2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Srt8 6.1 Hemi on 2040-cars

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Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.

Texas student drives Barbie Jeep to school after DWI

A Texas college student who lost her license when she was charged with a DWI this spring found a creative way of getting around campus. Tara Monroe, 20, is a student at the University of Texas at Austin. She had her driver's license automatically suspended when she refused a breathalyzer test after leaving a Waka Flocka concert on March 4. He dad took her car away and left her with a bike. But that just wasn't classy enough for Monroe. "Riding a bike around campus sucks," she told MySA.com. "Like really sucks." She searched Craigslist to find an alternative and settled on a bright pink Fisher-Price Barbie Jeep Power Wheel toy to help lug her stuff around campus. She named it after the original owner, a little girl named Charlene. The unorthodox ride has turned Monroe into a minor celebrity. Pictures of her slowly making her way around campus in the toy car have been popping up on social media. "This is the best way I could have gotten my 15 minutes of fame," she said. "Basically, it was the best decision I've made in college, yet..." The Barbie Jeep has a 12-volt battery and only goes about five miles per hour. Monroe says she loves the attention she is getting from her immature hijinks. If you enjoy the sight of adults crammed into Power Wheels check out our attempt to cruise around the Autoblog office in a tike-sized Ford F-150. News Source: mySA.com Humor Weird Car News Jeep Driving Electric Videos college power wheels student barbie

2015 Jeep Renegade to start at $17,995, Trailhawk rings up at $25,995

Prices for the 2015 Jeep Renegade have leaked onto a enthusiast forum ahead of the official embargo on pricing and driving impressions, which breaks at 12:01 AM Friday. They come from a video interview with Jeep CEO Mike Manley, that was allegedly set live accidentally. It's since been pulled down. At this point, it's unclear if the listed prices include any destination charges, so they could climb slightly higher or lower. In its most basic form, the two-wheel-drive Renegade Sport will go on sale for just $17,995. For that price, you get, um, not a lot. Really. The entry level Renegade doesn't even offer standard air conditioning – it's part of a package that includes heated power mirrors and cruise control. The $21,295 Latitude adds a leather-wrapped steering wheel, standard 16-inch wheels, air conditioning, five-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Bluetooth, a six-speaker stereo and USB connectivity. The top-end Renegade Limited, meanwhile, starts at $24,795 and makes standard items of the heated, powered leather seats, dual-zone climate control, seven-inch TFT display in the instrument cluster, auto-dimming mirror and 18-inch wheels. The Limited also adds a number of aesthetic tweaks that spruce up the Renegade's exterior, including brightwork around the grille, mirror caps, taillights and roof rails. The above prices, of course, are only for the front-drive Renegade. Add $2,000 to the above prices for all-wheel drive. You won't need to add that to the all-wheel-drive-only Trailhawk, which starts at $25,995 and comes with a slew of off-road features, including a bespoke front and rear fascia, with the former sporting the world's most adorable pair of red tow hooks. Mechanically, there's an exclusive version of the brand's Active Drive all-wheel-drive system that includes a 20-to-one crawl ratio and a dedicated Rock mode for the Selec-Terrain system and 17-inch wheels. The cabin, meanwhile, is home to Ruby Red accents. While we have basic trim prices, we're still without more specific details, including the cost of marquee options like the My Sky roof, as well as the plethora of options packages that will be available when the CUV arrives in dealers. We'll have our full review of the all-new Renegade available when the embargo on driving impressions breaks Friday. In the meantime, let us know what you think of these prices. Are they where you expected them to be? Higher? Lower? Have your say in Comments. Related Video: