I feel like the general disdain of electric vehicles stems from a few basic things. Beyond the basic human resistance to change I feel like a lack of understanding of EVs, Our introduction into EVs and the way EVs are being pushed into the market/ the timing and global climate with how things are going in the world right now. For a lot of us, when the term EV comes to mind, we think of Tesla vehicles catching on fire and all of the terrible shortcoming that the brand has along with their fast, but characterless vehicles and their minimalistic interiors and jellybean shapes. That along with the thoughts of costly repairs of battery packs and electric motors and systems coupled with charging times, the power grid and everything else all paint EVs in a bad light. On top of that, you have the traditional enthusiast groups who naturally are all about ICE vehicles and then the ones who are specifically all about the glory that a V8 is. The stimulating feel & the romantic, euphoric, soul stirring sound of a pushrod American V8 that is unmatched by any other powertrain and can never be replaced is a stark contrast from disconnected feeling that you get from operating an electric vehicle, or as I used to call them, transportation appliances. But the truth is, EVs are evolving and not just in the AI Skynet-type, I-Robot context of autonomy and big brother's always watching through your connected technology type of way. EVs are becoming more normal and somewhat more organic than the basic single speed minimalistic vehicles that we think of. EVs are all in motorsports, and are being tuned and modified just like what we do with our ICE cars. I think once EV drivetrains evolve to more than two-speed gearboxes to four and even five speed Dual Clutch-type gear boxes, a bit of that organic feeling along with extended range will help EVs in major ways. Not only that but also improvements in EV battery technology in aspects of having replaceable parts that potentially cut down repair costs along with better materials that are non-flammable will help to make the EV market more attractive. As far as repairs go, as a person who works in the auto industry at a car dealership in the parts department, I see alot of major vehicle components get ordered under some kind of factory warranty or extended warranty or some kind of service contract, meaning that for the first 5-10 years of that vehicle's life. most powertrain systems will be covered under warranty anyway. The items that mostly get replaced on vehicles now days anyway outside of most warranties are suspension parts, brake system parts, coolant system/HVAC parts and electrical parts such as switches and things of that nature. With EVs, there are definitely less moving parts but there are still serviceable parts of an electric motor along with serviceable parts in the multi-speed gearboxes. The main issue that really leaves is charging. As technology has improved over the last few years, the amount of time it takes to charge a car had decreased. While people are concerned about the power grid, the truth is that not everyone will be charging their cars at the same time but there will need to be some changes made in order to keep up with the 20%-50% demand increase that switching to EVs will incur. Whether it be more people converting their homes to solar energy, or creating solar powered charging stations in malls and shopping centers and places like that, which would offset the energy drained from the power grid and contribute to that cleaner energy/reduced carbon footprint the EPA is striving for. The only place that should really have any issue with EVs are the Urban areas that don't have driveways and garages and have to rely on street parking with limited space. But making every single super-market parking lot, mall parking lot, parking garage or metered parking spot a solar powered charging station, you reduce the amount of charging issues and it keeps the world moving faster.
As far as Stellantis, North America vehicles, in my opinion, Anything built on the STLA Large & STLA Frame platform either ICE, Hybrid or EV will have immense potential. Whether it be full ICE Hurricane powertrains, Hybrid Hurricane/EV powertrains & 4Xe powertrains with the 2.0L Hybrid powertrain or full on BEV powertrains, everything on this platform has the potential to be epic! What is crazy to me is the infinite potential Stellantis has with the Mopar brands all the way around and the fact that they don't even try to tap into it. Granted the brands need a bit of repurposing, (mainly Chrysler and Jeep) There is no reason why this brand should be going through this much drama with their car market. Dodge should always be a car brand for the masses, that's plain and simple. From your everyday cars to the monster muscle cars, Dodge should always be the brand for the people. Jeep needs to go back to being Jeep. Beyond the Wrangler and the upcoming Recon, nothing else with a Jeep nameplate represents Jeep in any way shape or form. The current Grand Cherokee, Wagoneer, Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer S are all Chryslers, why? because they are luxury vehicles. There is no way in the world I would take vehicles that beautiful and take them off road. Not at all. To be honest, the Ram TRX is more Jeep than anything Jeep has out there. The Ram Rebel is more Jeep than any Jeep brand vehicle. Obviously I'm not including the Wrangler and Rubicon but those two trucks embody the off road prowess that the Jeep brand was all about. The Cherokee, the Renegade and any other little "Jeep" are nothing more than todays versions of the Neon and the Stratus. Jeep would actually benefit from being a Wrangler and truck brand with the Gladiator, a Jeep J10 (Rebel/TRX) & a Jeep J20 (Power Wagon/ Rebel HD) should literally be what makes up the Jeep brand lineup. Bring Ram back under the Dodge umbrella and focus in on street performance trucks, general pickup trucks, work trucks and luxury trucks. A Vehicle designed like the Airflow on the STLA platform along with a Dodge counterpart would literally make up the bulk of STLA North America sales because it's a mid-size sedan like crossover which works in so many different ways. Honestly, when you really look at it, Hatchback, Station Wagons, Crossovers, SUVS, and trucks would literally make Stellantis N/A everything they need to be. No coupes, no sedans, just hatchbacks, Wagons, Crossovers, full size SUVs and trucks (sub-compact, compact, full size, HD). With Dodge resurrecting the Hornet Name from AMC, an STLA Medium Gremlin and Gremlin X shouldn't be out of the question and with GLH returning, there's the Dodge Omni right there. Fun, hot hatches that can offer room and excitement with the 1.3L Hybrid powertrain from the Hornet R/T or an high powered EV powertrain. Two and four door options, and enough power to go head to head with the Ioniq-5 N would make these cars an absolute blast. Not to mention there were more than enough cool Mopar muscle wagons around in the '60's and early '70's that could truly fit right in at home today on the roads with all of the low-riding performance crossovers that are coming out now and not to mention the potential for so many other names besides the Charger, Challenger and 300. The Coronet, Monaco, & Satellite (which definitely has the look that inspired the entire SRT Hellcat front end styling to begin with, all had wagon variants and all came with the Muscle car V8 engines of their day, which means that their modern counterparts could (and should) carry the Hurricane (hurricane hybrid) and EV powertrains that we are moving towards. Chrysler could easily incorporate any of the Plymouth names to some luxury muscle offerings along with switching the Grand Wagoneer/Wagoneer over to the Chrysler Imperial & Chrysler New Yorker, the Wagoner-S= Chrysler Fury Gran Coupe, the Grand Cherokee= Chrysler Fury Sport, a Tesla fighting 300M all electric vehicle, the Chrysler Airflow and maybe one or two others such as a new Pacifica & an all new state-of -the art Chrysler Town and Country, because what's wrong with reinventing the minivan with a landaulet top, and sliding rear doors like the new Toyota Century with a more SUV style look to it with Hurricane and EV power and the interior luxuries of reclining, massaging heated and cooled seats, comfortable spacing and seating for seven people and cargo space along with it? To me, there is nothing wrong with the brand taking new directions. It's supposed to. It's not supposed to stay stagnant. Dodge can still offer crazy horsepower, customizable styling and performance in new and different packages and still have SRT and Direct Connection giving us all that we want in the way of satisfying the enthusiasts market, Chrysler could really be an American luxury brand and Jeep can always wow it's segment with vehicles that can be everyday livable all-terrain vehicles with hybrid, ICE and full BEV powertrains. As dismal as things have been for Stellantis North America lately, there is still so much potential for this brand.
