If accurate, this is some GREAT news. My Charger came from Williams CJDR in Dundee, MI. I'd love to make a road trip and watch them build the engines if they would allow tours.

Don

 

The Hemi was built in Mexico...yet the Charger was built in Canada. That's a long trip for those engines! No wonder they were a $3,500 upcharge.
Wonder if the Tariff talk was a factor in Stellantis decision on where to make them?

 

In before AHBguru…..

 

In before AHBguru…..
View attachment 136723

I was also looking forward to the HEMI overseer to chime in about the Hemi. However, it seems AHBguru has been banned.

 

Oh, well that explains it. Seems I missed some drama from where he earned his vacation.

 

I'd sure like to know what he did to get banned?
IMO, he contributed much more here than many, including these damned perverts that we can't seem to keep banned.
I'm about sick of their disgusting crap.

Don

 

I don't dislike AHBguru. He has a different perspective than what most have and that's OK. It seemed like he was Euro probably from Germany. I have several coworkers and friends from there and the social pressures to think and act a certain way are extreme. Hopefully they can break away from that and become more open to expressing their true feelings on different subjects.

Either way I welcome everyone that enjoys the power of a hemi v8. ;-)

 

I was pretty sure he was in the US. He seemed to know quite a bit of information about Dodge which was very helpful at times.
Again, these pervert folks should be permanently banned and removed totally. Their garbage posts are not family nor forum friendly.

Don

 

He's definitely still a staff author over at Allpar, and he's been there a good long while, it appears.

I couldn't find anything on either forum where he's adamantly opposed to the hemi itself, just the durability problems.

He's hardly alone in that category.

 

I don't recall anything too negative, or negative at all, from him. Curious too, what happened to him.

 

He and another member kept going at it after warnings in the
"stellantis is investing" thread, so they both got the boot.

 

A lot of "we've heard" and "could" in that article....

 

Yes ... High on speculation, very low on verifiable facts. But let's beat up on the guy who brought receipts.

 

A lot of "we've heard" and "could" in that article....

It is smart on Mother Mopars part not to announce anything in concrete until the last minute. If they were to announce it now, it would just make their problems even bigger. They have a lot of vehicles on lots and currently being built with less desirable engine options than a good old V-8. They are having a heck of a time selling them currently, if they were to admit they were bringing back the 5.7 HEMI I would guess there would be a lot of people that would just wait for that again. That would do nothing for their current sales but hurt them. I know if I were currently shopping for a truck and knew the 5.7 would return in 2026/2027. I would choose to wait and not purchase the Hurricane. I will take a simple old V-8 over these fancy new, complicated, troublesome, high strung boosted engines. I am no hater of turbo engines, raced/showed one for over 25 years. Long term, all around longevity, V-8 takes the cake in my books, or normally aspirated straight 6, both are hard to beat!

 

Conversely, if nobody's buying them, there's no reason to bring them back.

One thought did occur to me, that the mysterious engine that could wind up in Dundee might be the 6.4 used in the heavy duty pickups.

I guess we're destined to find out, at some point.

 

The plant has been down since the middle of August of 2023 for a retool on two new engines. There is room to put the Hemi in the plant but we would have to get rid of the battery frames and trays that we got awarded in this last contract. That stuff was only going to need like 20 people for that stuff so we would rather have the Hemi then that stuff. Hopefully they get all new equipment and line for it or bring the equipment that made it in Mexico up here. Because if they do the same thing they did with this retool we currently are on it will take over 2 years to get it up and running.

 

Intended for Kramer2999:

They don't have anything showing internally for you guys, regarding the V8. As noted earlier, the only hemi they had left at Saltillo North was the HD 6.4, and I'm not qualified to speculate as to whether they'd feel it's worth the investment to move everything for that engine up to Dundee.
.

Stellantis Media - Dundee Engine Plant

Dundee

media.stellantisnorthamerica.com

 

It's a bit high-level-whining, as we say in German - we should be happy, that the HEMI is back at all, no matter, where it's made - and that MOPAR doesnt follow the death end road to nowhere with the BEV junk, which noone wants to have.

btw. - Porsche did understand, too and announced the same backlash a few days ago.

 

I hope they move everything. The 25 Durango's are being built with leftover 5.7 inventory. The same with the Hellcat Durango. I guess they ran out of 485HP versions so the SRT Durango did not make the cut for 2025. To open up a new can of worms there are rumors the current Durango may solider on into the 2027 MY. If that comes true it will be one of Dodge's longest-running platforms.

 

The only engine to move would be the HD 6.4. Everything else is long gone, almost a year ago, actually.

There's a lot of speculation regarding WD production and whether it ends after MY 2025, moves to the WL at JANP, or moves to STLA - Large at Windsor. Unifor was making some noise several months ago about capturing the new Durango. The UAW claims it goes to the WL. Stellantis Fleet had a memo out some time back that the WD would continue through '26, possibly into '27.

Who's right? Probably the UAW. The company was already going to pull the plug on the WD after the fleet orders were filled for the '25 models. They continued production to reduce stored V8 inventories. There doesn't appear to be anything verifiable that they have any kind of plan to put the Durango on Large at Windsor. The most likely scenario is to make the 3-row WL into the new Durango. That wouldn't be a bad thing, as they're damn nice cars.

 

If Tesla can release the X an Y which look like soul-less self driving sleep pods, the current Durango (with minor sheet metal modifications with upgraded interiors) can last another 10 years with ICE engines. Teh Durango is still a great looking vehicle and now with Honda and Toyota looking like cousins to the Durango, it proves people love the styling.

 

I agree, Durango sales numbers are consistent and people like v8s. Stick with what works and don't try to reinvent the wheel. Focus on addressing quality and providing the features customers want.

Also keep building Durangos in the US. Trump has made it clear that he intends to put tarifs on everything built in a different country. Why keep fighting the politicos? There's no need to keep swimming upstream.

 

There is a lot more here than engine availability... quality build, customer service, reliability, trade in value, safety, fit & finish, etc. The DD is a good-looking vehicle (my opinion) but there are way too many SUV options out there starting at $50K+ price point! A family member has a 2024 Mazda CX-90. 6-seater and almost 340HP gets 25-30MPG. It has never been in the dealer for anything other than LOF. The radio and NAV work as intended, the leather is soft and still looks new even having over 30K miles of kids and dogs running all over it. They paid the same as my DD.

BTW they sold 30,000+ CX-90 in 2024. Compare the 2024 sales of DD (31,000+) vs Ford Explorer (176,000+). Yes, don't kill the messenger, GOOGLE IT! LOL

I am a "V8 guy" and this is our third DD, but I will be honest to say I doubt it will last 18 years like my 2005 DD. Fingers crossed!

 

While what you say is true, there are a couple things that still set it apart. The ability to tow, and the fact that it has a real AWD system, transfer case with low range and is not some FWD biased AWD clutch system that overheats with any real duty applied to it. I want something I can use for all duties. Resale does not bother me as I drive my vehicle for 15-20 years. At that milage, it does not matter.

 

I so would love to stay with Mopar but as others have pointed out, it is not just the engine or vehicle designs. It is the QC, terrible dealer experience, terrible Dodge experience with parts, updates, new technology etc.

Maybe when i decide to sell the Durango, I will go back to a 1971 Challenger resto mod for around 50k and live the life I have always wanted as long as the resto mod uses a Mopar crate engine and not some chevy thing. LOL

 

I so would love to stay with Mopar but as others have pointed out, it is not just the engine or vehicle designs. It is the QC, terrible dealer experience, terrible Dodge experience with parts, updates, new technology etc.
...

But well, where do you have to go to avoid that experiences?

According the surveys of the last years in Germany Toyota garages had the most satisfied customers.

I thought Porsche, due the higher quality standards, but their customer are the most discontent - due the extreme prices.