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
Tim said what he needed to say. It’s good marketing and it was a smart move on his part to rally the troops. President Thomas J. Whitmore approves.
“Do People Plug In Their Plug-In Hybrids?”
If you have a plug in hybrid, it would be stupid not to plug it in at places you can charge for free or at a low rate.
Thus, I plug in my C-Max Energi all the time at home at off-peak rate periods. I also plug in for free at places like my local Ikea when I go there for whatever.
“Did taking away the V8 make you feel one way or another?”
I don’t feel strongly about it, but I do think it was a mistake. I think they should have kept at least the 6.4L Hemi as an option for their trucks and large cars.
Instead of trying to meet their fuel economy numbers by killing that engine, they should instead offer a variant of the 4XE hybrid powertrain on the lower end trucks and make a heavier duty 6 cyl hybrid for the heavier duty trucks.
OR for the heavier duty hybrids, have the 4cyl 4.5L version of the 6 cyl Cummins they use on the heavy duty trucks… but have it as part of a hybrid setup. And that powertrain already exists and is in use in this vehicle:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Routemaster
He’s right.
Personally have not driven a V8 since probably high school, when an old 1966 Pontiac Lemans was the extra family car that the newly minted driver could ferry around the younger siblings in. Unlikely to ever buy one myself, so don’t really care about it being an option from Stellantis.
I think a good point has already been made here that perhaps the Kuniskis statement is just him sayng what he believes the likely customers for such a vehicle want to hear. I think it’s a silly way to say it (also already well commented on here), but maybe he figures he can translate such an attitude and public statement into dollars for his company.
I mean, from the half-tons? Kinda, since Hemi’s are great at generating parts sales. Besides that though, no. The Hurricane is far better in every regard, it just needs boost to do it.
As Tim pretty much said, Ram’s biggest issue is one they’ve had since 1979: they don’t do choices. They always had three choices of engine, while Ford and GM eventually expanded their options.
In 2026/2027, that’ll change when they have the 3.6, two Hurricanes, the Ramcharger Hybrid, and the REV. They’ll finally have 5 different options.
Personally I think the engine lineup should look like this:
-Two Hurricanes
-Ramcharger hybrid
-entry level 4 cyl hybrid that is derived from the Jeep 4XE hybrid system
-6.4L Hemi V8.
-REV electric powertrain.
I agree they should drop the 3.6. But a better replacement is a derivative of the 4 cyl hybrid they already have in use. Plus it will do more for their CAFE numbers than a turbo 5 cyl.
And in the Stellantis world, a DOHC V8 would be a low volume specialty engine used by Ferrari and Maserati… which they already have:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_F154_engine#Ferrari
For Dodge Ram trucks, they should just keep selling the existing 6.4L Hemi until they can’t for emissions or demand reasons.
EDIT: I find it interesting that the new Ramcharger hybrid uses the 3.6L V6 and not the 6 cyl Hurricane engine and that the engine itself only puts out a peak of 170hp.
EDIT#2: Maybe it might make more sense to have the entry level hybrid to just be a version of the Ramcharger hybrid with 1 motor/RWD and less battery capacity.
The new administration probably isn’t gonna change a thing about the Chinese car ban. That’s one thing Trump and Biden definitely agree on. I’m thinking Trump might make it even stricter and force GM and Volvo to move their factories here.
As for the v8, I agree that freedom of choice is typically an American thing, but he straight up said it can’t come back right now. Really he’s just trying to placate the mopar crowd until they can figure something out. I miss the v8 but I think they need to develop a better Hemi if they want to use it again.
It’s downright un-Autopian to take away manual transmissions.
FIFY
What a clown.
I traded my Gladiator for a Ram 1500. I specifically bought a lightly used CPO model for the 5.7 Hemi- I tow a lot and after using the Gladiator to tow for 18 months, I was non-negotiable on a V8 for towing.
I also happen to own a PHEV. X5 45e. Last fill up interval was 11/10/24-1/8/2025. 1453 miles, 1012 of them electric. Computer said average mpg was 87. It is charged daily with a L2 charger in my garage.
You’ve got the best of both worlds with the much prettier X5 vs the hideous iX.
Is Chrysler trying to set the record for being the last manufacturer to make a mass produced iron block v8?
This seems like a “look over there” response to a valid criticism.
GM shows no signs of abandoning the small block v8.
Well I feel foolish, I thought the L8T was aluminum and it’s not.
The Ford Godzilla 7.3L V8 is also an iron block engine.
I expect the 5.0/5.2 will live longer but aluminum isn’t luddite enough for a certain crowd.
How are you drawing these conclusions based solely on data about where people charge? There’s no “I don’t charge” option presented (unless that falls under “Other”) so all this tells you is 39% of people have access to L2 charging at home, 46% only have L1.* For all we know, these numbers represent plugging in exactly once and then driving 100000 miles on gas. Or maybe that 101% (since that’s what the numbers add up to) are charging their PHEVs. I don’t think either of those are true, but my point is both extremes are supportable with the minimal data we have here.
*: Actually, I think that’s not exactly true either, but it’s a reasonable ballpark based on these numbers.
Regarding the Kuniskis quote, I find the lack of reading comprehension here a little disturbing. He never said he was pissed about it, he said their buyers were, and given y’all’s low opinion of truck buyers I’d think you’d all be violently agreeing with him. Instead, there are a bunch of people dunking on him for, I guess, accurately stating the attitude of a big chunk of the truck-buying market. Hell, even Ford, who are as all-in on turbo 6’s as anyone, kept their V8 around because they knew people wanted it.
Then again, I don’t have high expectations of the discourse about trucks on this site. It’s mostly juvenile “Hehe, little penis” jokes ad nauseum, which I’m sure were funny the first dozen times they were made and significantly less so for the past billion.
“Because it says “f***” we’ll have to make some guesses as to what he said there. Funk you? Fark you? Fail you?”
Probably just a typo, it was actually “c***” as in “cark it at a mate’s farm.”
When Laurence wrote that, I legit believed “at a mate’s farm” was part of the phrase. Like “my dad carked it at a mate’s farm” to mean my dad died, no matter where it happened.
Just to calrify-
“we’ll have to make some guesses as to what he said there. Funk you? Fark you? Fail you?”
It’s FRAK YOU MOTHERFRAKER.
I don’t personally care that much, but I do think dropping the V8 was not a smart business move right now, not prudent at this juncture, assuming the primary goal of Stellantis North America is to make money in North America
I also generally don’t like the idea of replacing naturally aspirated engines with smaller turbo engines. I do really like straight sixes, and own one currently, but I don’t know that I want a twin turbo one. At least not for a long term ownership prospect
I have a Hemi in my RAM and I would gladly take the V6 if it has equal or better dependability. It remains to be seen if it will crack exhaust manifolds like the Hemi does (mine were both cracked already at 30,000 miles, and I’m hoping I can get one more set during my powertrain warranty.) Having the V8 did set them apart, and in the real world, I don’t think it got any worse mileage when towing (which is the primary reason I have a truck).
Also, I charge our PHEV every day at home, and we have for the 7+ years we’ve owned a PHEV. We have Level 2, but honestly Level 1 is fine for most to get a full charge overnight.
Ever since 2014, any Chrysler 6 cylinder with an exhaust manifold has been a diesel, whether or not it’s an EcoDiesel or Cummins.
The Pentastar V6 and the Hurricane Straight 6 have their exhaust ports directly in the head, and the cats/turbos then bolt to the head.
The dependability though, time will definitely tell.
” Is this a sign that PHEV buyers never plug in, as sometimes alleged? ”
My friend’s mom owned a late model Hyundai Ioniq PHEV for a brief time. She purchased it based on the positive comments from friends and family about their Hybrids. What she didn’t know was all those Hybrids were not plug-in vehicles so she thought her Hyundai worked the same way.
She traded it in fast and wouldn’t recommend Hyundai Hybrids because the EV-only mode on hers never kicked-in. No wonder why…..
I bought the regular hybrid Ioniq specifically because I doubted I’d plug the PHEV one in, and also because most of my trips with it are long distance highway, so the plug in version wouldn’t be running in EV mode much of the time anyway
I have V8s, inline sixes, flat fours, inline fours, a flat six, and an EV. I like them all for different reasons and losing one option would make me sad because we would lose the opportunity for that experience.
Reading his quote, I think people are getting hung up on the V8 part of the debate.
That’s not what he’s talking about in the sense of being “Un-American,” at all.
He’s saying the CHOICE (or lack thereof) is the issue.
Not sure I agree with it, but he’s saying that having lots of choices and the freedom to exercise them is fundamentally American.
Anyway – just a guy trying to point out the nuance so we don’t lose our minds over engine architecture as a proxy for identity and personhood.
Oops, too late.
The “When you […] tell them ‘you must take this,’ they revolt” part is definitely true. Far too many people seem to just want to be contrarian because…. well I don’t know why. My armchair psychology degree says it’s because they think they’re rebels or some dumb thing. Lots of people grow out of that phase after high school, but not enough.
We are wired to say “no” because it’s a less vulnerable position to be in.
But also, people will generally accept a single configuration of something if you explain it to them well enough. Lead with the benefits to THEM, not the details and features.
As in: “We love the hemi as much as you do, but we bet you like money more. This new Hurricane six saves you dollars on fuel without any power deficit.”
(Conveniently don’t mention that a new car payment is UNGODLY expensive, especially for a $70K pickemup.)
For me, I react negatively to being told, “You must take this.” because I don’t like change. It bothers me, especially if it feels like I’m being told to take something inferior. I know there’s not necessarily anything inferior about the straight 6 vs the hemi, but if I’m used to the hemi and I like the way it works, I don’t want to change it just because I’m being told the straight 6 is better. In fact, it makes me suspicious that they’re lopping off two cylinders to screw me over. I’m only getting 75% as much for my money. Add in the increased complexity of the new system, and I’m afraid that it’s just going to have problems, so I’m even more frustrated that things are changing.
Rationally, this is a poor argument, but it still holds true a lot of the time. It’s not about defining who I am or being contrarian.
Valid points. Despite having a Grand Cherokee 4xe in the stable, I prefer simpler vehicles for the longevity factor, though, to be honest, I’ve had a lot of turbo cars that didn’t have any turbo-specific issues (other than leaking oil returns).
The 5.7 Hemi wasn’t a powerhouse, anyway.
The entire country was born from the mentality of “Can’t tell me what to do!” For better or worse, that’s never going to go away.
Women in red states would like a word about losing choices and personhood.
Consumerism wrapped in the flag of brash patriotism is an appalling indictment of modernity. It’s not just an America thing either.
A machine is a machine. One can like the machine for what it is, but as a marker of patriotic identity? Machines can represent a facet of national pride and technological triumph (Think of the Apollo spacecraft, or the Concorde), but patriotic identity is so much more.
Kuniskis just wants your money. A shame he’s crass and crude about playing to the crowd for that.
The United States, its people, its flag, and what that represents are so much more than an engine layout.
Agreed.
If only we could teach people/companies/car dealers how to place their flags at half-mast for a few weeks (not required, but a respectful thing to do if you own a flagpole) for a real American (submarine lieutenant!) who cared more about people than his bank account.
I’ll miss V-8s, but times change. There are also no more flatheads, slant sixes, or flat sixes in anything less than $100k. It’s a tool or a toy, not a religion. I’ll get over it.
The V8 question made me think, out of the 24 cars I’ve owned, only one of them had a V8, and old box Caprice. Most were four cylinders, with a handful of V and inline 6 cylinders, and one inline 5 Cylinder.
The two pickups I’ve owned both had 6 cylinders, and I’m not in the market for another truck, so; no I don’t care that they dropped the Hemi V8…..
Weren’t Inline Sixes like an absolute staple in cars and especially pickup trucks for decades? I’d venture to say they are just as ‘Merican as any V8 engine. And Hemi
iswas a combustion chamber shape and now is just a marketing term. You can have a Hemi V6 or I3 or I5 or V2 or whatever the fuck you want. Hurricane is a stupid name because it sounds windy which is generally a sound you don’t want in your vehicles. They should have gone with something like Hemi Super Six Ballistic Piston Erection Engine so that paunchy, insecure men can feel tough and strong and dominant.“the 1500 has been too short of supply to make any conclusions about comparative powertrain sales.”
Fucking WHat?!?
I just checked Autotrader and there are 908(!) brand new RAM 1500s for sale within a 50 mile radius of me.
Yeah, that makes no sense to me. I wonder if there is some context or parameter to which he was referring that is not visible to us.
I think they mean sales have been in too short of existence
What sales?
Tim Kuniskis AND Shorsey are back? 2025 is only 2 weeks old but man am I here for it
Yes, it was…V8 and gasoline forever!