Mopar Insiders Articles

RECALL: 370,437 Ram Heavy Duty Trucks & Dodge Durango Models For ABS Software Issue! Simple Software Update Will Resolve The Issue... Stellantis (FCA US, LLC) is recalling 370,437 vehicles for an ABS control module software issue. The recall involves 2019 to 2022 Ram 2500, 2019 to 2022 Ram 3500 Chassis Cab with GVWR under 10K lbs., and the 2021 to 2022 Dodge Durango. According to the recall notice posted to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) website, those vehicles affected by the recall may be equipped with Antilock Brake System (ABS) software that prevents the Electronic Stability Control (ESC) telltale lamp from properly displaying under certain conditions. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the...

This Beautiful Li’l Red Express Truck Goes Up For Auction This Weekend! Dodge's Late-1970's Performance Pickup Is Still A Looker... In the late 1970s, the Dodge brand was eager to add a dose of performance to its emissions-restricted lineup. Chrysler engineers found a loophole in the emissions regulations, which stated a vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of more than 6,000 lbs. were not required to run catalytic converters. For those who aren’t familiar, GVW is the value specified by the manufacturer as the maximum total loaded weight of a single-vehicle. While many of its passenger cars couldn’t reach the 6,000 lb. limit, the Dodge D-150 had a 6,100 lb. GVW allowed the pickup to beat the regulations...

This Isn’t Your Ordinary Ram 3500! Tornado Intercept Vehicle (TIV) Is Ready To Hit The Road Again! Restored & Ready, Updated TIV 2 Has Two Sponsors For This Season... Its the beginning of tornado season, that time of year where the transition from cooler temperatures to warmer weather creates the optimal unstable air conditions for tornadic activity throughout multiple areas of the United States and Canada. Areas like the Southern Plains (Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) see more tornadoes from May to early June. On the Gulf Coast, tornadoes are more common during early spring. While the Northern States and areas of the upper Midwest (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota) have peak tornado season in June or July...

Semiconductor Shortage Puts Halt To Jeep® Cherokee (KL) Production Once Again! Belvidere Continues Its Production Woes... Stellantis has confirmed that it will be idling production of its midsize Jeep® Cherokee (KL) beginning today, for one week at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois. It marks a continuation of issues and concerns surrounding the company’s only underutilized assembly plant in the United States. https://moparinsiders.com/semiconductor-shortage-puts-halt-to-jeep-cherokee-kl-production-once-again/

Jeep® Releases A New Teaser Of Another Concept That Is Moab Bound! New Concept Blends Wrangler & Gladiator Characteristics... About a month ago, the Jeep® and Mopar brands began teasing their annual concept vehicles for the annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari. Usually, both brands will release a series of teaser sketches of the upcoming vehicle, before showing the actual vehicle to the press and public in the days leading up to the event. This year, both brands are doing it a bit differently. Instead of releasing all of the sketches together, they have decided to only release one or a few at a time. https://moparinsiders.com/jeep-releases-another-new-teaser-of-another-concept-that-is-moab-bound/

AUCTION: 2000 Plymouth Prowler Woodward Edition Is Up For Grabs! No. 150 Of 151 Production Units Built... The Plymouth (Chrysler) Prowler is undoubtedly one of the most iconic vehicles to be produced by Chrysler Group during the 1990s and 2000s. As the vehicle to kick off the “retro” styling era, the Prowler became the “halo” vehicle for the brand as it was merged into the Chrysler brand. It was hard not to see an automotive magazine, calendar, poster, or toy lineup that didn’t feature the retro-rod at one point during that time period. https://moparinsiders.com/auction-2000-plymouth-prowler-woodward-edition-is-up-for-grabs/

Grand Wagoneer Named “SUV Of The Year” By The Hispanic Motor Press Awards! The Awards Continue To Come In... The all-new 2022 Jeep® Grand Wagoneer (WS) continues to rack up the awards in its first year. This time, the premium full-size SUV has earned the title of “SUV of the Year” award at the 12th annual Hispanic Motor Press Awards (HMPA). “Every year, there is a vehicle that surprises you and the Grand Wagoneer is the one this year,” said Ricardo Rodriguez-Long, President and Founder of the Hispanic Motor Press Foundation. “The Grand Wagoneer is a new high luxury entry that is tastefully done and includes the huge pluses of full-size SUV, 4×4 and it’s capable of towing almost 10,000 lbs. This is a vehicle that can take the family...

Jeep® Shows Off Its 4xe European Lineup At The 2022 XMaster Winter Tour! Italian Winter Adventure Event, Also Allows Fans To Get Closer To The Electrified Jeep Lineup... The XMasters Winter Tour is sort of a winter XGames event for the Italian public. The event is usually held at a selected ski resort in Italy and over the stretch of several days, it blends the best of winter action sports (SnowYoga, SnowBowling, Beerpong, SnowBike, and SnowScoot), freestyle competition, and some of the hottest music from a talented list of renowned DJs. The 2022 event ended this past weekend after four days in the San Pellegrino Pass, which is a high mountain pass in the Italian Dolomites. In its 13th year, the Jeep® brand returned to the event to...

Abarth Shows Off Even More New Models For The 2022 Model Year! Stylish & Performance... To help kick off its 73rd anniversary, the Abarth brand has introduced its latest versions of the 595 & 695 range. The range pays homage to the inventiveness of its founder Carlo Abarth. Always part of Abarth’s DNA, it was the concept of upgrading which guided the work of the designers, engineers, and technicians in redesigning the 2022 model. https://moparinsiders.com/abarth-shows-off-even-more-new-models-for-the-2022-model-year/

Jeep® Mexico Introduces “Wrangler Rubicon Tuscadero Sky Freedom Edition”! Only 100 Units Are Being Produced... Back in August, the Jeep® brand introduced the limited edition Tuscadero (PHP) exterior color. The Tuscadero exterior color was the most popular special edition color for the 2021 model year. Jeep then reintroduced the high-impact color for a brief time for the 2022 models, before closing orders in December. With that being said, Jeep Mexico has now announced that it will bring a new special edition vehicle featuring the high-impact pink color to the Mexican market. Jeep will send 100 units of what the American adventure brand calls the “2022 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Tuscadero Sky Freedom Edition”. Now, that’s a mouthful...

WATCH: 2022 Jeep® Grand Wagoneer Series III Highway MPG Test! Can We Beat The EPA Estimates? I recently had the opportunity to spend a week with the all-new 2022 Jeep® Grand Wagoneer Series III, the brand’s entry into the ultra-competitive full-size body-on-frame SUV segment. As part of our testing, we put the Grand Wagoneer through our highway MPG loop, a 109 mile (174 kilometer) loop at 70 MPH (112 KM/H), to see whether we could meet or exceed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy number for the large SUV. https://moparinsiders.com/watch-2022-grand-wagoneer-highway-mpg-test/

Jeep® Shows Off It’s New Electrified Renegade & Compass Lineup For Europe! There Are Now Electrified Options For Both 4x2 & 4x4 Configurations... This week, the international media was given a chance to spend some time with the new 2022 Jeep® Renegade and Compass e-Hybrid and 4xe models. It marks the first time that both electrified Renegade and Compass models were together for the first time in public. All four models mark a huge step in the electrification strategy of the Jeep brand to move to the “Zero Emission Freedom”. https://moparinsiders.com/jeep-shows-off-its-new-electrified-renegade-compass-lineup-for-europe/

This Hennessey TRX-Based Mammoth 1000 Has A Top Speed Of 55 MPH! Finnish-Bound TRX Finds A Tax Loophole... Hennessey Performance Engineering (HPE) created a monster with their limited edition Mammoth 1000 package for the 2021 and 2022 Ram 1500 TRX. The Mammoth 1000 package features the HPE1000 performance upgrade package, which has already seen its way under the hood of several Dodge Charger and Challenger HPE builds. https://moparinsiders.com/this-hennessey-trx-based-mammoth-1000-has-a-top-speed-of-55-mph/

CAUGHT: 2023 Alfa Romeo Stelvio & Giulia Estrema Special Edition Models! We Will See These Special Edition Models In North America... There has been a lot of exciting news surrounding the Alfa Romeo brand as of lately. With the addition of the all-new Tonale C-SUV, a new B-SUV on the way, and some updates for the Stelvio and Giulia models to help hold the vehicles over until the next-generation cars are ready in 2025 and 2026. But thanks to the keen eyes of the GabetzSPYUnit team, we are getting our first look at a new trim package. https://moparinsiders.com/caught-2023-alfa-romeo-stelvio-giulia-estrema-special-edition-models/

Alfa Romeo’s First Fully-Electric SUV Will Wear The Brenner Nameplate! New Subcompact SUV To Join Lineup In 2024 MY... of the brand’s first fully-electric vehicle in 2023. The first fully-electric Alfa Romeo will be a subcompact SUV sharing much of its design with the recently unveiled Jeep® SUV shown during the Stellantis “Drive Forward 2030” strategic plan presentation. Internally known as the Alfa “Kid” project, the new subcompact SUV will wear the Brenner nameplate when it arrives in dealers next year. The Brenner will be manufactured alongside the new Jeep SUV and a new Fiat 500 5-door at the Stellantis assembly plant in Tychy, Poland. Making it the first Alfa Romeo product to be produced abroad...

AUCTION: This Beautiful 1971 Plymouth Cuda Convertible Crosses The Block Next Weekend! Rallye Red & Black Cuda Convertible Looks Beautiful... The Plymouth Barracuda is undoubtedly one of the best-looking cars to come out of Detroit, during the “muscle car” era. The E-body Mopar especially looked breathtaking in its convertible form, which was only available during the 1970 and 1971 model years. The Barracuda E-body itself only lasted for five years on the market, yet one of the best-known nameplates from the iconic former Plymouth brand. https://moparinsiders.com/auction-this-beautiful-1971-plymouth-cuda-convertible-crosses-the-block-next-weekend/

Could This Jeep® “Junior”-Based Pickup Design Take On Ford’s Maverick? Digital Designer Shows Potential Of New All-Electric Jeep SUV... Last week, during Stellantis’ “Dare Forward 2030” strategic plan presentation, Carlos Tavares, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stellantis, revealed images of the first-ever 100% battery-electric Jeep® SUV, as the brand continues its global initiatives toward the full electrification of its SUV portfolio. The unnamed vehicle (internally known as the Jeep Junior), will officially be launched in the first half of next year. https://moparinsiders.com/could-this-jeep-junior-based-pickup-design-take-on-fords-maverick/

Could This Be What The 2024 Ram 1500 BEV Will Look Like? Digital Artist Transforms TRX Into Next-Generation Ram 1500 BEV... Love it or hate it, the automotive industry has embraced electrification to combat the global upshift in emission restrictions. The Ram Truck brand has made it no secret that it plans to enter the electrified pickup truck market by 2024, with its upcoming Ram 1500 BEV or battery-electric vehicle. The American automaker has also said, that the Ram 1500 BEV will be accompanied by a new Range Electric Paradigm Breaker (REPB) model. The REPB will feature everything from the BEV truck but will have an internal combustion engine (ICE) on board to help recharge that system to extended the vehicle’s range and cut down...

READY TO WORK: Meet The Updated 2023 Ram ProMaster Lineup! New Exterior Styling, More Technology, Roll Up Door Option, & Even Taller Roof Option... The Ram Commercial brand surprised the attendance at the National Truck Equipment Association’s (NTEA) Work Truck Week trade show in Indianapolis, Indiana this morning, by introducing its updated full-size 2023 Ram ProMaster. After updating the powertrain and interior for the 2022 model year, Ram has now updated what most have criticized to be the weak point of the ProMaster – it’s exterior styling. https://moparinsiders.com/ready-to-work-meet-the-updated-2023-ram-promaster-lineup/

What Is Ram’s Upcoming Range Electric Paradigm Breaker (REPB) Pickup? Ram CEO Interview With Autoblog Sheds Some Light On Upcoming Propulsion System... Since Stellantis’ EV Day 2021 presentation, the Ram brand has been pushing around a new electrified term that not many people have understood – Range Electric Paradigm Breaker (REPB). But thanks to the automotive online publication Autoblog and an interview with Ram CEO Mike Koval Jr., at the Chicago Auto Show, we are truly understanding what REPB will mean for the Ram Truck brand. https://moparinsiders.com/what-is-rams-upcoming-range-electric-paradigm-breaker-repb-pickup/