Motor News

Dodge will reveal its final “Last Call” special edition in Las Vegas on March 20.In anticipation, we speculate about what it could be: How about something with 1000 hp?For those who forget, the “Last Call” editions are send-offs to the outgoing gas-burning Charger and Challenger.It’s no secret that Dodge has one final “Last Call” car on the way—the company has been teasing it ever since the seven-part series started with the Shakedown Challenger last August. Well, strap in, because Dodge will finally reveal the eagerly anticipated machine in Las Vegas on March 20.Hellephant? Hella Yes!Since twiddling our thumbs is boring, we decided to dust off our usually dormant thinking caps to brainstorm what to possibly expect from the final “Last Call” car. Dodge won’t spoil the surprise by confirming if the last one will be based on the Charger or the Challenger (or maybe both), but the evidence suggests the latter is more likely. Mopar Hellephant 426 supercharged crate Hemi engine.DodgeProjecting what goodies the last “Last Call” Dodge has in store, we see one of two eventualities playing out. One we think (and hope) could happen is a Charger or Challenger packing the 1000-horsepower leviathan that is the Hellephant crate engine. Of course, achieving the reliability standards needed for a production product, even for a limited-run product, may be proving difficult. Flex Fuel in Its Future?The other potential powertrain involves E85 flex fuel and upwards of 909 horsepower. Road & Track has been speculating since July that Dodge is planning to give a Challenger a V-8 with that much horsepower by using E85. It could also better explain why Dodge has had to delay the car for so long. It was originally supposed to show the final “Last Call” model in October at SEMA 2022. Dodge ultimately scrapped that plan after seven engines exploded during durability testing. “So far, we’ve grenaded seven engines,” Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis told reporters, as quoted by R&T, during a background event leading up to SEMA. The Dodge Charger King Daytona and Black Ghost Challenger “Last Call” models both feature a boost in performance. Each ups the power to a Jailbreak-matching 807 horsepower. The pairing is based on the widebody Charger and Challenger’s 797-hp Hellcat Redeye models, with an additional 10 ponies added to the mix. The other four of the previously announced special editions are essentially just visual packages being sold in limited quantities, but Dodge promises the last will be something special.Other “Last Call” CarsA New Demon Crate? Kuniskis explained that it is easy to produce more power with the Hemi setup, hence the King Daytona and Black Ghost each earning 10 horsepower. However, upping power by too much brings issues. “When you take a Hellcat and you want to add more horsepower in street trim, you know for a daily driver or a car you take to the track, you know street and strip, or quite frankly even for Direct Connection, it’s very, very easy to do. Unfortunately, when I sell it as a commemorative edition, I’ve got to put it through the final production duty cycles,” said Kuniskis. DodgeDelays aside, it would be great to see Dodge offer more than simply a power boost. Something akin to the $1 Demon Crate from 2018 with its hydraulic floor jack, impact wrench, torque wrench, tire-pressure gauge, fender cover, and matching skinny front wheels designed for the drag strip. Another car capable of wheelies is a reasonable ask in 2023, right? Either that or something with between 909 and 1000 horsepower will satisfy us.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Subaru has announced a recall for 1182 units of its 2023 Solterra SUV over the same darn wheel hub bolt issue that plagued the company’s first all-electric vehicle last year.Subaru and Toyota developed the Solterra and the Toyota version of the EV, called the bZ4x, together. Only Solterras are affected this time around because the problems were caused by contractor teams who only worked on the Subaru models.If you have an affected Solterra, Subaru said you should not drive it. Instead, call your local Subaru dealer to have it towed and repaired at no cost to the owner.Subaru has issued a recall for more than 1000 model year 2023 Solterra SUVs over a hub bolt issue that the automaker supposedly fixed last year. The all-electric SUVs were repaired—sorry, were supposed to have been repaired—alongside hundreds of Toyota bZ4X EVs. Toyota and Subaru developed these vehicles together, which ended up visually different and mechanically similar.Before too many bZ4X EVs were sold (258, to be exact), Toyota issued a recall over the possibility that the wheels could fall off. Subaru did the same for the Solterra, but at that time, none had been delivered to customers. Details, Specs, BackstoryThe two automakers developed a repair remedy that involved updating the wheels and replacing the hub bolts with a new hub-bolt-with-washer design.That’s usually the end of the story as far as recalls go. But late last week, Subaru announced that the repair work on some of the Solterras hadn’t been completed correctly. Subaru said it knows the affected vehicles came through one of two port locations and that the teams the company contracted to do the work “did not properly complete the repair procedure resulting in the potential for significantly undertorqued bolts.”Subaru didn’t say how many vehicles were worked on by the specific teams, but “out of an abundance of caution, Subaru is recalling all vehicles repaired at all port locations supported by the third-party contractor.” That means that a total of 1182 Solterras are being recalled. Subaru said that Solterra vehicles without the original hub bolt concern and vehicles repaired at other facilities are not affected. For the record, through the end of January, Solterra had sold a total of 1418 Solterras.The fix, as it was before, sounds easy enough. First off, Subaru said no one should drive an affected Solterra because, again, there’s a chance the wheels could come loose or fall off. Instead, Solterra owners should call their local dealer to have it towed in and inspected and, if necessary, to have the hub bolts retorqued to the correct specification. The towing and repair costs will not be the responsibility of the customer. Owners can look up their Solterra’s VIN to see if it is included in the recall by visiting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recalls website or by calling the Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888–327–4236.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

The Wienermobiles, a fleet of six cars shaped like hot dogs meant to promote Oscar Mayer and a bona fide American treasure, are built from some combination of an Isuzu truck chassis and components from a surprising collection of great cars. They are largely trucks underneath, which means they have catalytic converters. That means even the Wienermobile is not safe from the ongoing rash of catalytic converter thefts.You’ve Always WonderedOne Wienermobile was in Las Vegas earlier this week when its catalytic converter was reportedly cut out from underneath it. Fox 5 Vegas says the theft happened on Friday, briefly delaying the hot-dog-shaped icon from completing its important duties touring the Las Vegas valley. A temporary emergency repair was made to seal where the converter had been cut out, allowing the Wienermobile to continue on its way.Catalytic converter theft has been a hot topic in recent years. The rare metals in the devices are worth big money, and a recent spike in the values of palladium, rhodium, and platinum has led to an overwhelming increase in the thefts since 2019. One ring busted in November of last year was accused of handling tens of millions in rare metals from catalytic converters. We’ve Got All the Answers on Catalytic ConvertersSome manufacturers offer countermeasures, like the $140 theft guard option available on the upcoming Prius, but Oscar Mayer seemingly did not equip the Wienermobile with that level of protection. That likely made it an easy target for a thief who wanted to quickly turn around the rare metals in the device, but it is technically possible that the thief just owns a hot-dog-shaped truck that needed a very specific part to get back on the road. More

Ford has announced it will open a plant in Marshall, Michigan, specifically to produce lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries for future electric vehicles.Offering this second battery chemistry in addition to nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries will allow the automaker to boost EV production and lower costs.Ford will partner with China’s CATL to offer the lithium-iron-phosphate cells—first buying them, then starting in 2026 building them in Michigan—in the Mach-E and F-150 Lightning, then other EVs Ford announced this afternoon that it will offer a second type of battery chemistry, known as lithium-iron-phosphate or LFP, in two electric vehicles now on sale. The LFP battery packs will become standard on the Select base trim of Mustang Mach-E electric crossover this year, and the base XLT version of the F-150 Lightning full-size pickup truck next year, as Ford announced last July.The company has now announced it will build a dedicated battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, to produce LFP cells starting in 2026, at a cost of $3.5 billion. That plant will use technology licensed from the world’s highest-volume cell maker, Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) in China. Until that plant comes online, Ford will buy cells directly from CATL to use in the base models of those two EVs and others.FordNew Battery, Same RangeUsing a second battery type lets the company boost production of EVs more quickly, and it will also lower the cost of batteries to make EVs more affordable to more buyers, said Lisa Drake, vice president of EV industrialization for Ford Model E, its EV unit. The company expects to be building EVs at a rate of 600,000 a year by the end of this year, and two million a year by the end of 2026. Consumers won’t immediately see much difference in the base Mach-E and F-150 Lightning models with the new battery. Both models will retain the same EPA-rated range, according to Marin Gjaja, chief customer officer for Ford Model E. For the Mach-E Select, that’s 224 miles combined; for the F-150 Lightning XLT with rear-wheel drive, it’s 230 miles. Other versions of both models will stick with their current nickel-cobalt-manganese cells, provided by Korean firm SK Innovation.More EV IntelligenceLFP cells have at least one advantage: they take readily to full recharging from 0 to 100 percent, letting drivers use the entire range of those batteries and then fast-charge them fully with confidence. Ford’s anonymized user data suggests the average Mach-E covers 32 miles a day, with an average trip length of 5 miles—although U.S. buyers frequently ignore average use and buy for their most extreme use case.Car and DriverMore challenging is the lower performance of LFP cells in cold weather. Ford notes 89 percent of F-150 Lightning trips and 95 percent of Mach-E trips started in ambient temperatures above freezing. This suggests that the LFP cells in the base models of each EV may be better suited to Sun Belt buyers than those in states that get snowfall—perhaps including its home state of Michigan.Big Cash on the HorizonIt’s too early to say anything about the new batteries’ effect on base EV prices, said Gjaja, but their use of commonly available substances—iron and phosphate—insulates the cells from the rising costs of cobalt, nickel, and manganese metals used in EV batteries to date. “Adding large-scale LFP to the mix will be important for Ford and other OEMs because the critical minerals are so much more readily available compared to nickel-rich chemistries,” explained Sam Abuelsamid, principal e-mobility analyst at Guidehouse Insights. “Expanding production of nickel and cobalt for the sort of vehicle production these companies are targeting just isn’t realistic by 2030.”Even more important, though, a provision of the federal Inflation Reduction Act signed last year funds 10 years of production credits for manufacturing battery cells in the U.S. from materials sourced from a limited list of countries. Called Section 45X, its subsidies of up to $45 per kilowatt-hour are expected to make U.S.-built EV batteries so cheap that large swaths of Western cell and battery manufacturing will rush to locate in North America. Asked if she expected the planned LFP plant in Michigan to qualify fully for those incentives, Ford’s Drake answered in one word: “Absolutely!”The China IssueLicensing battery technology from a Chinese company carries notable political risk. That’s especially true at the moment: Last month, Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin ended his state’s effort to land the Ford cell plant now slated for Michigan. His administration had previously characterized the plant as a “front” for the Chinese Communist Party.But tight supplies of other battery metals and its goal of 2 million EVs a year by 2026 seemingly left Ford no other option. In the words of old China hand Michael Dunne, CEO of the consulting firm ZoZo Go: “Ford has declared it’s going to the LFP dance, and it needs a date. The only dates available come from China: either CATL or BYD. “It’s a reality check on where Ford and the nascent U.S. electric-vehicle industry is today,” Dunne added. “They can’t get LFP technology without China.”A Ford subsidiary will build and operate the Marshall battery plant and license the CATL technology, with a planned annual production of 35 gigawatt-hours at full capacity, or enough for 400,000 EVs a year. That suggests that the plant might supply 20 percent of Ford’s 2026 EV production, though continued purchases of LFP cells could raise that percentage higher. Establishing a separate company to build batteries echoes previous arrangements between General Motors and Korean cell maker LG Energy Solutions for two cell plants announced in prior years. Prototype cells are now emerging from the first, in Warren, Michigan; production should start at the second, in Spring Hill, Tennessee, by the end of the year. Ford Follows TeslaBut Ford remains the sole U.S. automaker to have announced it will fit LFP cells to its EVs and build a U.S. plant to provide them. The Tesla Model 3 Standard Range sedan, its base trim, has used LFP cells since last year, but those battery cells are imported (as Ford’s will be initially). Tesla has no announced plans to set up U.S. production of LFP cells.Other carmakers, including Volvo, Stellantis and VW Group, have announced their intention to use LFP in addition to nickel chemistries, Abuelsamid pointed out, but none of them have announced product launches or plans to build those cells in the U.S.The only other U.S. LFP plant to date is a smaller 20.0-GWh cell factory announced by Our Next Energy, a Michigan battery startup. Chinese cell maker Gotion plans to produce battery materials at a Michigan factory, but its anticipated announcement of a deal with a major automaker hasn’t yet appeared. This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Mercedes-Benz has confirmed the plug-in-hybrid version of the S-class for the U.S.Called the S580e 4Matic, the hybrid version starts at $123,700 and produces a total of 510 horsepower.The S580e is available for ordering now and will arrive at dealerships in the first half of the year.While it’s not as lavish as the Maybach plug-in-hybrid S-class that was just revealed for global markets, the 2023 Mercedes-Benz S580e 4Matic plug-in hybrid that’s coming to the U.S. occupies an interesting place within the S-class lineup. Starting at $123,700 and offering a total of 510 horsepower from its inline-six and electric motor, the hybrid costs a bit less and offers more power than the V-8–powered S580 4Matic.Other S-Class HybridsMercedes last offered a plug-in-hybrid S-class in the U.S. for the 2020 model year, and that previous-gen model was called the S560e. The new car claims many improvements from before, most notably a new turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six gas engine and a 148-hp electric motor that give it an extra 41 horsepower overall. The battery pack is also larger than before, and while EPA estimates aren’t available yet, Mercedes claims an electric-only range more than double the old car’s, which would put it at above 40 miles.Mercedes-BenzThe S580e will eventually compete with the plug-in-hybrid version of BMW’s 7-series sedan, which is slated to come to the U.S. It will be called the 750e and is said to offer 483 horsepower. Audi previously offered a plug-in-hybrid version of the A8 but has dropped that variant.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and the world is getting its first look at the 2024 Ram 1500 REV. This upcoming electric truck is another sign that the segment is changing.A herd of plug-in pickups is on the way to join the fossil-fuel classics, amid statistics showing that almost 80 percent of new-vehicle purchases are trucks and SUVs.New trucks need new truck buyers, and it turns out the demographics of today’s truck shoppers are expanding to include more women and younger people.One of the marquee Super Bowl car commercials this year is Ram’s big reveal of its upcoming all-electric 2024 Ram 1500 REV. Electric-vehicle ads have been Super Bowl standouts for the past few years, so it makes sense that an all-truck brand like Ram will use the attention of the big game to promote the first of what will be an entire lineup of electric models.Plug This InFor many car buyers in the U.S., electric trucks represent a somewhat contradictory combination. Pickups are hugely popular, but EV technology is still searching for a path to mainstream sales. Electric trucks might be the solution.Truck Sales Stayed Strong in 2022Three of the five biggest-selling vehicles in the U.S. last year were trucks: Ford F-series, Chevy Silverado, and Ram pickup. Ford never tires of telling the world that the F-150 has been the best-selling truck in America for the past million years. And a glance at the sales figures reveals just how many more trucks Ford sells than other models. In 2022, for example, Ford sold 653,957 F-series trucks, according to data from the Automotive News data center. Ford’s second-biggest-selling model last year was the Explorer, which sold 207,673 units.Chevy sold 513,354 Silverados in 2022, and the rankings follow a similar trend as at Ford. The Equinox SUV came in second place at Chevy, with 212,072 sales last year. Ram, which otherwise only sells the ProMaster and cargo vans, sold 468,344 pickups, the bulk of its 529,280 overall sales for the year.No Plugs for UsWho’s Buying All These Trucks?Aside from a few F-150 Lightning models, all of those best-selling pickup trucks sold last year were powered by fossil fuels. The growing list of new electric pickup models that are in the works from Chevy, Ram, Tesla, and others means it’s not a secret that changes are coming to this segment of the market.But another shift is happening in the demographics of the truck-buying world. CBS News notes that the number of women interested in driving a pickup truck continues to grow, and J.D. Power found at the end of 2021 that millennials bought the most pickup trucks in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The trend line shows this interest hasn’t died down in the intervening years. As CBS noted, you can’t be a best-selling vehicle if you only appeal to a limited number of people.Chevrolet Silverado EV and Silverado 1500. Car and DriverWhat’s Next?While the two segments are unfortunately lumped together, J.D. Power recently released a report that predicted that trucks and SUVs accounted for almost 80 percent of all new-vehicle retail sales in January.The rough outlines of the truck market will remain the same in 2023, and the two main facts mentioned above hint that we’re likely to see even more trucks on the road soon. New, exciting electric models and tech are coming to the pickup world—where fancier and fancier trucks have been the norm in recent years—and these will encourage people who never considered a truck before to give them a second look.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. More

Ram has revealed the production version of the Ram 1500 REV electric pickup.It looks similar to the gas-powered Ram, unlike the dramatic Ram electric pickup concept shown last month.The Ram 1500 REV will be shown during a Super Bowl ad tonight, and production starts next year.The production version of the Ram 1500 REV electric pickup is here, and it looks quite different from Ram’s dramatic EV concept truck first shown last month. As with the Ford F-150 Lightning, the electric Ram’s styling is much like the gas truck’s, only with futuristic headlights and taillights and unique wheels.Other than its more modern-looking front and rear ends, the 1500 REV’s shape is nearly identical to any other Ram pickup’s. This version has a crew-cab body and a short bed, although Ram hasn’t yet said if it will offer any other configurations. Underneath the similar body lies a different platform, as the REV rides on a new architecture called STLA Frame, which is purpose-built for body-on-frame EV models. Based on the conventional look of this production truck, we don’t expect it to incorporate many of the concept version’s more outlandish features, such as its third-row jump seats, but there is a frunk.RamMore on the Ram PickupRam will be showing the REV during a Super Bowl commercial tonight and is opening a website called RamREV.com for customers to reserve a spot in line. By placing a $100 refundable deposit, you join a membership program called REV Insider+. Ram also said it would release initial details about the truck as part of this rollout, so we might expect to see information about its power output, battery size, and range estimates.Production of the Ram 1500 REV won’t start until next year, so we’ll have plenty of time to learn more about the electric truck’s specs and features before it starts reaching customers in 2024. More

It’s a great time to buy a used car. No, it’s a terrible time to buy a used car. Maybe.Used-car prices started coming down from their pandemic-inspired highs in the latter half of 2022, then started climbing again in January 2023.We can’t tell you when the best time to buy is, but we can understand how lower prices pushed up demand and how that’s pushing up prices again. Where things go from here is unclear, sadly.Used-car prices are fluctuating, jumping up in January after substantial drops over the course of 2022. Used cars were hot (read: expensive) throughout the pandemic, but things seemed to have calmed down last year. It’s difficult to know what’s around the corner, but at least we can make some sense of the past.Used-Car Business Feeling a Hangover?Just 10 days ago, the New York Times wrote that the pandemic’s used-car boom, along with the associated higher prices, is “coming to an abrupt end” as the used-car business suffers a “brutal hangover.” According to the Times, “Americans, especially people on tight budgets, are buying fewer cars as interest rates rise and fears of a recession grow. And improved auto production has eased the shortage of new vehicles. As a result, sales and prices of used cars are falling and the dealers that specialize in them are hurting.”Arm Yourself with Some Knowledge December was the sixth consecutive month for used-car price drops, according to the consumer finance site Nerdwallet, which wrote about the decline in used-car prices in recent months. In fact, December was the sixth consecutive month for used-car price drops, and 2022 ended with used-car prices 8.8 percent lower than they were at the start of the year. That’s the largest annual decrease in used-car prices since June 2009, the last month of the Great Recession, Nerdwallet said.The direction of the trend changed in January, when wholesale used-vehicle prices went up 2.5 percent (1.5 percent without making seasonal price adjustments) compared to December, according to Manheim Consulting. Manheim issues a monthly Used Vehicle Value Index and regular Manheim Market Reports, and that kind of regular insight allows the group to note that the January price increases “were not typical” and ended up pushing the index value of three-year-old cars up 1.2 percent over the last four weeks. In most years, January values reported by the Manheim Market Reports “are typically little changed,” Manheim wrote.Used Cars Are Moving Faster off LotsThe daily sales conversion rate in January was also “above normal for the time of year,” at 59.4 percent. Pre-pandemic, in January 2019, the daily sales conversion rate averaged 57.7 percent. Manheim takes that as meaning “Sellers [have] more pricing power than what is typically seen for this time of year.” You can see strong customer demand in other numbers, too, with Manheim estimating that used retail sales were up 16 percent in January compared to December and up 5 percent year over year. Used cars are spending less time on dealer lots, too, with January’s overall average being just 44 days, compared to 56 in December and 60 in January 2022.So, what’s going on here? The ups and downs might have a straightforward cause. CNBC suggests that all we are seeing here is a simple game of supply-and-demand example that allows both of the reports to be true. The Times correctly notes that demand slowed in January, and that then pushed used-car prices down. These lower prices created fresh demand for used vehicles which “led to the largest increase in wholesale values since late 2021,” CNBC writes. And that opens up interesting questions about where things go next.This content is imported from poll. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.More Used Car Knowledge More