Jeep plans more electrified options, Ford and Rivian want expedited battery material mining permits, a multi-vehicle crash spilled 300,000 tomatoes across a freeway. All this and more in today’s issue of The Morning Dump.
Welcome to The Morning Dump, bite-sized stories corralled into a single article for your morning perusal. If your morning coffee’s working a little too well, pull up a throne and have a gander at the best of the rest of yesterday.
Jeep Will Announce More Electrification Plans On September 8th
Sure, we’re going to maybe get an electric Dodge Charger and an electrified Dodge Hornet. Eventually, all of the Stellantis brands will offer something electric. They may be great! But the only successful electric brand from the company formerly known as DaimlerChryslerCerburusFiatChryslerHomeDepotGasStationTV is Jeep. Seriously! One could argue it’s the only successful brand at all from Stellantis.
Toyota was the leader in plug-in hybrids (PHEV) for many years and the RAV4 Prime is the vehicle you buy if you want a good, efficient hybrid all-rounder. And then Jeep came out with the Jeep Wrangler 4XE and absolutely smoked it. Jeep followed that up with the Grand Cherokee 4Xe in North America, and 4Xe versions of the Renegade and Compass for markets outside of America.
What’s next? Jeep teased even more plans. We’ll find out soon but, given that America loves Jeeps, there’s no better brand to lead the company’s EV plans than the one seven slats in the front.
Tune in as we enter a new era of electrification 9.8.22#Jeep4xeDay #4xe #EV pic.twitter.com/gu9yqg5The
— Jeep (@Jeep) August 31, 2022
Ford And Rivian Want Easier Access To American Battery Materials
Speaking of EVs. While the Inflation Reduction Act has clear stipulations on battery material sourcing, it could be years before a stable domestic battery material supply chain is established. In an effort to speed things up a touch, Automotive News reports that Ford and Rivian want the U.S. government to expedite mining permits for EV battery materials.
In comments submitted Tuesday to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Ford said the permitting process for mining projects that support high-capacity battery manufacturing “should be no longer than three years.”
“Today’s lengthy, costly and inefficient permitting process makes it difficult for American businesses to invest in the extraction and processing of critical minerals in the United States,” Chris Smith, Ford’s chief government affairs officer, said in a letter to the department.
Current U.S. permitting requirements for critical mineral production can take up to 10 years, he said. “In contrast, Canada and Australia have adopted mineral permitting policies that enable producers to complete the process in two to three years, while maintaining stringent environmental standards.”
A lead time of up to a decade to grant mining permits would put America’s plan for home-sourced battery materials on the back foot. While it’s definitely possible to source battery materials from friendly countries like Canada, a steady stream of American-sourced battery materials would ensure domestic supply chain security and likely create jobs.
GM And LG Start Ultium Battery Production In Ohio
Speaking of making batteries, The Detroit Free Press reports that GM and LG have started making batteries in their Ohio-based Ultium battery plant.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine toured the $2.3 billion Ultium plant in Warren on Wednesday to see the battery cell manufacturing process first hand, Ultium spokeswoman Brooke Waid said. The plant, which employs about 800, is adjacent to GM’s former Lordstown Assembly plant. GM closed that plant and sold it to Lordstown Motors in 2019.
In a media statement, Ultium said it “continues to remain focused on training as it prepares to ramp up.” Once at full production, the plant expects to have created 1,300 new high-tech jobs.
As the name suggests, this Ultium plant manufactures batteries for the Ultium-powered vehicles like the GMC Hummer EV. While an expected 1,300 new jobs is good news, the United Auto Workers union is reportedly running into some opposition in its attempt to unionize the plant.
In a memo obtained by the Free Press in June, Terry Dittes, UAW vice president and director of the GM Department, said the union had just started organizing at Ultium Cells, but the company’s leaders have denied the union the use of a “card check” process to organize.
A card check is otherwise known as a majority sign-up, and it often expedites unionization. If at least 30 percent of employees sign an authorization form, that form gets sent to the National Labor Relations Board for verification, and a secret ballot is arranged should verification prove successful. There are a handful of exceptions, but a card check is generally a simpler method of organization than attempting to unionize exclusively by ballot. Unionizing may be worthwhile given its historical benefits for auto workers, and battery plant employees should be allowed to unionize and enjoy the same benefits as assembly plant employees if they wish to.
Multi-Vehicle Crash Spills 300,000 Tomatoes
No, that’s not a typo. USA Today reports that a truck carrying tomatoes collided with another vehicle on Monday, spilling 300,000 of the fruits onto the highway.
Highway Patrol officer Jason Tyhurst said the wreck happened at 5 a.m. along Interstate 80 west in Vacaville, about 35 miles west of Sacramento and 55 miles north of San Francisco.
Tyhurst told USA TODAY a truck carrying 50,000 pounds of tomatoes collided with a vehicle and swerved, striking another vehicle before driving into the center median.
The force was so strong it spilled about three-quarters of the load onto the highway, Tyhurst said. Passing vehicles ground them into a slimy pulp.
If a coating of slimy pulp all over a road sounds extremely slippery, you’d be right. USA Today reports that seven vehicles in total were involved in the crash, with three people suffering minor injuries and one ending up in hospital with a broken leg. Cleanup reportedly took several hours, with both eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 80 shut down. While it’s unlikely you’ll run across spilled tomatoes on the roads, this incident serves as a reminder to leave plenty of following distance as road conditions can change at any time.
The Flush
Whelp, time to drop the lid on today’s edition of The Morning Dump. Happy Thursday, everyone. Friday is right around the corner. While everyone remembers their first car, our first cars weren’t always our first picks. I’d love to know what car was almost your first car and why it didn’t work out. Believe it or not, I almost dragged home a first-generation Mazda RX-7 as my first car but didn’t really have the space.
Lead photo credit: Jeep
We don’t need more “electrified” Jeeps, we need more ELECTRIC Jeeps.
They should have taken the first Jeep Wrangler Magneto Concept and found a way to mass produce it. I would have bought one.
I’m sorry to say but I don’t see any way Jeep will announce (a) not sad new Jeep/s on the 8th.
Ended up with a 2006 Avalanche LT in Bermuda Blue.
Had 2 other options a Lexus IS300 or a G35. I guess I should’ve pushed harder for the IS but the Avalanche was and amazing vehicle.
Almost-first cars? Well there were a number I had my eye on, but as far as cars that I went and look at, drove, and fully intended to buy?
’88 IROC (L98 TPI 350) – sold out from under me after the (supposedly) nice people who owned it said they’d be happy to hold on to it for me for a day or two until my dad and I could make it out to complete the sale. “Someone came with cash” they told me as we were literally on our way there.
’95 Z28 – sold out from under me after the douchey owner (who was very insistent on telling me that his wife was a stripper, like it was some kind of impressive fact to a 17 year old) sold it to someone a couple days after my dad and I looked at/drove the car *and* put a deposit down on it.
Ended up buying an ’86 IROC (LB9 TPI 305) much closer to my house.
My almost first car was an early 1970s Buick Riviera low rider–metallic fuchsia paint job, hot pink furry headliner, hydraulics, and a hula dancer on the dash. When my parents realized that I might actually purchase the thing they went out and purchased a new Ford Escort that, while technically not mine, became my primary mode of transportation. In retrospect, I should have bought the Huggy Bear car.
It should also be noted that I lived in stereotypically quaint, staid northern New England town.
And would like to have an edit button.
“But the only successful electric brand from the company formerly known as DaimlerChryslerCerburusFiatChryslerHomeDepotGasStationTV is Jeep. Seriously! One could argue it’s the only successful brand at all from Stellantis.”
Ahem. The correct name is FCAtlantis or Stellaimlerysleriat. The full name of the business entity is:
DaimlerChryslerCerberusHemiFiatHellcatVroomVroomAsdfghjkl LLC SpA. Thank you for your attention to detail.
““Today’s lengthy, costly and inefficient permitting process makes it difficult for American businesses to invest in the extraction and processing of critical minerals in the United States,” Chris Smith, Ford’s chief government affairs officer, said in a letter to the department.”
Yes. You know why, assholes?
Because the last time we said ‘permitting is too inconvenient for businesses’ we had rivers that caught on fire weekly, and Los Angeles airspace was impossible to enter unless you brought a Sawzall.
This is fucking why the EPA exists. Because the second they can, they absolutely will destroy the environment on a level never seen before. They already have new and novel ways to dump even more toxic and dangerous chemicals straight into drinking water supplies more efficiently. Because guess what? That’s cheaper and more profitable.
So they 100% will do it, without a second thought. And extracting materials like lithium and cobalt produce incredible amounts of toxic chemicals. Especially lithium. Millions upon millions of gallons of heavily contaminated water that they have to pump somewhere, and evaporation ponds – much less ones with actual liners – cost more than dumping that shit into the river.
Cry me a fucking river, Ford, then watch it burn.
“In a memo obtained by the Free Press in June, Terry Dittes, UAW vice president and director of the GM Department, said the union had just started organizing at Ultium Cells, but the company’s leaders have denied the union the use of a “card check” process to organize.”
GM is running scared from unions. You should join a union. You should demand a union. No matter what your job. Unions don’t just negotiate for salary, and they don’t even have to. Concerns about your health care, concerns about workloads, tired of your manager accusing you of ‘quiet quitting’ bullshit? That’s what a union is for. There’s more of you than there is of them, which is why unions have power, and why GM is scared.
Lordstown has ALWAYS been a heavy UAW town. Every single Cavalier and Sunfire and Cobalt that came out of the plant had UAW stickers on it. Without the UAW, that place would be an even worse pit of poverty and despair than it already is. Population is 3,417 (so the ‘tax breaks’ and DeWine stomping on the city’s ability to tax it fucks them even more of course) with a median household income of about $55k (below the state average) which plummeted when GM closed the plant.
While the rest of the state saw a 43.2% increase in median income from 2000 to 2019, Lordstown saw a whole 8.3%. More than 30% of households are below $40k income, which is most definitely poverty.
The ONLY thing that made Lordstown and surrounding cities anything other than a permanent sinkhole of poverty where the only stores left are Walmart, Marcs, and Dollar General was – you guessed it – UAW fighting tooth and nail for fair wages and benefits. It isn’t Cleveland suburbs – the closest ‘big city’ is the smoldering ruins of Youngstown. Current unemployment rate, 5.2%. Unemployment in 2020, over 20%. It’s been a permanent high unemployment area for decades now.
So fuck GM. Unionize. Demand what you’re owed, accept nothing less, and provide nothing they haven’t paid for.
“I’d love to know what car was almost your first car and why it didn’t work out.”
1988 Buick SkyHawk T-Type. There’s a whole list of reasons why not. The fact that it no longer had the bottom half of the doors. The typical 1980’s GM build kwalitee. The worst Maaco paint job I’ve ever seen, because of the GM build kwalitee. Every oil change coming with a mandatory valve cover gasket replacement. Every damn part being unobtainable because GM wanted to bury them. The 120,000 miles and two transmissions in the span of 6 years before I bought it. (Yeah, I was only the second owner. And it had already lost the entire door bottoms and large chunks of the fenders. In just 6 years. Rustproofing? Yes, they have proof it rusts.)
Still, that thing soaked up the miles like you wouldn’t believe. And I had a 60 mile daily commute at the time. It went to the scrapyard due to subframe rot at about 190,000 miles.
And yes I misread the question.
But that was also almost my first car. The things were dirt fucking cheap and plentiful around here. Looked at an ’88 non-T-Type, half the miles.
The transmission completely failed when we took it out of park to go on a test drive.
You, person, are a f%cking hero! I agree on all points. Stop exploiting everything for profit assholes.
The Flush: My first car was a truck, a 1953 Chevrolet “guppy” that my dad had bought to combine with a ’52 Chevy pickup he was restoring. It had been sitting behind a friend’s shop for about 4 years when I decided to try and get it running. I somehow did, but it was a basket case and made a better mosquito-killer when running than anything else. I managed to put about 5 miles on it before realizing it was never going to run for more than a few minutes at a time unless I rebuilt the engine.
Later that year I got ahold of the ’52 which also had a bad engine. To remedy that, I purchased a rusty ’77 Chevy Malibu which I drove a handful of times before tearing the engine out. By the time I had the two trucks and the Malibu in pieces, it was pretty obvious I wasn’t going to have anything to drive when I turned 16.
That’s when my boss at the shop I worked at gave me an ’85 Duster Turismo that had been totaled and was sitting out back. I fixed it up as a training-exercise of sorts and good grief did I ever hate that car when it was finished. It looked great, but nothing had prepared me for the excruciating 0-60 time of a tired, carbureted Chrysler 2.2L with a 3-speed slush-box from that era.
I promptly sold it and was told I “lost my ass” by my boss at the time. I didn’t care, and was much happier with the ’79 Duster I replaced it with. I also had extra cash from the sale, most of which went toward the purchase of a beater ’78 Malibu wagon, a beater ’74 Ford LTD sedan, a beater ’78 Chrysler LeBaron, and my new crown jewel of the collection: a (beater) 1969 Cadillac Sedan de Ville!
It was at that point I completely abandoned the notion of getting the truck project done, sold the collected parts, and put my resources into the ’69. I got about half done with the body on that before putting it on the back-burner in favor of a much better condition ’68 Coupe de Ville that didn’t need to be fully restored. Senior year was approaching quickly and I wanted something I really liked, but could actually drive. The plan kind of worked – I really liked the car, but it had been stored in Arizona, all of the seals had been dried out, and I found myself having to wrench on it nearly every weekend to keep it on the road. Always felt worth it though!
During that time I also wheeled around in a ’77 LTD Landau sedan, an ’80 Ford LTD sedan, a ’75 Ford LTD sedan, a 78 Buick Skyhawk, and a rather nice ’81 Mercury Cougar that I ended up driving off to college. So, in the spirit of Mercedes Streeter, it wasn’t so much a first car, but a “first fleet”.
My first car was a 1983 You’re Not Getting Answers to My Security Challenge Questions That Easily. It didn’t work out because You’re Not Getting Answers to My Security Challenge Questions That Easily.
I lie on security questions so that I can still talk about my first car online. Also because [redacted] sounds cooler than Citation.
My first car was a hand-me-down low mileage Citation from my great grandfather. I almost started with an old pickup that had not been running in years. But what I wanted was a 68 Mustang that was for sale down the road. Free was a pretty compelling argument in favor of the Citation, though.
In other news: Ketchup prices sky rocket today…
Just kidding, everyone knows that tomatoes these days are genetically engineered to withstand an impact up to 30 mph without breaking. Scoop ’em up and send ’em off to the factory. They’re fine as long as nobody drives over them.
With so many tomatoes in this case, you’ll have to be awfully quick not to run afoul of the 5 second rule.
If the truck had been hauling oil that’s exactly what would have happened.
1969 Ford F-100 from my Grandfather. Worked out pretty well and was a good learn to wrench.
Why did it not work out? The engine threw a rod and self destructed. I was a poor college kid and couldn’t afford to fix it.
My first “real” car was a ’59 Hillman Minx, bought for the princely sum of $50.00. Not jazzy enough, so the first replacements I scouted were, in order, an MG-TC, 21-window VW bus, and a pristine ’56 Austin-Healey. I still see no downside to any of them, lo these many years later.
What I ended up with was a ’53 Kaiser. Even that served admirably, though the time came when I had to take it to AAMCO to have the Hydra-Matic rebuilt. I’ve had dozens of car since — and have driven many times more that were loaned to me — and have come to believe I got it pretty much right in the early days.
An electric Jeep is certainly not on my radar. Neither is any electric car. Internal combustion transportation is how I roll. Old dog, new tricks, and all that.
Almost first car: hot rod. Like a Ford three window coupe or a chopped and channeled Mercury. I scoured Autotrader for months and went to multiple shows, and even found shops that specialized in them. Eventually I noticed just how many were broken down by the side of the road, and started asking folks how much time their rods spent immobile… I realized I needed something much more reliable (or to have like 50 grand to spend on a full build by someone really good).
The UAW is the reason people don’t like unions. They have unreasonable demands like wanting the same pay nationwide. That part of Ohio has some of the cheapest housing in the whole country and low cost of living. Holding them down to eastern Ohio wages nationally is a disaster.
I almost got a 70s Cadillac, but it was the size of the whole block!
Concrete Cacciatore
So instead of living better because of equal wages for equal jobs, I should live worse, while already living in a bad part of the country?
My first car was literally the exact car I wanted: a silver 1979 VW Scirocco owned by my dad’s friend Dave. I had known and loved it since I was little and it was new, and I loved it still even though it was old and rusty.
I almost had a 240sx as my first car. the local buy here/pay here had one in my budget, but it clicked when pushing the brake to take it out of park (automatic). In retrospect I know it was likely just the safety unlock, but my single, exasperated mother thought it meant the thing was broken.
So I ended up with a lowered toyota mini truck.
My first car was almost a 1970 Ford Torino in black. But, the test drive scared me so much even as a dumb teenager I knew it was more work than I could handle. Brakes were barely functional, seats were shot, steering was all over the place, it had an exhaust leak, but man it looked mean.
Stellantis’s US brands may have been slow on EV’s and hybrids but their European brands, Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall/Opel especially seem to have gone all in on both full EV’s and plug in hybrids with their entire range offering at least one or the other as an option. Their legacy Fiat brands are a bit behind the curve although Maserati seems to have some EV’s in the near pipeline.
I’m open to the development of more electrified (fully or partially) Jeeps. It technically flies in the face of the tradition of the company regarding simplicity and robust-ness, but it could be argued that there’s been a departure from that for awhile. This is just how it is, this is the future. The part I find amusing is that we’ve finally come full circle to our experience as kiddos in Jeep Power Wheels (Pow-Pow-Power Wheels…remember that commercial?).
My first vehicle was a 1987 Buick LeSabre. Faded blue exterior with an equally faded blue interior. It had a junkyard Oldsmobile 3.8 installed, had a dead battery, and a marginal tie rod end. But it was in pretty good shape overall and only cost me $500 before fixes. I kept it through high school and used it in college. I remember strapping my mattress to the roof and sailing down the interstate. Ah, to be young and dumb again…
Partially electric vehicles are definitely more complex, but fully electric cars are inarguably simpler than fully combustion cars.
What you just said… makes absolutely no damn sense.
A fully… electric car has more complications, more bullshit that you dont control, more crap that wont last. HECK.. hows it feel to use the term, outdated, not updated, not the latest model.. on your device err your phone? Thats what you want on your car… cause the latest update doesnt make some part of your car work?
SO much of what you mentioned.. absolutely flies in the face of rational common sense. Between people not paying attention, laptop cars from Ol Musky hitting Emergency vehicles… and having to go through 4 screens.. to find adjustments for your mirrors.. or your flashers…
Is just stupid.
P.S
Do you want to be one of those yahoos.. who had to ask someone how to put air in his tires.. CAUSE HIS CAR SAID IT NEEDED THEM???!!!
I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about, other than Teslas hitting emergency vehicles (which they do).
Take an internal combustion engine, keep the starter motor, the AC, and the power steering, throw away the rest. Grow the starter motor by 100x. Take the transmission, toss the clutch/torque converter and every gear except second.
You probably still need the radiator and the traction battery is admittedly more complicated than a gas tank. Done.
All the other junk (self driving, infotainment, stupid touch screens, subscriptions): sadly not unique to electrics. But I do enjoy my non-Tesla electric a lot. I do miss working on my car, but that’s what the Jeep YJ is for.
Why am I feeding the troll? Dunno
Happy news, no scary!
Car electric no make mirror adjustment go in screen!
Car electric no make flashers go in screen.
Car electric no make people not pay attention.
Car electric no make car have software.
No be scared!
That 3.8 may have come from an Oldsmobile, but in its heart of hearts, it was always a Buick engine.
You’re lucky you lost the dumb part. There are millions of people out there that are clinging to the dumb as hard as they can.
Question: When new Jeep owner is out in the middle of no were in their electric Jeep… Oh never mind, it is a Jeep that would never happen.
“Only in a Jeep.”
Don’t worry, Jeep won’t be announcing an all electric Jeep Wrangler or anything of the sort, probably more crap PHEVs.
In a (what was once) a tiny rural town just outside the already-suburbs in which I lived, there was a garage that had a 356 convertible replica for sale. My memory of it now is probably much better than the condition / quality of the replica it actually was, but it was absolutely complete and presented well and I wanted it. Really bad. I think he was asking $6K. But I was 15-years old, no job, and there’s no way my parents were going to buy me a tin can to get squashed in the first time a truck didn’t see me beneath its side mirror.
I am not sure why you think Jeep is the only bread winner at the old Mopar end of the pond? Ram on it’s own nearly topped all of the Jeep sales with one thing alone. the Durango and Charger/challenger sales actually put it equal or better. I like the 4Xe system though, it seems like a good way to commute on EV and then still have the basic engine for trips and off the road, even with the weight penalty.
Yeah this Ram erasure cannot be allowed to stand.
If we’re getting that granular, 77k of RAM’s sales weren’t that “one thing”.
But yes, RAM is a huge profit center for Stellantis.
That said, there should be a Jeep branded full size pickup, and the Durango should be replaced by a RAMCharger.
77k isn’t shit.
FCAtlantis sells over 250,000 Grand Cherokees a year. That’s one model, and the second most expensive one at that. Over 200,000 Wranglers.
Those two outsell everything else they have combined.
We have also had an Alfredo spill in the last couple of days. Mama mia…anyway I think all the electrification at Jeep is a good thing. They’re one of those brands that people are just going to keep buying and buying until the end of time. People that want a Jeep want a Jeep. It isn’t a rational thing at all.
Wranglers are god awful road cars. Their smaller SUVs are goddamn Fiats underneath the tough exteriors. Their reliability is spotty to say the least. But cars are often an emotional decision, and the Jeep name, 7 slit grille, etc. make people feel something. People that want a Jeep will buy a Jeep, and they probably aren’t considering anything else.
And if they’re going to insist on buying big, potentially gas guzzling SUVs because of *Mr. Regular voice* BRANDING, offering more hybrid and electric models will help dampen the blow a bit, and every little bit helps. I’ve contended for a long time (feel free to counter this, I’m open to discussion) that winning people over with EV and hybrid technology is going to take offering it in the type of things they already want to buy. Screaming at a Wrangler dude about how much harm his engine can do isn’t going to win him over. But offering a PHEV version that performs well might.
I didn’t have first car options. My parents bought a 1996 Explorer off their friends for my sister and I to learn on in 2008. It was actually a pretty cool car for what it was…it was in that light green metallic color, had a tan leather interior, AWD, and the V6.
I promptly totaled it. Dropped the transmission trying to show off for some girls from another high school. Like many teenagers, I thought I was invincible and had absolutely no respect for or awareness of what I had. My dad cash for clunkers’d it and said “have fun taking the metro all summer”. I wasn’t allowed to drive another family car for months. I did wind up dating one of the girls I was showing off for that summer though…so worth it?
Probably not. That Explorer was cooler than I understood then and I could have had it as my personal car for years. It would be worth something today as well, as it only had 50k on it when we got it and probably would’ve only gone 5k or so every year after. Oh well…you live and you learn, and I’m one of those idiots who has to run headfirst into a wall a few times before I realize there are better ways around or over it.
You’re absolutely correct about the power of (Harold Slovinski voice) BRANDING. I was about to jump in to refute the “Toyota was tops in PHEVs until Jeep” to complain about Volt erasure…until I realized it was referring to sales numbers.
And then I was sad, because Thomas is right, and Toyota / Jeep have way more cachet than Chevy. :/
My 1st car was a hand-me-down from my dad. 67 MGB. It was my dream car then and still is now. Too bad I got rear ended by a drunk driver and it was totaled.
Thanks for helping up ketchup on tomato-related crash news.
*us.
Where’s my damn edit button???!!!
In Heinz site that could have been much worse.
Saab 99 and Fiat 124 Spyder. My wise parents had an intervention.
Then, in a moment of insanity, they let me buy a Renault 12!