2025 Ram 1500 Big Horn/lone Star on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Pickup prices rising at 2x industry average

We've said it before, but bears repeating: Pickup trucks are the financial engines of America's automakers. Good thing, then, that the segment is in rude health - in fact, Automotive News is suggesting that pickup truck sales are arguably healthier than they were pre-recession, even though the segment's volume is still significantly down from where it was before the bottom fell out of the US economy. That's because per-unit profits on full-size trucks are skyrocketing, outpacing the industry's average price increases by more than double since 2005. According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a full-size pickup is now $39,915 - a heady increase over the $31,059 average price in 2005 - a gain of over 8 percent after inflation is factored in.
Just how important are trucks to automakers' bottom lines? Automotive News quotes a Morgan Stanley analyst as saying the Ford F-Series is responsible for 90 percent of the company's 2012 profits, and General Motors isn't far behind, with the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra twins chipping in about two-thirds of the automaker's earnings.
Automotive News points out that Detroit's automakers now have the money to invest in modernizing their full-size truck offerings, in part because they don't have the same overhead and legacy costs that pushed General Motors and Chrysler into bankruptcy. Certainly, the pickup segment has seen a lot of innovations as of late, including turbocharged V6s, coil-spring rear suspensions and active aero. Those improvements in important areas like fuel economy and ride comfort have given existing pickup buyers new reasons to upgrade. In addition, automakers are piling on the tech and luxury goodies, creating more and more high-content, high-profit models like the Ford F-150 King Ranch, Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn and Chevrolet Silverado High Country (shown).

Fiat Chrysler posts record Q3 profit thanks to U.S. trucks and Jeep

MILAN — A rebound in car production in Fiat Chrysler on Wednesday reported record third-quarter earnings as production returned to nearly pre-pandemic levels. The Italian-American automaker, which is finalizing its full merger with French rival PSA Peugeot, reported a net profit in the three months ending Sept. 30 of $1.4 billion (1.2 billion euros). That compares with a loss of 179 million euros a year earlier. The carmaker reported adjusted earnings before tax and interest in North America of 2.5 billion euros. That offset deepening losses in Europe, Asia and at its Maserati luxury marquee. Latin America, the only other region to post a profit, saw it narrow by two-thirds to 46 million euros. “Our record results were driven by our teamÂ’s tremendous performance in North America,” CEO Mike Manley said in a statement. Overall, the carmaker said global earnings before tax and interest were a record 2.3 billion euros despite a 6% fall in revenues to 26 billion euros. Global shipments were down 3%, due largely to plant retooling in North American to produce the new Jeep Grand Wagoneer in the luxury SUV segment and the discontinuation of the Dodge Grand Caravan classic minivan. Fiat Chrysler announced earlier Wednesday that its merger with PSA Peugeot is on track to be finalized by the end of the first quarter of 2021, as planned. To meet regulatory concerns, the French carmaker is selling a small stake in a components maker to get below 40% ownership. The new automaker, to be called Stellantis, will be the fourth biggest producer in the world. Earnings/Financials Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot

New Barracuda, Grand Cherokee Trackhawk coming soon

As we write this, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is conducting a major dealership event in sunny Las Vegas. New vehicles are being announced, redesigned offerings are being teased, and promises are being made to the sprawling company's dealer body. And, as all these announcements are meant to be tip-top secret, they're leaking out left, right, and center. Naturally. FCA is telling its dealers all of the vehicles shown at the Vegas gala will be in showrooms within 12 to 24 months, and that the product offensive will include at least 30 new or significantly refreshed models. Some of those we've known about since FCA boss Sergio Marchionne unveiled his highly ambitious five-year plan in May 2014, while we're hearing about others for the very first time. We've reached out to our sources within FCA, and will update this post as we learn more. It should be noted that while we've tried to rely on concrete sources or corroborations from multiple sources, some of the news here comes from people claiming to have been in attendance and posting in forums like Allpar and Jalopnik's Opposite Lock. Unless corroborated by a mainstream source or confirmed by our own sources within FCA, we're listing each item that comes from a forum. Have those grains of salt at the ready. Chrysler Dodge Durango-sized SUV with stow-and-go was shown. A poster on Allpar Forums claims it had a Durango's interior. New Aspen? Town and Country PHEV confirmed (again). A plug-in minivan was originally announced as part of five-year plan. No news on 200 or 300. Dodge The redesigned Charger will use the Alfa Romeo Giulia's rear-drive platform and, according Automotive News, draw inspiration from 1999's Charger concept car. We're wagering the 24-month time frame specified to dealers will move the new sedan's arrival up from 2018 to mid-2017. Jalopnik's Opposite Lock claims two new Challenger models are coming. Challenger ADR (American Drag Racer) and T/A. ADR should appeal to bracket racers and is more powerful than the SRT Hellcat, while T/A is for track rats, just like Viper T/A. Automotive News claims the legendary Barracuda nameplate will be revived as a Dodge. The Barracuda will be smaller than Challenger, offered as both a coupe and a convertible. Allpar claims it will feature modern styling. A Dodge Durango SRT was announced with 6.4-liter Hemi V8 and rear-drive. Sources within FCA confirmed its arrival with Autoblog. Apparently, dealers were shown an example in B5 Blue.