A “big reset” here means the car company is changing its overall strategy. The hosts are saying Stellantis is reorganizing priorities and support across its brands.
Maserati is an Italian luxury car brand. It’s mentioned as another Stellantis brand that would still be supported even if Chrysler and Dodge are deemphasized.
The Chrysler New Yorker is a Chrysler model name that’s tied to the brand’s larger cars. In the podcast, it’s mentioned because there were very few brand-new Chryslers available at the time. That’s why it comes up—availability and production were part of the point.
The Dodge Hornet is a smaller crossover SUV. The hosts say it’s one of the vehicles that’s been mentioned as something Dodge wants to bring back or continue.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is a pickup truck that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. The podcast talks about how many people put down deposits and what price was expected, but the final situation didn’t match those expectations. That’s why it’s brought up in the conversation.
The Tesla Cybertruck is a pickup truck that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. It was talked about with a specific target price, but the final outcome didn’t match those expectations. That’s why it comes up in conversations about what to expect from new vehicles.
Alfa Romeo is an Italian car brand. In this discussion, it’s mentioned as the European influence behind a product idea that didn’t sell well the first time.
Here, “reboot” means restarting a car name or idea with a new version. The speaker’s point is that if people didn’t want it before, a comeback might not change that.
Stellantis is the big company behind a lot of car brands. Here, they’re making announcements that could change what models get built and sold in the U.S.
Jeep is a car brand known for off-road vehicles. The speaker is saying they’ve seen problems with some Jeeps and using that as a reason to doubt future plans.
Land Rover is a car brand that makes SUVs built for rough roads. The host is making a joke that Land Rover vehicles might not always be ready to drive, so you’d need more than one.
JLR means Jaguar Land Rover. The host is basically saying that if a car carries the JLR name, it might feel more “worth it” to buyers—even if the product is being positioned as something new.
“Synergies” is a business term for “benefits from combining.” In car companies, it often means saving money or sharing parts and technology after a merger.
Topic
all electrified offering
“All electrified” means the company is planning to sell mostly electric versions of its cars. That usually changes how the cars are built and how they’re priced.
“Solantis” sounds like the host is talking about Stellantis, a big car company. They’re saying the company is trying to improve by selling more affordable cars that fit what their customers want.
This phrase means the company is trying to return to what it used to do best. In this case, the host says that means making cheaper cars that their usual customers can afford.
The Ford Maverick is a smaller pickup truck from Ford. People like it because it’s usually cheaper than the big full-size trucks, but still gives you the basics you’d want from a truck.
They’re basically saying: when the big trucks get too expensive, more people look for smaller, cheaper trucks instead. That can make the smaller-truck market grow.
Ram is Stellantis’ truck brand, and the segment frames its upcoming lineup as a major move in the pickup market. The hosts also connect Ram’s strategy to a continued focus on internal combustion engine vehicles.
Stellantis is the big company that owns several car brands, including Ram. The discussion is about whether some of those brands will eventually be dropped or reduced because of business strategy.
Ram is a brand that makes full-size pickup trucks. The podcast is saying Ram had a big effect on the truck market, meaning it was doing very well compared to other trucks. That’s why it’s mentioned in a market discussion.
Internal combustion engine vehicles are the normal gas- or diesel-powered cars and trucks. The hosts are saying Ram is still putting a lot of effort into gas-engine trucks, not just electric ones.
Muscle cars are the classic “fast and powerful” style of car, usually built for strong acceleration. “Muscle car customers” means people who buy for that performance feel, not for economy or practicality alone.
A “Hemi” is an engine design where the combustion chamber is shaped like a half-sphere. When people say “Hemi V8,” they mean a V8 engine built with that design—famous for muscle-car power.
“Hemi” engines use a special shape inside the cylinder head that helps the engine burn fuel more effectively. It’s become a performance nickname, especially for certain Chrysler V8s.
“Add-ons” are extra items or charges a dealer adds on top of the car’s price. They can make the total cost higher, even if the car itself doesn’t really change.
The “out the door price” is the full total you’ll pay to actually drive the car home. It includes the car price plus the extra taxes and fees, so it’s the best number to compare between dealers.
LIVE
It's noon here in Venture City, New Jersey,
and our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.
And this is Carage Live for Thursday, May 21st.
First, May 21st with your hosts,
me, Ray here in my living room in Venture,
and Zach hanging out one last day
with his life ring in Washington.
How are you today, handsome?
Doing well, Pops.
Excited to see you this evening for dinner.
Can't wait to celebrate our younger, my younger,
I guess he's both of our cousin.
I'm a three-year-old.
Yeah, our cousin's graduation from college,
so can't wait to do that this afternoon.
But before we're gonna do today's show,
and before we do today's show,
we're gonna remind y'all that me and my dad
for the past six years have been working on caredge.com.
Save $2,487 on your next car.
Let us do the work for you.
On average.
On average, on average.
For those of you that are unfamiliar,
we work for you, not car dealers.
We're in your corner.
You can learn more about our car buying services
or our research tools, or even dealer reviews
back at caredge.com.
And I strongly encourage anyone that's interested
in learning more for sharing with us
where you are in your car buying journey,
you can get a free consultation call
with our team back at caredge.com.
We have an incredible group of people
that work here at Car Edge.
Lots and lots and lots of industry experience.
We are here to help you.
Now, Dad, the big story this morning,
it is Solantis Investor Day update.
And they have effectively decided
that they are going to kill a few of their brands.
At least that's our read on the room.
Solantis plans nine new North American vehicles
under $40,000 by 2030.
If I'm not mistaken, three vehicles under $30,000
as well as their goal.
But the big headline is right here, Dad.
The company's new $70 billion five-year plan
being unveiled by CEO Antonio Felosa
and other executives during a May 21st
day-long presentation to investors
calls for directing 70% of their global investment
to Jeep, Ram, Peugeot, Fiat
and the Pro 1 commercial division.
There are a couple brands, Dad,
not listed in that lineup right there.
What's that say to you?
It says to me you're gonna be going to your Jeep Ram dealers
in the future, not your Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealers
in the future.
Yeah, it seems as if Chrysler,
which was the founder Walter Chrysler
of the Chrysler Corporation and the Chrysler brand
seems as if, you know, when you look at that,
that well, perhaps Chrysler and Dodge
that were a big part of Solantis at one time
are ultimately eventually going to find themselves
out of business or on the wayside
or just a second thought at best.
You and I made many videos over the years
talking about automotive brands
that may go by the wayside to your point there.
And Chrysler and Dodge have been on them
from time to time.
It is interesting, Dad,
this is their big reset over at Solantis
and they intentionally left off Chrysler and Dodge,
which leads me to wanna do my favorite thing
that we do on this show,
which is a bit of a live experiment.
And that live experiment, that is,
what the heck do Chrysler and Dodge even sell right now?
So I'm gonna come here, let's shop cars, new cars.
What's going on in the world of Chrysler and Dodge?
Because again, it looks like those two brands
are on their way out.
And if I sort here, let's look at it.
Well, you know, I saw that and I said to myself,
okay, they're on the way out.
I mean, only 70, only 30% of that 70 billion
will be for other brands in Solantis' lineup.
And well, those other brands are many,
above and beyond Chrysler and Dodge.
Like, you know, Alfa Romeo is one and there are others.
So it, it, it.
Dad, Maserati is another.
Yeah, no, there are quite a few though,
that are gonna be spread because that 30%.
It seems clear to me that they're saying
those brands are either gonna be dissolved, sold off,
go by the wayside.
Like that's what it says to me.
But then look at this dad.
Chrysler nationwide right now?
Yeah.
Only has 17,397 new cars for sale.
Is it only the, is it only the Pacifica?
No, okay.
Yeah, it is.
It's the Pacifica.
Primarily, yes.
Yeah, the Pacifica and the Voyager.
That's all that Chrysler dealers have right now.
So, so essentially what you're saying is Chrysler
is out of business as, as we sit here today.
And as we speak, that there would only be 17,000
brand new Chryslers available.
And Dodge has the Charger, the Durango and the Hornet,
which is interesting because the Hornet is actually
one of the vehicles that they called out by name
in automotive news as a vehicle that they want to relaunch.
This is like, absolutely.
When did they say that?
They're supposedly gonna do three new Chrysler crossovers
and a Dodge Hornet do-over.
So like that is the investment that they're making.
Is they're gonna do over, like it seems like either
they're going down the path of they're gonna get rid
of these brands or they're gonna make them,
they're super inexpensive options coming to the market.
So yeah, you can see here, Chrysler's gonna add three
crossovers to the lineup by 2030 that are smaller
than the current Pacifica mini-bin.
Okay.
All right.
Let's see.
And you're betting Dodge, you're betting the resurrection
of Dodge is on the back of a redone Dodge Hornet.
Okay.
Well, here's what I would say to that,
especially the, well, we're gonna bring out three models
under $30,000 and we're gonna bring out,
what was it, seven or nine models under $40,000 in 2030.
Okay, so we keep saying we're going to-
The brands even survive until 2030.
Yeah, but who cares?
Here's the point.
We keep saying that we're going to bring out vehicles
at price points that could be, might be, possibly be,
attainable today and we're going to announce
that it'll fall under a certain price point
at today's numbers when in reality we know
three or four years from now, those numbers won't exist,
won't be doable.
Every manufacturer who has said in the past
that we're bringing this out or we're bringing that out
and they've quoted a price that it was going to be,
oh, it's going to be under $40,000,
it's going to be under whatever,
it's never come out anywhere near that price.
Okay, the Ford Lightning, the day they took 150,000 deposits
was going to be $39,995.
You couldn't find one at that price
if your life depended on it.
Okay, the Cybertruck was going to be $39,995.
Never happened.
So if the headlines are going to be,
and Ford has done it and now Stellantis is doing it,
if the headlines going to be,
we're going to be bringing out three models
that are under $30,000, that sounds good
based on today's dollars.
That sounds not doable based on the fact that,
well, in 2030, that's four frickin' years from now.
Okay, you think there's going to be
any inflation between now and then?
Of course, that, of course.
But at least they are doing the things
that you would want them to do,
that they are talking about it.
But Dad, do you think?
Oh, come on, that's like me talking about being six foot.
I'm 55 and a half on a good day.
Yeah, I always wanted to be 57
Never happened, never will happen.
Do you think this is setting the path
to sunset these brands,
or do you think they actually have conviction behind what?
It will take time.
So they're saying by 2030,
it seems like Chrysler and Dodge
are going to be their down market low price options.
That's what it looks like.
Well, the question I ask is,
are we actually going to get to 2030
and they're still going to be solvent?
They're still going to want to invest in what?
I don't know.
Here's the real question.
They couldn't sell the hornet the first time around.
Yeah, but, you know, they priced the hornet
really, really, really expensively.
Didn't they?
No, they did not.
That was, there were a hornets that were in the low 30s
when they first came out.
This is crazy, by the way.
There's 347 new 2024 Dodge hornets
still just sitting out there.
Okay, so there were hornets.
Some of them got expensive, Dad.
50,000 dollars.
Some got expensive, but my point is,
they were in the low 30s,
and they couldn't sell them.
I love this, Dad.
No one tries harder.
I love that.
That's great.
That's great.
No one tries harder.
No, for what?
They grabbed the, whatever.
I don't know anything.
That's all I'm going to keep in mind.
But my point is,
that if you couldn't sell the hornet the first time around,
okay, and it was based on a sportier European
vehicle, the Alfa Romeo.
So if you couldn't sell that the first time around,
what makes you think that anybody's going to clamor for it
the second time around?
If there was no interest the first time,
why would you reboot it?
Why wouldn't you just boot it out of the lineup forever?
Never, never to bring back that name.
It just doesn't make sense to me.
Well, maybe, Dad, there's another piece of work
that Stellantis has announced that they're going to do,
which maybe is going to be the saving grace.
So let's share this news with our community.
Stellantis, Jaguar, Land Rover, Explore Potential US Tie-Up.
The two automakers are exploring a deal
to develop vehicles together in the US market.
Maybe this, Dad, is going to be the saving grace
over at Stellantis and Jaguar Land Rover.
What do you make of this news?
Well, we already know that many Jeeps fail
and we really know that Land Rover,
as the old saying goes, if you're a Land Rover owner
and you want to drive 17 days a week,
you need two, you need to own two
because one of the two will not be in operation
the whole week.
So maybe if they combine forces,
they can find a whole new way to fail.
They can bring failure to a whole new level.
It is, it's like, I get that Land Rover
has a certain cachet associated with it.
At one time, Jaguar did as well.
Certainly doesn't that anymore.
But, I mean, are they going to resurrect the Grand Wagon
in the air at 120 grand when they do that?
I mean, what is that point?
Maybe now it'll have a JLR badge on it too,
so you can justify that price point.
You're still kidding?
Yeah, yeah, okay.
What, yeah, so the people that buy those
are buying the cachet of the JLR brand,
the Land Rover brand.
We've talked about, Dad, we've talked about
on those brands that may no longer exist.
Jaguar has also been on those lists that we've done
because there's no real sign, wait,
let's actually do a little pulse check,
a momentary pulse check, a sign of life from Jaguar.
Is there a sign of life from Jaguar?
Let's look together.
How many new Jaguars are for sale nationwide
right now in the United States?
You got 1700.
There you have it.
Is that a sign of life or is that a sign
of what we're on our death bed?
I interpret it as a sign that we're on our death bed.
And what's interesting is the strategy to resurrect Jaguars
to pair it up with two other brands,
Chrysler Dodge and then everything else
under the Solantis umbrella, like that's the solution.
I just, I find it funny.
Is that really a solution?
Is that, is that?
Well, how many days have you been on the market?
234, 479, 234, 480, 481, 154.
Okay, here we go.
Finally, some fresh inventory.
I mean, I don't want to be,
Wow.
Wow.
I don't get it.
I mean,
I mean, how are those two brands come together
and think there's going to be synergies?
I mean, what is the synergistic force
behind those two brands coming together?
You have basically one brand in North America,
Jaguar, that took the year off
because they were going to come out the following year
with an all electrified offering.
Not sure that's still the case.
I have no idea what they're doing.
And you pair them with Solantis,
who has struggled mightily,
but is finally figuring out a way to turn things around.
And it seems to me,
what they have figured out to turn things around
is to some degree go back to their roots
and start offering less expensive vehicles
that fit their customer base,
as opposed to going upscale
and leaving their customers behind
and then watching sales go down.
And so if they're going to go back
to what their customer base is,
how does that match up with Jaguar Land Rover?
Jaguar is a luxury brand.
Land Rover is a luxury four-wheel drive off-road type brand.
Where's the synergy?
Where's it all mesh other than to say,
well, we tried to cheap grand wagon here at $100 plus
and that didn't work.
So let's mesh up with Jaguar Land Rover
and figure out how we can come up with some products here
that our customers aren't going to want to buy either.
Yeah, crazy to see those two
getting in bed with one another.
Dad, we do got to give some credit here,
at least in terms of what they're saying
they're going to do in 2028,
which is sooner than 2030.
Graham is going to come out with a compact pickup truck
to challenge Ford with the Maverick.
Now this is interesting because Toyota is rumored
to be coming out with a compact pickup truck as well.
So the expectation here, Dad,
is this is going to be a Ford Maverick competitor.
This is going to come out in 2028
and based on the RAM page,
which is currently sold in South America.
So this, I think, Dad,
could be where the bounce back happens for Stalanzas,
products like these, a compact pickup truck.
The Maverick has been selling great ever since it came out.
This could be Graham's way to get back into the business.
Yes, no, absolutely.
You know, is there a market
for compact inexpensive pickup trucks
because full-size pickup trucks
have gotten too expensive?
So yes, I think because the price
of full-size pickup trucks has gotten so high
that they have artificially created a market
for compact inexpensive pickup trucks
that that market might never have been as robust as it is now.
Had prices of full-size pickup trucks not gotten ridiculous.
We look at me and my dad every single day.
We look at on automotivenews.com.
Yes, they put this chart like here and it updates every day.
And it is, it's dammit, guys.
Like, I don't know another way to say it's dammit.
So when we're talking about like the prices of full-size pickups
have gotten so expensive, they're about $15,000 more on average
than the number you're seeing right there.
Year over year, we're up $1,813 just in the last 30 days.
We're up a grand.
The average market advice for new cars in the United States.
Like, yeah, I literally look at this every single day
and it's it just keeps going.
I look at it as well.
And so every time I hear a manufacturer
talk about how they are going to bring to market
more affordable vehicles at at sub $30,000 price points
or sub $40,000 price points, I look at this and I say to myself,
they are so full of you can fill in the blank.
It's not so.
Every one of their actions is the opposite of their words.
You know, a $1,800 increase year over year,
I guarantee you most people's incomes haven't gone up $1,800
year over year.
$926 higher than a month ago.
It is it is one thing to talk about it.
OK, it is another thing to actually do it.
And I honestly believe that this is just talk.
OK, it is nothing more than corporate speak.
OK, to make it seem as if they are
understanding of what the situation is.
But yet their actions never seem to match those words.
And every indication is that pricing is continuing to go up
and that they that they are more concerned with servicing
the small percentage of people who can actually afford to buy the vehicles
at the prices that they're at.
I think eventually we're going to see that number that you and I track
every single day go in the opposite direction.
2028 for the new Ram small pickup truck.
Hopefully it happens sooner than later.
But it's an interesting day over in Stalantis,
land some brands seemingly on their path towards being a dinosaur,
at least is the way I think about that.
Let's switch gears here.
We've got from Scott. Appreciate this, Scott.
Thanks. Thank you, Scott.
Ram just literally pooped on all the truck market
with the release of their new rumblebee and the big V8s for next year.
They are also going deep and heavy on internal combustion engine vehicles.
So that'll also be interesting to see how that plays out in Kinesis.
Everyone was happy when he got put into his position
because he seems to really understand his customers.
Well, that's it.
That I mean, that's it.
You know, there were two types of customers for for those brands.
OK, one set of customers, the vast majority of their customers
were lower price point vehicles, more affordable vehicles.
And the other subset of their customers were muscle car customers,
muscle car buyers, the people that wanted the big Hemi V8s.
You know, the big muscle cars, whether it be a muscle car or muscle truck.
OK, so at least you see through the advent of coming out
with the big V8s again and the Hemi engines again,
that yes, they they understand that's a that's a pretty sizable chunk
of their customer base and OK, we're going to relan
and we're going to give you what you want, what you'll actually buy from us.
So that's a step in the right direction.
And I don't know if you've noticed, but that happened to hold a lot quicker
than them saying, well, we're going to buy 2030, bring it.
Different timelines, for sure.
Dad, I want to give everyone a friendly reminder.
We have a dealer review platform back at CarEdge.com.
That is pretty crazy, if I may say so myself.
For those of you that are unfamiliar, go to CarEdge.com, dealer reviews.
Or more and more often now, if you search things like
is there an honest Subaru dealer near me, something like that.
It's showing up more and more in Google and in the AI stuff.
That was interesting here is Capital Subaru.
Unfortunately, they got an F grade from CarEdge.
And the reason they did, I'm going to scroll on down here is because, OK,
no crazy dock fee, but they have insane add ons.
And what's incredible about this is we can actually view the quotes right here.
The first out the door price quote from this dealership that on a used Subaru.
Included all of these add ons.
Oh, my God, that's 13,400 hours worth of stuff.
Now, no dock fee, right?
They just put it in other fees down here.
But this is insanity.
So this is why this dealer.
But you've got to love the 599 and other accessories.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
These were successors.
Case it in of all your accessories.
We got you with the other accessories as well.
This is the type of stuff we're calling dealers out for back on our dealer reviews.
So please, please, please, CarEdge.com slash dealers.
If you're not using this, you need to use this in your car shopping experience
because, well, now you know, not the waste your time with that particular dealer
who's going to give you a quote that adds $13,000 in add ons.
Absolute insanity.
Again, just wanted to bring awareness to that.
We're going to call to show a little bit early today.
I am moving.
All right, the mover is going to be here in eight minutes.
OK.
I am so grateful no one can see what's going on in this apartment right now.
So today's moving day, which is very exciting.
I'll be in a new office tomorrow.
Dad, very excited for that.
I'm going to get someone to come in and help me design it
because I really want to have like a good feel in there.
I want it to feel nice.
I want the background to look nice.
If you have suggestions for what should be in my background in the new office.
I'm all ears.
I would love some community input there.
And as always, if we can help anyone with anything, CarEdge.com.
This is where we have all of our product services and support.
I can't wait to see the new office and actually
maybe do a show from the new office.
Or maybe I can wait because that requires me to go to D.C.,
which requires me first to get to Philadelphia, then take the train.
But but may I say it'll be wonderful to see you and your sister.
Yeah. And may I say girlfriend.
Yeah, girlfriend. Yeah. Who I've never met.
I'm at dinner tonight.
Celebrating Jason's graduation from from Johns Hopkins University.
John Hopkins.
I thought it was Johns Hopkins.
The Johns Hopkins or Johns Hopkins?
Johns Hopkins.
Johns Hopkins.
John. John. John Hopkins.
John Hopkins. Yeah, they got rid of the cake.
All right, folks, we're back tomorrow.
I love you, Dad. I'll see you.
Safe travels.
I love you too.
Safe travels.
The Baltimore. I'll see you there this afternoon.
Johns Hopkins.
John. John Hopkins.
Yes, isn't that what it is?
Johns Hopkins.
Yeah, probably. Yeah, it's kind of like Ruth's Chris.
About this episode
Stellantis’ Investor Day update becomes a debate over which brands are being prioritized—and which look like they’re being phased out. The hosts highlight targets like “nine new North American vehicles under $40,000 by 2030” and a “$70 billion five-year plan,” then argue Chrysler and Dodge are being left out of the “big reset.” They dig into dealer reality (Chrysler inventory nearly gone, Hornet relaunch talk) and question whether “under-$X” pricing promises ever match what buyers can actually get.
Today on CarEdge Live, Ray and Zach discuss the latest news from Stellantis. Tune in to learn more! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com
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