The new Jeep Compass, based on STLA Medium, has started production in Italy at Fiat’s big Melfi plant. The Compass has electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid variants, at least one of which has all wheel drive: The drag coefficient is 0.29, similar to the 1995 Neon. Ground clearance is higher, though, at “over 200 mm” …
Stellantis announced that it will work with Nvidia, Uber, and Foxconn to explore joint creation and use of driverless robotaxis. It had previously agreed with Pony.ai to test autonomous cars in Europe. The collaboration will use Stellantis’ AV-ready K0 Medium Size Van and STLA Small with the Nvidia Drive AGX Hyperion 10 architecture. This includes …
Ford has been dominating recall lists all year, and continues to do so this week, though without their trademark “may cause fire.” Stellantis’ recalls were relatively minor, with 2023-25 Wrangler 4xes suffering from loss of drive power due to an over-the-air software update, fixable through another update. 2024-25 Fiat 500E headlights might have been misadjusted at …
The Toledo Jeep complex, which makes all the world’s Wranglers and Gladiators, is on “emergency” status with employees working mandatory ten-hour shifts six to seven days per week. One employee interviewed by WTOL Channel 11 said that he had worked three and a half weeks straight, including Saturdays and Sundays, ten hours per day. The …
When electric cars started moving into the mainstream, the auto industry and governments decided to create a replacement for gas mileage, dubbed mpge, to calculate corporate average fuel economy. The Canadian government has issued its ratings for the 2026 Dodge Charger Daytona lineup; at this point, the gasoline-powered Dodge Charger Sixpack series has yet to …
This week saw three new sets of guest insights on Motales, starting with photography of Trenton Engine’s 2025 Family Day celebration. The doors of many Chrysler factories were thrown open this year for the return of family days, as if to celebrate the more sensible reign of Antonio Filosa. A few former dealership staffers weighed …
All modern automatic Dodge Darts are being recalled, including those which were previously recalled for the same problem, because the shifter cable can fail. When that happens, the car may end up in Neutral instead of Park, and can then roll away and crash. Owners should make sure the parking brake works, then use it …
Today, Mary Barra, head of General Motors, announced that the company had taken steps to reduce the impact of import taxes (tariffs), and believed it would earn around $10 per share of stock for 2025. The tariffs are expected to cost the company $3.5 to $4.0 billion, not including new investments meant to counter them. …