No more V6 Durango

[OneLonelyBurrito]

C'mon now. That's just mean.
T'is a platform that is a gazillion years old. All the tooling, R&D, everything is paid off.

Every single one they sell going further is like squeezing more juice from a squeezed lemon - pure bonus.
And it's living in a market bracket that is getting emptier every day, by external pressures, not by clients' decision.

When the regulations change again - they'll just discontinue it. They would have sold several thousands in the meantime, and wouldn't have lost a penny invested in new machinery or R&D, if not for the little tidbits that they might still be able to grab from the Stellantis parts bin.

I think it's a smart decision, and that we are much better off with this thing existing, rather than not.

I'm much happier seeing this in the price list, rather than some newer 5000lb barge with a 2 liter turbocharged matchbox.

The only concern would be is if all the tooling is wore out and all the parts are on the edge of their tolerances.

 

[goblin]

The only concern would be is if all the tooling is wore out and all the parts are on the edge of their tolerances.

It's a Dodge. If anything, tolerances started out of spec and have just drifted within specs

 

[Skippy722]

The only concern would be is if all the tooling is wore out and all the parts are on the edge of their tolerances.

That’s not how tooling works unless the company has flat out stopped caring, but that’s incredibly dangerous and no one wants a lawsuit. All their stamps and dies, along with everything else, are in a constant state of maintenance.

And even then, they have spares on hand, because sometimes the punch press decides that no, you’re NOT getting that part and it will instead explode the die. Anything machined is using inserted carbide tooling or carbide end mills that are replaced after a certain amount of cut time to prevent scrap from broken tooling or out of tolerance parts.

 

[Tdbo]

I didn't even know the Durango was still a thing.

It wasn't supposed to be.
However, they changed their mind.

 

[SumGuy]

A buddy of mine has a 2015 durango with a 6. I was surprised at how much these things weigh - 5,000 lbs give or take a hundred.

Water tends to get into the LED tail lights and short out sections of them, a real pain and really $$$ to fix. The leaky aluminum rims are also a pain.

 

[goblin]

That’s not how tooling works unless the company has flat out stopped caring, but that’s incredibly dangerous and no one wants a lawsuit. All their stamps and dies, along with everything else, are in a constant state of maintenance.

And even then, they have spares on hand, because sometimes the punch press decides that no, you’re NOT getting that part and it will instead explode the die. Anything machined is using inserted carbide tooling or carbide end mills that are replaced after a certain amount of cut time to prevent scrap from broken tooling or out of tolerance parts.

I think that comment was a combination of old stories and Dodge-adjacent FUD.
The only car manufacturing stories I've heard of with manufacturing equipment eventually drifting out of specs were the Mexican Beetle (how many decades was that one made again, and I believe it only happened after production was stopped, so it affected only the spares made after that), and the odd Soviet factory here and there (and those, when not made by Fiat, were often factory lines pulled straight from Germany as war reparations after the war and ground to the bone for decades. And even with these that was the least of their manufacturing problems.

Anything built in the 21st century in countries with existing consumer protection would be unaffected.

 

[I<3oil]

I didn't even know the Durango was still a thing.

Extremely popular with LE agencies especially highway patrol/state troopers.

 

[Number_35]

Was not there word here of the 3.6 being phased out?

Entirely, or only in the Durango?

 

[OneLonelyBurrito]

That’s not how tooling works unless the company has flat out stopped caring, but that’s incredibly dangerous and no one wants a lawsuit. All their stamps and dies, along with everything else, are in a constant state of maintenance.

And even then, they have spares on hand, because sometimes the punch press decides that no, you’re NOT getting that part and it will instead explode the die. Anything machined is using inserted carbide tooling or carbide end mills that are replaced after a certain amount of cut time to prevent scrap from broken tooling or out of tolerance parts.

That, unfortunately, wasn't my experience with Stellantis when they extended programs. They never had the money to refurbish tooling they owned that was well past its useful life. They would just continue to use the worn out tooling.

 

[Kira]

Entirely, or only in the Durango?

Entirely, IIRC.
I've no idea about time frame.

 

[John105]

I looked them up as I saw the hellcat video. They are relatively small on cargo so I guess a good candidate for 700 HP+. One comment I came across was $50k car interior on a $100k car

 

[John105]

From 30,000’, it would be fascinating to understand how V6’s became adopted so widespread. It’s a good thing if they start being removed in favor of inline 6’s and V8s. FWD is another phenomenon. I’m old enough to remember Audi pushing it saying it’s easier to pull than to push. Engines turned sideways also widely adopted. It would seem that physics would not be in favor of any of this stuff.

The above and where fake dual exhausts came from, as well as the Loch Ness monster, may simply go unsolved for generations to come

 

[andrew_j]

In my area I have never seen the cheapest version. It's almost always a higher end model.

In my area you don’t see Durango much period high or low.

 

[Tdbo]

C'mon now. That's just mean.
T'is a platform that is a gazillion years old. All the tooling, R&D, everything is paid off.

Every single one they sell going further is like squeezing more juice from a squeezed lemon - pure bonus.
And it's living in a market bracket that is getting emptier every day, by external pressures, not by clients' decision.

When the regulations change again - they'll just discontinue it. They would have sold several thousands in the meantime, and wouldn't have lost a penny invested in new machinery or R&D, if not for the little tidbits that they might still be able to grab from the Stellantis parts bin.

I think it's a smart decision, and that we are much better off with this thing existing, rather than not.

I'm much happier seeing this in the price list, rather than some newer 5000lb barge with a 2 liter turbocharged matchbox.

Utilizing that logic, they should still be making the Journey.

 

[D60]

Yep, last one i saw was driven by CDOT. Four guys standing around in hard hats looking at a bridge on a remote highway. An F150 and a Durango. My tax dollars at work, and you know the supervisors drive the Durango.

 

[goblin]

Utilizing that logic, they should still be making the Journey.

Unless there used to be a discontinued v8 Journey I never heard about - the logics couldn't be more different.

One is a platform that still sells in a specific configuration and is in demand, the other was a Journey. Which, by the way, sold for 11 full years.

I am currently looking around for a new vehicle that I want to keep past its warranty, and the main issue is that I have to look for old platforms if I don't want to deal with 1.2l 3-cylinders that make 170hp hauling 3500lb via a CVT. If Toyota released the 3rd gen 4Runner right now I'd be the first on the line. And if Mercedes puts a W124 300D Wagon on the market I'd be fighting my way to their dealership bayonet first.

 

[Tdbo]

Unless there used to be a discontinued v8 Journey I never heard about - the logics couldn't be more different.

One is a platform that still sells in a specific configuration and is in demand, the other was a Journey. Which, by the way, sold for 11 full years.

I am currently looking around for a new vehicle that I want to keep past its warranty, and the main issue is that I have to look for old platforms if I don't want to deal with 1.2l 3-cylinders that make 170hp hauling 3500lb via a CVT. If Toyota released the 3rd gen 4Runner right now I'd be the first on the line. And if Mercedes puts a W124 300D Wagon on the market I'd be fighting my way to their dealership bayonet first.

That basic logic is Stellantis standard operating procedure.
Taking old, worn out platforms and cobbling extended time out of them anyway they can, because they don't have the resources to engineer and build anything better. They are basically the modern day AMC.
If the Journey would have been RWD and they could have wedged a V8 in it, they would have.
The Journey did go double digit years presenting as the poster child of mediocrity.
However the Journey was truly at the end of its Journey.
At the end, they were pretty much giving them away.

 

[andrew_j]

That basic logic is Stellantis standard operating procedure.
Taking old, worn out platforms and cobbling extended time out of them anyway they can, because they don't have the resources to engineer and build anything better. They are basically the modern day AMC.
If the Journey would have been RWD and they could have wedged a V8 in it, they would have.
The Journey did go double digit years presenting as the poster child of mediocrity.
However the Journey was truly at the end of its Journey.
At the end, they were pretty much giving them away.

Journey made money for Chrysler and kept folks employed. Rentals and profit via financing it with likely lower credit tier folks more exciting about getting accepted for a car then car itself.

 

[Tdbo]

............. financing it with likely lower credit tier folks more exciting about getting accepted for a car then car itself.

That's depressing. Bummer to be them.

 

[andrew_j]

That's depressing. Bummer to be them.

It was how my midwestern single mom cousin ended up with one brand new.