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Stellantis will indefinitely idle its plant in Belvidere, Illinois, where the Jeep Cherokee is built, as first reported by Automotive News.The company cites several reasons for the plant closure, including the COVID-19 pandemic and related supply-chain shortages.There will be a short run of 2023 Cherokees, but the move suggests the SUV’s place in the Jeep lineup could be vacant for 2024.A longtime Chrysler-FCA-Stellantis assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, will be indefinitely shut down as the company pursues options to “optimize operations,” according to a report today by Automotive News. The Belvidere plant is currently the only manufacturing facility responsible for the production of the Jeep Cherokee SUV, which calls into question the crossover’s future. A representative from Jeep told Car and Driver when the plant is closed, the Cherokee will remain in production through the end of February 2023, and the models being produced now are 2023 models. “The segment is very important to us and we plan to stay committed to it long-term,” a Jeep spokesperson said when pressed on future plans for the Cherokee nameplate. Demand for the Cherokee has fallen sharply over the past few years. In 2019, 191,397 copies found homes, while in 2020, only 135,855 were sold; in 2021, sales dwindled to 89,126. Meanwhile, Jeep dealers moved just 30,852 Cherokees in the first nine months of 2022, a fraction of the 189,727 Grand Cherokees—a more expensive and likely more profitable model—sold in the same time period. Jeep’s Electric FutureThe next compact Jeep SUV may be an EV. Jeep has detailed plans to shift to electric vehicles in recent months, including an Avenger EV for European and other global markets and a Wrangler-inspired Recon EV for North America. Time will tell, but the iconic, albeit problematic, nameplate could find itself emblazoned on the liftgate of an electric off-roader.The plant closure will impact the nearly 1300 employees, many of which are UAW union members, when the facility is idled on February 28, 2023. According to the AN report, layoffs are likely, although reassignment to other manufacturing facilities may be a possibility for some of the plant’s workforce. 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.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 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray configurator was leaked online Thursday night, before being quickly taken down. The sleuths over at Mid-Engine Corvette Forum and Corvette Blogger spotted the configurator before it got taken down, and were able to grab an assortment of screenshots. The leaked images give us an early glimpse at what we can expect the E-Ray hybrid to look like when it comes to market next summer. Those eagerly anticipating the hybridized version of the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray are in luck. Images from the Corvette hybrid configurator website leaked Thursday evening, confirming the E-Ray’s existence and giving us our first look at the design of the next iteration of the C8 Corvette. The internet sleuths at Mid-Engine Corvette Forum and Corvette Blogger were quick enough to grab a handful of screenshots before the configurator was taken down. Chevy neglected to give outright confirmation to the legitimacy of the configurator, but in a statement to Corvette Blogger said, “Looks like the holidays came early for a few astute Corvette fans. Stay tuned for more.” More on CorvetteBased on the renderings in the leak, the E-Ray looks to use the same widened body and front end as the Corvette Z06, though with body-color trim in lieu of some black pieces found on the Z06. The rear-quarter panel badge houses a new “ERAY” badge, which can be spotted directly behind the car’s side blades. There still aren’t any details on specifications for the E-Ray, but there are a few other juicy clues that hint at the hybrid’s mechanicals. A new “Regen on Demand” button can be seen in the cabin, suggesting that the E-Ray will have adjustable levels of regenerative braking.We still don’t know what configuration to expect for the electric motors or the number of electric motors for that matter. Previous rumors suggested that the E-Ray would be all-wheel drive, with the LT2 V-8 powering the rear wheels and an electric motor powering the fronts. This would likely mean a significant boost in horsepower compared with the Stingray model’s 490–495 hp.According to the configurator, we only have to wait until summer 2023 for the answers to these unknowns. 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.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

This content is imported from youTube. 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.We don’t measure reliability for sleighs yet. However, the odds suggest that one of these years, Santa’s going to walk out one Christmas Eve to a sleigh and reindeer team that won’t start. A clairvoyant Window Shop viewer asked the crew to come up with replacement rides for Santa’s 23-hour trip around the world. Kris Kringle’s on a budget this year (who isn’t?), so he has just $30,000 to spend. Road & Track senior editor John Pearley Huffman’s Toyota Tundra fixation finally found its outlet. The shiny burgundy pickup’s cloth interior turned into a brief discussion about whether Santa prefers textiles to leather, but there were no questions about toy-carrying capability. Best of all, if Santa delivered to Pearley’s house last, he could leave the Tundra under Pearley’s tree.Video mastermind Carlos Lago began his presentation with Santa’s favorite Christmas treat: an Excel spreadsheet. After doing the math to figure out how efficient Saint Nicholas needs to be to complete his appointed rounds—something something speed of light magic!—he chose a convertible Mustang SVT Cobra with a manual transmission. Because trunk space. And magic.Senior editor Joey Capparella stuck with muscle and the manual but flipped to the Mopar side. Inspired by one of Dodge’s responses to the same quandary, Capparella chose a red Dodge Challenger, a car nearly as old as Santa’s sleigh and just as cool.We’d describe senior editor Elana Scherr’s car advice this week as, “What would I like?” She chose a red vintage Dodge W150 pickup, perhaps pulled from her own Mopar collection. Santa’s budget was too low for a suitable Lil Red Express, but the marvelous red interior in the W150 might make up for that.Speaking of fixations, contributor Jonathon Ramsey’s ardor for Class 8 trucks finally found its outlet, too. He crossed the border to Canada to find a 1995 Peterbilt. Problem is, he also unwittingly and egregiously crossed the budget border as well. And that’s all there is to say about that.Executive editor K.C. Colwell joined Pearley and Scherr kicking tires in the pickup lot. His Rudolph-nose-red Ford F-450 dually with tan leather could have been nicknamed the Big Red Express. The only thing it was missing was a bumper sticker telling everyone at the North Pole, “We don’t need no stinkin’ reindeer.”Editor-in-chief Tony Quiroga grew up with the slickest, snazziest Santa on the planet. Only a Cadillac Eldorado would do for a superstar probably called Kris “Primetime” Kringle, the ginormous coupe done up in red with a white roof, a herringbone interior, and some suss door pulls for the rear occupants. Let’s hope the sleigh and reindeer team work as intended this year. Or else Santa’s got a hard choice to make, one of which could be going on strike.More Window ShoppingThis content is imported from youTube. 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 rumored Apple car has been delayed yet again, with Bloomberg reporting that the electric vehicle will go on sale in 2026.Apple has also scaled back its self-driving plans, with the car including traditional driving controls and only planned to be capable of autonomous driving on highways.The target is to sell the Apple car for less than $100,000, and Apple is still searching for a partner to provide an electric skateboard platform to build the vehicle on. Apple has been rumored to be developing an electric car, code-named Titan, since 2014, and the tech giant has faced numerous setbacks in its quest to expand into the automotive realm. Massive layoffs in 2019 sparked talk that the project had been canceled, while a deal to partner with Hyundai fell through in 2021. Now a report from Bloomberg says that the Apple car has been delayed by a year, with the launch now scheduled for 2026, and that Apple has abandoned plans to make the vehicle capable of full self-driving. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources close to the project claiming Apple has come to the realization that its initial goals of a Level 5 fully autonomous vehicle are impossible with current technology. Apple had envisioned a lounge-like vehicle without a specific driver’s seat, steering wheel, or pedals, but the company is now backtracking on that fantasy. When the Apple car arrives in 2026, it will include driver’s controls and will only be capable of full autonomous driving on the highway. Still Looking to Free Drivers from DrivingStill, Apple’s plans for highway autonomy seem ambitious. Unlike systems like General Motors’ Super Cruise that require the driver to keep their eyes on the road, Apple’s goal is to allow drivers the freedom to take their attention away from the road to do things like watch a movie or play a game. The driver will be warned “with ample time” if they need to take over when exiting the highway or approaching stormy weather.The Apple car will be centered around a powerful onboard computer, internally referred to as Denali, which has processing power equivalent to around four top-end Mac chips. The vehicle’s chip, which is paired with lidar and radar sensors along with cameras, is reportedly almost production ready. Tesla’s Autopilot system, meanwhile, relies solely on cameras. Apple had originally anticipated the car starting at over $120,000 but is now hoping to get the price under $100,000, according to the Bloomberg story. The design has yet to be finalized but Apple seems to have ditched its original plans for a pod-like vehicle—similar to the Canoo Lifestyle Vehicle—in favor of a more traditional car shape. It appears Apple intends to finalize the design next year and lock in the features by the end of 2024 before embarking on a testing program in 2025. Apple is also still said to be looking for a partner that will supply an electric skateboard platform. Around 1000 employees are focused on the Apple car, with Apple investing around $1 billion into the project each year. Still, Apple has encountered myriad challenges in the eight years that it has been working on Titan, and it still has a long way to go before the Apple car becomes a reality. 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.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 Toyota C-HR will be discontinued in the U.S. and Canada after 2022, the automaker confirmed to Car and Driver.Toyota also confirmed that the next-gen C-HR will not make it to North America and instead will be sold in Europe only. Previewing the next generation is the C-HR Prologue concept, which shares design cues with the extroverted Toyota bZ concept. It was fun, it was real, but it wasn’t real fun. The Toyota C-HR, which stimulated our eyes but never our hearts, will be pushing daises after the 2022 model year—at least in the U.S. and Canada. Toyota has confirmed to Car and Driver that its funky subcompact SUV will not return to either market for 2023, effectively ending the model’s North American run after just one abbreviated generation that began back in 2018.Remembering the C-HRC-HR Exit Stage LeftThe death of the C-HR means Americans who want a subcompact Toyota SUV will now be limited to the Corolla Cross, which looks comparatively bland but offers all-wheel drive and improved practicality versus the front-drive-only C-HR. Of course, there’s also the hugely popular RAV4, but its larger dimensions coincide with a higher price tag.2018 model shown.During its brief five-year life cycle, the first-generation C-HR captured our attention with its interesting bodywork featuring a determined-looking face, prominent character lines, and an available two-tone roof that ended with an integrated spoiler. Despite its undeniable curbside appeal, the C-HR always stymied our excitement with its snooze-worthy driving demeanor. We won’t bore you with the details, we’ll just point out that the trip to 60 mph took 11 seconds thanks to its indifferent 144-hp four-pot.Next C-HR Looks Even CoolerAlthough the C-HR nameplate will soon cease to exist on our shores, the people across the pond will be getting a second generation. Toyota confirmed that it’ll only be sold in Europe. Based on images that Toyota released of the C-HR Prologue concept (as seen below), the next-gen version looks legitimately rad. With the company’s proclamation that the successor to the original C-HR will be even bolder, we feel confident the production model will look similar to the concept. ToyotaMaybe if shoppers in North America had shown the first generation of the quirky subcompact SUV more love, Toyota wouldn’t have axed it. Either way, those who love the look of the next C-HR will likely be satisfied with the company’s upcoming bZ electric SUVs, which share design cues with the Prologue concept.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.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