new season of Shoresy coming out. Such a stupid but likeable show. Autopian: It’s where to get your entertainment news.
(Edited for spelling)
Yeah, the choice argument really makes sense, especially in the truck segment. That’s not to say keeping a v8 option would have been cheap and only an idiot would have decided to drop it. It certainly looks idiotic to most of us, particularly when coupled with all the other poor management decisions regarding the mopar brands over the last number of years. BUT don’t underestimate the investment that would have been required to update the hemi for continued emissions compliance, or that it’s possible a whole new v8 engine architecture would have been required.
Make the V8 the high end special option. That way it’s still there and the higher price can cover the emissions penalties while most people buy the less-cylindered options.
I am starting my ‘new year gym schedule’ today. Mostly because I am out of beer and have to go to town. HEALTH!
No, dropping the V-8 from the RAM lineup did not make me feel anything. The minute anyone starts waving the flag over anything that isn’t a threat to our constitution, I tune them out. I regularly complain in this forum about vanishing manual transmissions, coupes, hot hatches, small trucks, and cars you can see out of, but these are irritations and not existential or constitutional crises and definitely not worthy of elevation to such levels. The inflation of every personal grievance into a national emergency is one of the most divisive factors of our current fractured culture. You like the Hemi, fine, the country’s not falling apart because you can’t get a new one. I’m with Samual Johnson on this: Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. He meant false patriotism, which Mr. Kuniskis’ hyperbolic silliness surely is.
I love this response so much I unsmilied it so I could smiley it again.
Agreed, acting like a decision some company makes is an insult to your country or your manliness or whatever is ridiculous and should be mocked.