Latest news with #HemiV-8
CNBC
4 days ago
- Automotive
- CNBC
Why Ram had to revive its legendary Hemi V-8 engine
American pickup truck buyers are having some trouble adjusting to a new age of tightening emissions requirements and electrification. Stellantis — the parent company of brands like Ram Trucks, Jeep and Dodge — has been hit especially hard. The company briefly removed its popular gas-powered Hemi V-8 engine from much of its lineup, including from the Dodge Challenger and Charger, and the Ram 1500 half-ton pickup. Ram fans revolted. In an effort to revive the brand, recently installed CEO Antonio Filosa rehired company veteran Tim Kuniskis to run Ram. Kuniskis is also overseeing all the North American brands, including the reformed in-house performance shop Street and Racing Technology, or SRT. One of Kuniskis's first moves has been bringing the V-8 back to the 1500 pickup truck. Ram Truck sales had dropped every quarter since the company switched the engine in the 1500 to an inline-six-cylinder called the Hurricane. The Jeep and Ram brands are especially important to Stellantis. RBC Capital has estimated that about 50% of the automaker's profits come from those two brands. Kuniskis said dropping the Hemi would lose Ram at least 30,000 truck sales every year. "With loyalty running in 75% to 80% in the truck segment, you don't want to lose any of those customers," he said. Ed Kim, President and chief analyst at AutoPacific, a company that surveys car owners, said he had driven a vehicle with the new Hurricane engine. "It's a very nice engine," Kim said. "It's very refined. It's very smooth. On paper it's better in every way — well, better in many ways." But the Hemi had a certain brand name and reputation among Ram owners the Hurricane could not replace, he said. "Everybody, even if you don't know what Hemi is, you know, the term," Kuniskis said. "'Oh, it's got a Hemi.'" The decision to go "greener" — or use smaller engines and invest in electric vehicles — kicked into high gear when the Euro-American Fiat-Chrysler merged with France's Groupe PSA in 2019. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares took the helm of the newly formed Stellantis. Some of those changes alienated fans. "The wrong people were trying to guide America, American enthusiasts, in a direction they did not want to go and still don't want to go," said Mike Gresham, director of recruiting for Central Texas Mopars, a car club dedicated to cars in what is commonly considered the Chrysler or Mopar family of brands — Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram, along with defunct brands like Plymouth. "Americans associate truck performance with V-8 engines and Ram in particular," Kim said. "The Ram customer in particular, really, really, really loves the idea of having that big American V-8 under the hood." Kuniskis expects about 40% of Ram buyers sooner or later to settle on the Hemi engine. That's a lot higher than the Ford-150 V-8 take rate of about 25%, but slightly lower than General Motors — which Kuniskis attributed to the fact that, apart from a diesel, GM offers a choice of two V-8s or a four-cylinder. Ford F-150 buyers can swap in a V-8 for free on most versions of the truck. Ram buyers have to pay an extra $1,200 unless they get the high-end Limited or Longhorn trims. Kuniskis said he thinks a lot of people will choose the Hemi anyway. "Hemi is not really just a V-8. It's kind of a brand in and of itself. It's become a thing," he said. Watch the video to learn more.
NBC News
30-06-2025
- Automotive
- NBC News
Inside Stellantis' plan to revive its Ram Trucks brand after yearslong sales declines
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis reemerged from a seven-month retirement late last year saying he 'missed the fight' and admitting the Stellantis brand was getting smashed in the marketplace by its competition. Kuniskis walked on stage during a media event as the speakers blared Detroit rapper Eminem singing 'Guess who's back, back again.' He promised an aggressive turnaround for the embattled truck brand that is now getting underway and will extend through 2026. The plan includes more than 25 announcements through next year. Thus far they have included a return to NASCAR with mechanical bull rides and a new race truck, the resurrection of Hemi V-8 engines with a new 'Symbol of Protest,' and, most recently, a new industry-leading powertrain warranty for its Ram products. Since returning after a CEO shake-up, Kuniskis is invigorated. He's 'flying without a parachute,' as he recently described it, while playing with borrowed time and house money since his unretirement. He's going all in to launch a renaissance of Ram, which has experienced a 38% sales decline since its record year back in 2019. 'I have perfect clarity of my return because, after I left and had a chance to rest, I realized I didn't need to leave, I just needed a break. Then I was itching to come back,' Kuniskis told CNBC during a recent interview in his relatively undecorated office. (He gave many of his career keepsakes away when he retired.) 'We have a window of opportunity here to fix a lot of stuff, and some people are stressed out by that opportunity, and some people are fueled by it. Luckily, our team is fueled by it.' Kuniskis, who was leading Ram and Dodge upon his retirement mid-last year, said an array of issues led to the brand's current situation, including the automaker's pricing, model launch cadence and, most importantly, problems with a redesign of its Ram 1500. That redesign led to production issues that are still being worked out more than a year after the vehicle's launch. 'We tried to do too many things at once,' Kuniskis said of the Ram 1500. 'We literally changed everything instead of doing a cadence of the changes.' Kuniskis didn't touch on the larger issues Stellantis was dealing with under former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who left the automaker in December. Kuniskis was recruited back to Ram amid the change in leadership. Turnaround plan Ram is one of the most crucial of Stellantis' 14 brands — if not the most important. It competes in the highly profitable full-size pickup truck market and industry experts said its success is key to the company reestablishing itself in the commercial sales market. 'It's kind of the backbone of their business,' said Joseph Yoon, consumer insights analyst at CarMax 's data and consumer car shopping site 'The market share is hugely important.' Market share for the Ram 1500 in the U.S. full-size pickup truck market has plummeted from 17.8% in 2019 to 8.4% through roughly the first half of this year, according to Edmunds. Ram's sales of full-size trucks, which includes the 1500 and larger versions, have declined 41% from 2019 through 2024, according to company data, allowing competitors such as General Motors and Toyota Motor to increase sales during that time. While it's early into the turnaround plan, which goes into next year, Ram has already resurrected its popular Hemi V-8 engine; reintroduced lower-priced pickup truck models; announced a return to NASCAR; and introduced a 10-year/100,000 limited powertrain warranty for new trucks across its lineup, among other things. Kuniskis has said further announcements could encompass several new potential vehicles, including a passenger van and midsize pickup truck that's expected in 2027. He's also launched a 'Nothing Stops Ram' marketing campaign and delayed the brand's electrified pickup trucks amid low market demand. 'There's always a method to the madness,' Kuniskis said. 'There's always a business reason behind something that seems like fun.' Part of that 'fun' includes a return to NASCAR truck racing, where fans can 'Ride the Hemi' — a mechanical bull ride that looks like the brand's new 'Symbol of Protest' logo that features the engine with a ram's head. If riders can stay on for 15 seconds, they receive a special-edition T-shirt that can't be purchased. Its splashy return to NASCAR earlier this month in Michigan also included a new truck design, as well as a vehicle doing doughnut burnouts. Kuniskis declined to disclose sales targets for the Ram brand or its full-size pickup trucks, but he said the company is aiming for a market share somewhere between 20% and 29.9% for its full-size trucks by the end of the plan. Ram Trucks had a roughly 17% share of the U.S. full-size pickup truck market in 2024, according to industry data. 'I know exactly where we want to be and what our expectations are,' he said. 'I should legitimately have a market share that starts with a two. … That's a starting point for us.' But Kuniskis said market share is only one metric and that plant utilization and profits are also important. While Ram's overall sales are down, he said retail sales — a closely watched metric — are expected to be up by about 28% through the first half of the year. 'You don't want to chase share just for the sake of chasing share,' he said. 'I want to have all plants running at full capacity to maximize my efficiency.' 'Last Tenth LFG' Kuniskis wears a black band on his left wrist with white lettering that reads 'Last Tenth LFG.' The first part has been a mantra of Kuniskis' for years to push his top lieutenants to perform as best as they can. The latter part is an acronym with many meanings, including 'let's freaking go.' 'When you were in school, they told you 'Get an 'A,' everything will be great. You'll be successful in life.′ Not true. Not true,' Kuniskis said. 'They remember the guy that way pushed beyond just getting an 'A' in school and did something different, push that last tenth.' Kuniskis handed out the wristbands to his team as well as the brand's dealers during his return to an annual dealer conference in January as a way to regain the trust of retailers after years of contentious relations over incentives, products and price increases. So far it seems to be working, according to Michael Bettenhausen, a dealer in Illinois who chairs the Stellantis National Dealer Council. 'Everything that Tim has showed us has us convinced that the brand is on a path to get back to the volumes that we've seen from years past,' Bettenhausen said. 'We're really excited that Tim is leading this charge. It's really remarkable.' Bettenhausen also said the full-size pickup truck market is key to the success of the company and its dealers. It is made up of buyers who often have generational loyalties to a brand and act as ambassadors for it. 'Customer loyalty is a huge part of that business,' Yoon said. 'For a lot of these people, it doesn't matter if their brand is objectively the best product or not. It's just that whatever the automaker is doing, they feel like it's best for them.' Bringing back the automaker's well-known Hemi V-8 may have been a good start, as Kuniskis said the company received 12,000 Hemi orders on the first day pickup trucks with the engine were available for dealers to order. As the Hemi returns, Ram's electrification plans, including a new plug-in truck and an all-electric model, are being delayed. Kuniskis declined to discuss production timing for the all-electric model, which was initially expected last year. He said the plug-in model — known as an extended-range electric vehicle, or EREV — will begin production this year but declined to specify when consumer sales will begin. Kuniskis said he believes the EREV will be more of a differentiator in the market and more important in the brand's turnaround plan through 2026. 'I'm really bullish on the year. I'm really proud of how we started this year and that's just using traditional tactics,' Kuniskis said. 'We haven't gotten to the new stuff yet.'
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The Dodge Charger Is Reportedly Getting Its Hemi V-8 Back
Dodge is planning to bring the Hemi V-8 engine back to the , according to a new . The Hemi V-8 would rejoin the Charger lineup alongside a newly added twin-turbo inline-six and a set of powertrains. According to the report, the Hemi-powered Chargers won't be making their way into customers' hands until late 2026. Just two days ago, MoparInsiders reported that Stellantis is reviving the Hemi V-8 for its cars and moving production to its engine facility in Dundee, Michigan, in August. Now, a new report from the same outlet alleges that not only are there plans to bring back the 5.7-liter, 6.4-liter, and supercharged 6.2-liter powerplants, but Dodge is planning to shove the V-8 into the redesigned Charger muscle car. According to the report, Dodge engineers are already working toward reviving the V-8 Charger, though customers will have to wait until late 2026 for the official launch. In the meantime, the electric R/T and Scat Pack Charger Daytona are already on sale and make 456 and 670 horsepower, respectively. Car and Driver reached out to a Dodge spokesperson for comment on the report, and we'll update this story if we hear back. Production for the 420- and 550-hp versions of the Hurricane twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six Charger models (fittingly nicknamed Sixpack) will start in May. The first customer deliveries are expected this summer. It's not yet clear which version or versions of the Hemi will find their way back into the Charger, but the report that the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engine is re-entering production has us contemplating the return of the Hellcat. Whether Dodge decides to go that route or not, only time will tell, but the not-so-distant future could see the return of eight-cylinder Chargers and Ram TRXs. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Dodge Might Be Bringing Back Its Legendary Hemi V-8 Engine
One of the most beloved internal combustion engines in American automotive history is coming back from the dead. Stellantis, the multi-national conglomerate that owns Dodge and Ram, looks to have changed its mind about the Hemi V-8. The company will reportedly reintroduce the eight-cylinder mill later this year. More from Robb Report Christina Ricci's Scenic L.A. Home Is Back on the Market for $4.2 Million This Rare Bottle of Pappy Van Winkle Just Set a New Auction Record for American Whiskey This $51 Million Penthouse Atop Dubai's Burj Khalifa Sits Above the Clouds News of the legendary engine going back into production was broken by Moparinsiders. The website, which primarily covers Stellantis brands, reports that production of the eight-cylinder powertrain will resume at the company's Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan in August. The automaker isn't just bringing back one version of the engine—most famous for its use in Dodge's muscle cars—but the whole family. That includes the 5.7-liter Hemi, the 6.4-liter 'Apache' (often referred to as the '392'), and the supercharged 6.2-liter Hellcat. Hemis were previously built at a different Stellantis factory in Saltillo, Mexico. Earlier this decade, production of the engine began to wind down so that it could be replaced by the twin-turbocharged 'Hurricane' inline-six, which is used in the non-electric versions of the Dodge Charger Daytona and Ram 1500 REV. The assumption was that once the existing stock of the V-8 had been exhausted it would be done once and for all. As of the 2025 model year, the engine was still available in the Ram Heavy Duty pickup and Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. But, the V-8 received a second chance at life late last year when Carlos Tavares abruptly resigned as Stellantis CEO, according to Car and Driver. Within days, Tim Kuniskis, the godfather of the Hellcat V-8, returned as head of Ram, months after having retired as CEO of the truck maker and Dodge. Since then, there has been much speculation that the V-8 would return—and it would appear those rumors are correct. A representative for Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Robb Report. As exciting as news of the Hemi's comeback may be to some, there are at least some enthusiasts unlikely to be pleased by the development. A group of 2021 Durango Hellcat owners are currently involved in a legal battle with Dodge over the SUV because it has not turned out to be the one-and-done model it was initially touted as, according to Road & Track. With the Hemi V-8 set to be reintroduced, it's not hard to imagine the high-performance variant remaining in production for at least a little while longer. Best of Robb Report The 2024 Chevy C8 Corvette: Everything We Know About the Powerful Mid-Engine Beast The World's Best Superyacht Shipyards The ABCs of Chartering a Yacht Click here to read the full article.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Report: Stellantis Will Restart Hemi V-8 Engine Production in August
Stellantis is planning to reintroduce the Hemi lineup of V-8 engines this August, according to a new report from . Production will be moved to the Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan and will include the 5.7-liter, "392" 6.4-liter, and Hellcat supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 engines. This report follows a string of rumors that point to the V-8's return after Tim Kuniskis came back as the CEO of Ram in December. There have been rumors about the return of the Hemi V-8 engines ever since Tim Kuniskis reassumed the top position at Ram following the ouster of Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares last December. Ram dropped the V-8 option for the latest iteration of the 1500 pickup truck, and the Hurricane six-cylinder also replaced the V-8 in Dodge's new Charger. But the whispers of the Hemi V-8's revival continue picking up steam, with a new report from MoparInsiders claiming that production of the eight-cylinder powertrains will resume at the Dundee Engine Plant in Michigan in August. According to MoparInsiders, the Hemi comeback will include the entire engine family. Yes, that means not only is Stellantis gearing up to reintroduce the 5.7-liter motor, but also the 6.4-liter engine has worn the "392 Hemi" badge and the supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 that formed the heart of the monstrous Hellcat models. The Hemi V-8 engines were formerly built at the Saltillo Engine Plant in Mexico, but that facility now makes the twin-turbocharged Hurricane inline-six engines found in the Ram 1500, Jeep Wagoneer, and upcoming Dodge Charger Sixpack. The report claims that the V-8s will now be built in Dundee, Michigan where, until recently, Stellantis built the Pentastar 3.6-liter V-6 and Tigershark 2.4-liter inline-four. Stellantis previously stated that the Dundee facility will begin assembling a new turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder that will be used for hybrid models starting in 2025. This is not the first time we've heard talk of the Hemi V-8's return. Earlier this month, an alleged leaked document and subsequent report said that the Ram 1500 TRX is coming back, along with the 5.7-liter and 6.4-liter Hemi engines. This news followed earlier reports from inside Stellantis that Tavares had been the main opponent to the Hemi engines and wouldn't budge despite the majority of other decision-makers at Stellantis wanting to keep the V-8s. We've reached out to Stellantis for comment on the potential return of the Hemi V-8s and will update this story when we hear back. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
