Jeep parent company Stellantis on Friday said it would indefinitely shut down a manufacturing plant in Illinois and lay off approximately 1,350 employees early next year. The facility – located in Belvidere, a city 75 miles northwest of downtown Chicag…
Chevy’s first hybrid Corvette leaks ahead of summer 2023 arrival
Chevrolet has inadvertently offered a peek at its first electrified Corvette. Fans on CorvetteBlogger, Corvette Forum and elsewhere discovered that GM briefly made the 2024 Corvette E-Ray hybrid available through Chevy’s online visualizer tool. The design mates the wide body of the C8 Z06 with the regular model’s exhaust pipes, and introduces minor cosmetic tweaks like new colors (Cacti green, anyone?) and model-specific wheels. The biggest changes, as you might guess, sit inside.
Images of the engine bay suggest the E-Ray will use the regular C8 Corvette’s LT2 V8 engine. As Jalopnikexplains, past reports have suggested this Vette will use an electric motor on the front axle to provide all-wheel drive. It might offer a combined 605HP. The absence of a charging port suggests this is a conventional hybrid rather than a plug-in, although a glimpse of the interior shows a button to control regenerative braking. You’d also see adaptive cruise control in the lineup for the first time.
C8 Corvette E-Ray, a new hybrid version with an expected total of 605 combined hp (490 engine, 115 electric) expected to be released in the next few months.. thoughts? pic.twitter.com/8l4Wnxwgq3
— Aaron (@aaron_g04xx) December 9, 2022
The slip-up hasn’t revealed much about options. A ZER Performance Package will add Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, underside strakes and possibly carbon-ceramic brakes. You’ll have your choices of aluminum and carbon fiber wheels, at least.
Chevy briefly confirmed the E-Ray’s existence to CorvetteBlogger, noting in a statement that “the holidays came early” and asking enthusiasts to stay tuned. There’s no mention of pricing, but the visualizer said the hybrid would arrive in summer 2023. The brand previously said to expect the semi-electric Corvette next year, but didn’t narrow the timeframe.
This is just the start of Chevy’s plans to electrify its iconic sports car. A full Corvette EV is in development, and future hybrids are rumored to include the 800HP ZR1 in 2024 and 1,000HP Zora in 2025. Like it or not, the American status symbol won’t be exclusively piston-powered for much longer — not that GM has much choice when numerous states plan to ban gas car sales by 2035.
Fisker offers a peek at its long-range, four-door Ronin convertible EV
Fisker has offered a new look at the upcoming Ronin, which it claims will have the longest range of any production electric vehicle. A render of the four-door convertible has popped up on the company’s website.
The image shows the Ronin from a front corner view. It has a light strip that wraps around the front. As Autoblog points out, there’s no grille, but it appears as though the front bumper has some air intakes. The Ronin has a low profile and large wheels, along with dihedral front doors that are open in the render, but there’s no indication as to how the rear doors open just yet.
Henrik Fisker, the founder of the automaker, said earlier this year that the Ronin will have a 660-mile range under the WLTP testing standard used in Europe. The EPA range is likely to be lower, but all going to plan, Ronin drivers should be able to travel quite a distance before needing to recharge the EV.
As things stand, Fisker plans to show off a near-production-ready Ronin concept in August, with production slated to get underway in 2024. Fisker is said to be keeping the starting price under $200,000.
At the other end of the scale, Fisker started taking reservations earlier this year for the five-passenger Pear, which starts at $29,900 before incentives. The company expects to start building that EV in 2024 as well. Last month, Fisker began production of the Ocean SUV. It will ramp up production slowly, but it expects to build approximately 42,400 units next year.
Jeep recalls over 62,000 Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrids over engine shutdowns
Jeep’s first foray into electrified vehicles hasn’t gone quite as smoothly as planned. The brand has recalled 62,909 Wrangler 4xe off-roaders over a fault that leads to unexpected shutdowns of the 2.0L plug-in hybrid engine. The powerplant may switch off when the diagnostic system reacts to a loss of communication, possibly leading to a crash if the failure occurs mid-drive.
The flaw affects Wrangler 4xe variants from the 2021 through to 2023 model year vehicles produced before August 17th, 2022, when Jeep started shipping units with updated control software. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) says there have been two crashes and one injury potentially linked to the problem, as well as customer assistance instances, warranty claims and field reports.
Jeep will fix the affected Wranglers by updating calibration software for their hybrid control and transmission processors. It expects to formally notify owners starting January 12th. The NHTSA started investigating reports as early as September 2021, but it wasn’t until November this year that the investigation wrapped and Jeep’s parent Stellantis decided to launch a voluntary recall.
The glitch is unlikely to represent a major setback to Jeep’s electric vehicle push. However, the timing is less than ideal. It comes just a few months after Jeep unveiled Grand Cherokee and Wrangler Willy PHEV models, and previewed its all-electric Avenger SUV. The Stellantis-owned badge is just now trying to establish its EV reputation, and a recall won’t help matters.