Author: Clark Westfield
Clark Westfield grew up fixing up and driving past-their-prime American cars, including various GM and Mopar V8s. He has ghostwritten auto news for the last few years, lives in Farmingdale, New York, and can be reached at +1.516-531-4021.
08/04/2020
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What FCA is joining: Stellantis’ hits and misses
FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV) and PSA (Peugeot SA) are set to merge into Stellantis, creating one company out of American Chrysler, Italian Fiat and Alfa Romeo and Maserati, French Peugeot and Citroën, and German-American Opel. Most Americans haven’t seen a Peugeot in many years, and only see Citroëns in movies if at all. So […]
08/03/2020
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Is it good or bad for Chrysler when the Pacifica Hybrid wins awards?
Is it good or bad for Chrysler when the Pacifica Hybrid wins awards? The latest accolade for the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid is from the AAA, or American Automobile Association, a mildly influential group which named the Hybrid its topic SUV-and-minivan; it was also one of the top three cars picked by AAA overall. What’s wrong […]
08/02/2020
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2020 – no, wait, 2021 – maybe 2022 is when the flood of good electric vehicles is coming
Lucid Air starts production next year, and Rivian will be pumping out tens of thousands of Amazon vans and maybe some Ford-badged pickups and other vehicles. But the electric vehicle world will really be hopping in 2022, when all the various new electric car companies will either be running at full speed, or at least be […]
07/17/2020
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We saw this coming: Voyager renamed Grand Caravan
We all knew this would happen sooner or later: in Canada, because Pacifica and Voyager sales have remained pitiful, the cheap version of the Pacifica has had a name change from “Voyager” to “Grand Caravan.” (Not Caravan, but Grand Caravan.) Chrysler Voyager and Canadian Grand Caravan look so similar, we are not even bothering to […]
07/10/2020
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FCA recalling a million 2007-11 SUVs, minivans
FCA is recalling roughly one million 2008-2010 minivans and 2007-2011 Dodge Nitros, starting next month, because clips and steering-wheel logos could come loose and “act as projectiles” when the airbag deploys. There have been at least 14 possibly related injuries, all affecting the drivers. The type of clip used in these cars is not in […]
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Jeep aims at Ranger, Colorado with new diesel Gladiator
The Jeep Gladiator is a serious off-road pickup, providing fine towing capacity but only a short bed; length was sacrificed for off-road capability. Until now, though, there was no torque-monster engine, responsive from idle, to match the old 4-liter straight-six. What’s more, those looking at Chevy Colorados, Toyota Tacomas, and Ford Rangers may have been […]
07/06/2020
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Who’s winning the US sales races? (Did GM beat Ford in pickups?)
We know who gained and lost the most in second-quarter sales, but what about the smaller races to see who won in particular segments—like muscle cars and pickups? The Dodge Challenger may have dropped quite a bit in the first half of the year, but its final tally of 22,018 sales from January through June […]
07/01/2020
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Wow, sales have dropped! (Now includes Ford)
US car and truck sales plummeted over the last three months. At GM, sales dropped by 34% versus Q2 2019; the company did pretty well in the first quarter but got hammered in the second, albeit doing better than Fiat Chrysler. Chevrolet fell by 34%, Buick by 36%, Cadillac by 41%, and GMC by 33%. […]
06/29/2020
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GM to build new Jeeps Infantry Squad Vehicles
The Army has awarded GM a contract to build and maintain the Army’s new Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV). The vehicle, essentially a specialized, larger form of jeep, is an all-terrain group carrier which can move nine soldiers through the battlefield. It must be light enough to be slung from a UH-60 “Blackhawk” helicopter, and small […]
06/24/2020
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What the @!#*&! is going on? Dodge, Chevy clobber Toyota in J.D. Power
Dodge has rocketed from its recent place near the bottom of the J.D. Power initial quality study to appear at the very top—very nearly tied with, of all brands, Kia. Chevrolet and Ram were also nearly tied for third and fourth place, with Genesis barely below them, rounding out the top five brands. Source: J.D. […]