Gasoline Charger production news

[Mopar426]

Stellantis ramps up gas-powered vehicle production at Windsor Assembly

Four-door Dodge Charger to ramp up production this fall as Stellantis boosts gas-powered vehicle production at Windsor Assembly Plant.

torontosun.com

"
“Production started in June and we’ll see quadruple digits of the (gas-powered) two-door Charger in September,” said AutoForecast Solutions vice-president of global vehicle forecasting Sam Fiorani.

“The four-door will hit volume in quarter three. Production will really start in October.”

Fiorani believes Stellantis will look to expand its ICE offerings at Windsor Assembly beyond the Hurricane engine.

Stellantis engineers have been at Windsor Assembly studying if the STLA large platform used to build the Charger can handle a Hemi V-8 engine.

 

[TripleT]

I am most interested in 2.OT with a Hybrid ZF transmission. To me this is the volume option for the Vehicle.

There is zero advantage for the vehicle to have Hemi versus this powertrain other than exhaust note and marketing.

entire thing is 12 month Late.

 

[cygnus]

Lmao, no one wants to Mustang'ize the Charger/Challenger. Talk about brand destruction. No other vehicles should get the 2L except for the Compass.

Pentastar minimum, V8 preferred. Which is exactly what we had when sales were at all time highs in 2018/2019.

 

[Mopar426]

Important piece I missed:

Sources have told the Star that Stellantis is also exploring offering the high-performance Hellephant engine that produces 1,000 horsepower in the Charger.

“We haven’t seen the Hemi V-8 yet,” said Fiorani of the future production data that projects out to about 18 months. “That (Hemi) is expected if it fits on the (STLA large) platform.

“We haven’t seen any of that engineering information showing it fits in the platform yet. The revival of the Hemi makes perfect sense.”

- I assume they mean the Demon 170 motor, redeye'ified which is the hemi they are talking about and sell it as the top tier trim while quietly cancelling all plans for the 800V electric version. They could also sell a 392 or 426 NA version as well RWD only, maybe make it a classic or something like the older challenger trim.

TripleT is right, you're really gonna have to love the V8 sound to pick that over a 550hp TT that you can get another 150WHP from with a $700 handheld tuner. Oh, and AWD for those forced to drive them in the winter.

 

[TripleT]

Tell you what Hellphant SRT make a hell of a lot of sense. Redeye SRT makes a lot of sense. I think you have to redesign the shock tower and fiddle with the suspension. But given the volume paste it in there.

But you 280 with 2 Liter and another 200+ from the ZF and you making everything but the peak Redeyes and Demons look bad.

WHOA hold you horse TT is a long way to HellCat. Is it? When you add AWD and the torque. Hellcat usually light it up more often then run clean.

Now do the same math 550 +200 AWD and instant torque.... + 150.

Loud and Slow like the 80s I guess

 

[James.A]

I'd rather a base Pentastar than the 4 pot. I was underwhelmed when I test drove the Hornet. Don't want that thing in a Charger.

 

[James.A]

Test drove a Ram 1500 with the SST Hurricane. I was underwhelmed. It felt like a quicker version of how the Pentastar feels in the prev gen Charger/Challenger. It moves when the turbo's kick in but with little to no personality. Glad there will be a Hemi option. Also drove an RT Daytona that had the latest software update - it was like a different car to previous test drives prior to the update. So much better, smooth, barely felt the front motor engage this time, did't feel the front wheels pull like the last test drive in March. Too bad the model is dead.

 

[WXman]

TripleT is right, you're really gonna have to love the V8 sound to pick that over a 550hp TT that you can get another 150WHP from with a $700 handheld tuner. Oh, and AWD for those forced to drive them in the winter.

If the options are 550 HP Hurricane or 485 HP Hemi, I'm going Hemi seven days a week, twice on Sunday. There is more to a powertrain than the peak HP number. Sound, experience, reliability, ease of modifying/playing with it, ease of future repair at home, cost of parts, ease of maintenance, and a laundry list of other reasons make the V8 the only practical solution for this car. And apparently the masses agree.

If they fast track the V8s, they might, just maybe, save this car before it's too late.

And as far as the "we don't know if it fits" bull crap... they will MAKE it fit, trust me. Their profitability depends upon it. They'll make it fit.

 

[suzq044]

Lmao, no one wants to Mustang'ize the Charger/Challenger. Talk about brand destruction. No other vehicles should get the 2L except for the Compass.

Pentastar minimum, V8 preferred. Which is exactly what we had when sales were at all time highs in 2018/2019.

What you also had when sales were through the roof were low prices and far more choices across the Dodge lineup. More Importantly it was before COVID.
That was basically a lifetime ago at this point. Time to come to terms with times changing.

The inline six turbo is a vastly superior engine to the Hemi in both output and mpg. It's a no-brainer except for those who can't let go of their 1980s mindset.

The people that "must have a v8" are people who want the SRT variants, not the baser hemi they're getting. lol
Those who want to keep them forever? Welp - there's plenty of them in junkyards, you can go make your own hemi-powered golfcart and enjoy. The other half of people complaining? Are they actually in a place to buy a hemi powered anything? Probably not. They're complaining just to complain without ever actually test driving the turbo 6 themselves.

V8 sounds good on paper for the same reason the 1/3rd pounder flopped. People think 1/4 is bigger than 1/3 and a v8 will always make more power because its got more cylinders.

 

[suzq044]

If the options are 550 HP Hurricane or 485 HP Hemi, I'm going Hemi seven days a week, twice on Sunday. There is more to a powertrain than the peak HP number. Sound, experience, reliability, ease of modifying/playing with it, ease of future repair at home, cost of parts, ease of maintenance, and a laundry list of other reasons make the V8 the only practical solution for this car. And apparently the masses agree.

If they fast track the V8s, they might, just maybe, save this car before it's too late.

And as far as the "we don't know if it fits" bull crap... they will MAKE it fit, trust me. Their profitability depends upon it. They'll make it fit.

I can see that; but they also don't need to hemorrhage money on the project. It's a little more complicated than banging the hammer against a fender to make it fit by a few millimeters. It needs to be run through the same battery of tests that every car goes through just to federalize it just because of the drivetrain shift. That's probably why the Compass hasn't come here yet. Federalizing. There's too much in the air right now to spend on federalizing something only to have to play catch-up like they're doing with Charger. (Though it was dumb of them to try to do EV first, or even call it a Charger to be blunt - if it wasn't called Charger it would be selling fine, IMO)

 

[WXman]

What you also had when sales were through the roof were low prices and far more choices across the Dodge lineup. More Importantly it was before COVID.
That was basically a lifetime ago at this point. Time to come to terms with times changing.

The inline six turbo is a vastly superior engine to the Hemi in both output and mpg. It's a no-brainer except for those who can't let go of their 1980s mindset.

The people that "must have a v8" are people who want the SRT variants, not the baser hemi they're getting. lol
Those who want to keep them forever? Welp - there's plenty of them in junkyards, you can go make your own hemi-powered golfcart and enjoy. The other half of people complaining? Are they actually in a place to buy a hemi powered anything? Probably not. They're complaining just to complain without ever actually test driving the turbo 6 themselves.

V8 sounds good on paper for the same reason the 1/3rd pounder flopped. People think 1/4 is bigger than 1/3 and a v8 will always make more power because its got more cylinders.

I can see that; but they also don't need to hemorrhage money on the project. It's a little more complicated than banging the hammer against a fender to make it fit by a few millimeters. It needs to be run through the same battery of tests that every car goes through just to federalize it just because of the drivetrain shift. That's probably why the Compass hasn't come here yet. Federalizing. There's too much in the air right now to spend on federalizing something only to have to play catch-up like they're doing with Charger. (Though it was dumb of them to try to do EV first, or even call it a Charger to be blunt - if it wasn't called Charger it would be selling fine, IMO)

You're making the same mistake so many other people are making. You're regurgitating the "Hurricane is superior!" myth based solely upon ONE metric: horsepower on paper.

Here's the reality: the Hurricane engine, like most engines from Europe, has been littered with problems. And, since it's significantly oversophisticated, those problems are expensive and time consuming to repair. Fourteen hours to do a water pump?? Twenty-two hours to do a timing chain?? It's just madness. Wait until those engines are out of warranty. People will be mad as hell. Then let's talk maintenance. Have you seen under a Ram/Wagoneer lately? Because of the twin turbo exhaust routing, you can't even service the transmission fluid without removing the exhaust. And you can't pull an engine dipstick to visually inspect oil condition. We won't even go into the way the engine sounds like a Hoover vacuum cleaner, or the way it drinks fuel like it's sponsored by OPEC with a trailer behind it or when the throttle is mashed for fun. When you get time, go over to the Jeep Wagoneer forum and poke around in the "problems/issues" section. HOURS of reading.

There is not a chance that the Hurricane is "superior" to the Hemi. In no category. There will never be a Demon with a Hurricane engine running 9.65 in the 1/4 mile. There will never be a Hurricane that gets significantly better fuel economy than a V8. There will never be a Hurricane that routinely shows more longevity than a V8. There will never be a Hurricane that puts a smile on the driver's face upon pressing the ignition start button on a cold morning. There will never be a Hurricane that provides the linear, smooth driving experience of a Hemi. There will never be a Hurricane with the resale value of a V8. There will never be a Hurricane that a person can work on at home and keep on the road for decades like a V8. It's just not going to happen.

The fact of the matter is that CDJR had two options: keep paying for carbon credits and EPA fines while simultaneously selling vehicles like hotcakes, OR ditch the V8s in favor of lower emissions at the risk of gutting their sales and ruining the company. Unfortunately the idiot who was CEO at the time chose the latter. And now it's upon Mr. Kiniskis to try and save the ship....and he's doing it the best way; by bringing back the powertrains that people want.

 

[suzq044]

The hurricane was designed in Michigan, I'm pretty sure. It's been in development since 2013.

You go to literally ANY car forum or group looking for problems people have and you're gonna find boat loads of anecdotes from people who can't figure out how to work their headlights to people who have the common problems. I know that from being in about 10 groups myself. lol- The one I'm most familiar with at the moment is Renegade.

The most common problems? The MySky (or sunroof for later models) not closing once opened (it's usually a tab that breaks and takes something like 8 hours to get to, so they just replace the whole system instead of the tab - takes less time). The motor mounts failing. Common as anything, we bought ours and they were already out (the vehicle I think had somewhere around 50-60k on it at the time). Upside- cheap fix. Same with the other common one - the sway bar end links going out early. Ironically, the 4wd system doesn't seem to be as problematic in these - but the screens are starting to go in older ones. lol

The problem with the EVs is timing. CDJR is a victim of sh*tasic timing. lol - Took too long to develop the Banshee into a selling product, that probably should've been called a Stealth, not a Charger if it *had* to be EV-first. They're still taking 5 eons to get the Recon out despite teasing it every other month like don't forget I exist too!.

The thing about the v8's is that it's what enthusiasts want. Not what everyday drivers who don't work on their own cars, who barely maintain them, in fact. The fact of the matter is that the 392, the Hellcat, the Hellephant, the Demon, they painted Dodge into a corner. Because there was nothing else to sell by the time Covid hit. There was no Neon. No Caliber. No Journey. Just Charger, Challenger, and Durango. They sold well. They printed money; but that was because it was on an antiquated platform from 20 years ago. Sure, upgraded and dialed in over that time, but it was printing money because of that old platform that they *pikachu-shock-face* invested in.

They need lower-cost product across the entire line of Dodge & Chrysler. Jeep is the only thing they've invested in. They even jumped into areas Jeep shouldn't be. Wagoneer should've been Chrysler - both of them. Ram only needs a midsize and compact pickup, and even *that* is practically done already. The problem is - again, timing for Ram. Will it be too little too late? Because - gods know they've been flip flopping on 'dakota' ever since it left. lol