Shadowing Practice: Inside The Crisis Facing U.S. Auto Giants - Learn English Speaking with Video
Les maken...
1
Americans are paying more for nearly everything than they were a few years ago.
2
But car prices have outpaced even inflation.
3
I shopped around quite a bit before I was driving a Toyota Highlander, and the prices had went up a lot.
4
The average car price is nearly $50 ,000, a 30 % increase over the past five years.
5
Even so, automakers have resisted making cheaper ones.
6
The Hemi is an icon.
7
Even if you don't know what a Hemi is, you know the term.
8
Oh, it's got a Hemi.
9
But in an effort to get greener, Ram's then newly formed parent dropped it in favor of a high powered twin turbo inline six.
10
Since its launch, Ram sales declined every quarter from Q1 2024 through the same quarter of 2025.
11
Chrysler, once an industrial giant, is a shell of a brand.
12
was meant to be the luxury vehicle.
13
But sometime in the in the 80s, that notion was destroyed.
14
It just wasn't getting the attention and the investment that it deserved.
15
The average car price is nearly $50 ,000, a 30 % increase over the past five years.
16
Basic automobile is $50 ,000 or more.
17
Monthly payments are also close to an all time high.
18
There are plenty of models that are going for more than 100K.
19
A record number of owners are underwater, paying more on their loans than their vehicles are worth.
20
Even so, automakers have resisted making cheaper ones.
21
website.
22
Chinese cars are cheap, but those are getting slapped with tariffs.
23
Insiders say U .S carmakers can't depend on protectionism.
24
They'll have to cut costs and sell cheaper.
25
Even without government support, some Chinese firms have big advantages.
26
We tried to lay out that it's not evolutionary change.
27
Like you actually have to make quantum change to the organization, culture and approach to be able to achieve that.
28
Americans are paying more for nearly everything than they were a few years ago.
29
But car prices have outpaced even inflation.
30
They're off pandemic era highs, but not by a lot.
31
What do you think about how car prices have been over the last few years?
32
They're astronomical.
33
I mean, the technology keeps advancing.
34
Technology isn't free.
35
I shopped around quite a bit before I was driving a Toyota Highlander, and the prices went up a lot.
36
And it was not all electric, and I wanted to move something more environmentally friendly.
37
So I went with Oh my goodness.
38
I was trying to repurchase the Camry and using the prices that I have years ago and it just wasn't Okay.
39
It wasn't the same.
40
So what does the industry consider an affordable car?
41
According to the Center for Automotive Research, it would cost about $25 ,000.
42
The average U .S household spends about 15 % of income on transportation.
43
That's everything: car, gas, maintenance, and so on.
44
So about 51 % of the population can reasonably afford a
45
loan on a $25 ,000 car at 8 % interest for 48 months.
46
If you extend the term of the loan, the percentage goes up from there.
47
The issue is there are very few cars at that price.
48
Prior to 2018, cars that sold for less than $20 ,000 made up about a fifth of the market.
49
Since then, they have all but vanished.
50
A few models might start there, but no car sold in September 2024 had an average sticker price below 20K.
51
Only six are below 25.
52
Meanwhile, models and sales of new cars over $60 ,000 have soared.
53
You're selling directly to people who want a lot of bells and whistles.
54
And so there isn't a lot of direct targeting of people who would want a small, cheap car.
55
This might be a strategic mistake.
56
Here's how they got so expensive.
57
Factor one, the continued rise of the sport utility vehicle.
58
They went from about 30 percent of sales in 2009 to over 50 percent in 2019.
59
Americans just love big cars.
60
When Ford released the now discontinued subcompact EcoSport SUV,
61
it said the average price would be $4 ,500 higher than Ford would get from the Fiesta, even though the SUV and the car shared the same platform.
62
Second factor.
63
Priorities changed.
64
- The legacy automakers in the US have been pretty explicit about We are going for profits.
65
We are not going for volume.
66
And so we are going to sacrifice volume if it gives us a bigger margin.
67
And that's a different strategy than they've followed in the past.
68
GM has become known for this strategy, especially under current CEO Mary Barup.
69
Fiat Chrysler, now Stellantis, was very early to cutting high volume but low profit vehicles like sedans.
70
In 2023, profits at GM and Ford were the highest in at least a decade, and Stellantis reported a record.
71
General Motors, for example, has these activist investors sitting on their board, and if they don't buy back billions of dollars worth of stock, you know, Mary Barrett could be out of a job.
72
And so it forces a more short -term calculation than she might want.
73
But automakers have had to make investments in technology that they weren't certain would pay off, like EVs, software -defined vehicles, advanced safety, driver assistance and autonomous driving.
74
That money has to come from somewhere.
75
The one meaningful way to make that transition from a financial standpoint is to create a highly profitable,
76
internal combustion engine business and continue to manage those profits
77
while you reduce the number of vehicles and so you have to
78
Continue to make good profits to generate the free cash flow
79
you need to feed the EV ever hungry side of the business.
80
The trouble for automakers, the business is not that profitable compared with others.
81
About 70 percent of a vehicle's price goes to the direct cost of producing it.
82
"Tough This Smart" can only be called F -150.
83
About 20 to 25 % goes to marketing and everything else.
84
That leaves a 5 to 10 % profit.
85
Third factor, the coronavirus pandemic.
86
Production shutdowns, supply chain shortages, and other constraints tightened supply.
87
Dealers raised prices.
88
Then automakers did affordability plummeted.
89
Remember the story has been for much of the last six months, you either cut price or you cut volume and they've decided they're not cutting price.
90
But profits come at the cost of increasingly alienated customers.
91
Automakers meet with their dealerships on a regular basis and particularly they do this every January at one specific gathering.
92
And the news that came out of that gathering last year was dealerships were saying, please send us more things that we can profitably sell for less.
93
I guess that's the message they're getting from people walking in the door.
94
So the question is, how do American automakers get those prices down?
95
There is some wind at their backs.
96
EVs are expected to get cheaper with time.
97
Battery costs are falling faster than forecasted, with big drops to come.
98
New, stronger forms of steel may allow carmakers to use less.
99
The simple skateboard platforms EVs are built on are easily adapted to vehicles of different sizes, spreading out costs.
100
The Chevrolet Equinox, GM's least expensive EV, is about $300 ,000 less than the Cadillac Celestic,
101
GM's priciest, but they use the same platform.
102
manufacturing methods can help too.
103
Tesla said its proposed but not yet implemented unboxing method can cut costs in half and factory size by nearly that much.
104
Automakers might also partner and consolidate.
105
Two companies can share production lines and make similar cars with different brands.
106
One can contract with another to build vehicles for a country where the first has no presence.
107
Could be a BID setting up shop in Mexico, having a partnership with one of the U .S car makers
108
or brands and they sell vehicles here with the appropriate sharing of the final assembly costs.
109
On the policy side, Helper says regulatory certainty is another necessary condition for cheaper EVs stability and predictability around incentives,
110
subsidies, and public -private partnerships.
111
U .S rules change frequently, which makes it harder for companies to plan.
112
In contrast, when China went forward on EVs, it stuck with the policy.
113
The country has even benefited from unstable policies in the U .S.
114
The cheap lithium iron phosphate batteries
115
that contributed to China's dominance were actually created in the U .S by a company with a Department of Energy grant.
116
But then: Gas was really cheap.
117
Policies were not consistently applied.
118
They went bankrupt.
119
They were bought very, very cheaply by the Chinese.
120
I mean, not to take away from the Chinese.
121
They figured out how to scale it up.
122
But they got a leg up, you know, based on American taxpayer research.
123
The Alliance for American Manufacturing, a group formed by domestic manufacturers and the United Steelworkers Union,
124
is in favor of tariffs and subsidies and incentives to boost the domestic industry.
125
The group wants to keep many of the current policies in place.
126
We're trying to gradually make a transition to new types of energy -run vehicles,
127
whether it's electric, hybrid, other sorts of technologies as well.
128
And we're trying to offset some of the capital costs that are involved with that.
129
And there's a long tradition of doing that in the United States.
130
Policies can only help so much.
131
At the end of the day, it's the demand that dictates the business.
132
It's a marketplace that makes the calls as we all know.
133
And so you can have some amount of demand side subsidies like you get $7 ,500 off
134
if you buy this EV with a certain mix up to a certain point.
135
But these things cost a lot of taxpayer dollars as we all know.
136
This is the challenge Chinese competition poses.
137
Critics say Chinese cars are cheap because they are heavily subsidized by the government.
138
There are other factors.
139
Wages are really low.
140
There's a fair amount of evidence of forced labor in part of the battery supply chain.
141
There's also a lot less attention to environmental considerations in terms of cleaning up and having a clean battery operation,
142
which uses a lot of nasty chemicals.
143
As I said, the best of the Chinese EV startups have a 30 % cost advantage over legacy automakers, even without subsidies or government help.
144
Mark Wakefield, a managing director for Alex Partners, says to compete with that, automakers have to completely change the way they operate.
145
From an automaker's perspective, you can't count on that protectionism.
146
You have to get ready to fight.
147
This is the hard part.
148
First, Chinese companies are software oriented.
149
Established automakers elsewhere produce cars made with very limited software embedded in parts.
150
Truly software defined vehicles, in contrast, are ones where hardware and software can be updated independently, more like computers.
151
It's fundamentally different way of developing a vehicle.
152
Chinese firms are also fast.
153
They develop things quickly.
154
They scale things quickly, which attracts attention from government suppliers or other stakeholders. in the strategic phase.
155
They're much more willing to just go.
156
They don't have the same sort of battles about what to do and what to make.
157
Chinese firms rely heavily on methods like virtual testing, rather than the physical tests favored by others.
158
This cuts months off schedules and hundreds of millions of dollars from budgets.
159
They have a shorter time to market.
160
Non -Chinese brands take about 5 .4 years to develop a new model, Legacy Chinese brands, 3 .5.
161
New energy vehicle brands like BYD, 1 .6.
162
Deadlines are hard, even if that means releasing a subpar vehicle.
163
These companies have an intense overtime culture.
164
Most of them do not allow this drift that Western companies do.
165
And they're willing to put a bad vehicle out there
166
and suffer the consequences because they consider the alternative to be a guaranteed loss.
167
If I take 40 months to make the vehicle, I'm going to I can't make a competitive vehicle.
168
They're also willing to endure large losses early as they get to scale.
169
There are two benefits: higher volumes, which help spread costs, but also a lot of learning in that painful early period.
170
This desire for short -term profits by American investors, these activist investors, makes that strategy hard.
171
China has taken large losses for a long time.
172
And this is their playbook.
173
They do this in industry after industry.
174
There's very little forgiveness for our CEO today.
175
who says they make glasses on a vehicle, or a vehicle line, or a whole newt.
176
propulsion technology and so they're questioned every quarter and
177
so they're thinking of it every day and so it's in
178
that sense where if you now move from a $60 ,000 vehicle
179
or a $70 ,000 vehicle or a $40 ,000 vehicle to now suddenly announcing affordable vehicles at $25 ,000.
180
you get doubly questioned because you're going to be making even more of a loss per vehicle.
181
They also take a first principles approach, a willingness to question some of the most basic assumptions or practices.
182
Tesla has been known for this in the US market.
183
allowing over -the -air updates to the core safety and powertrain systems on the vehicle, things like brakes and motors.
184
before they did that, even probably seven years after they did it.
185
no other auto company in the world dare Vertical integration, doing a lot of work in -house rather than outsourcing to suppliers,
186
also seems to be a key advantage for companies like Chinese BYD and American Tesla.
187
The United States is also investing in a local EV supply chain.
188
In terms of money spent, it's gone from trailing China to surpassing it.
189
Implementing these changes may be hard.
190
China's regulatory environment and customer base is totally different from the United States.
191
But closing that 30 % cost gap might require a total revamp.
192
It feels like you can't do these in small little bits and pieces in evolution.
193
And you can't do it by just telling people, "Hey, behave differently." You need the systems, you need the organizational structure and incentives,
194
and you need different power centers and what keystones people are going to consider to be sacrosanct versus changeable.
195
you you
196
In 2005, Chrysler sold 649 ,293 cars spread across seven models.
197
Historically, it has been one of the most recognizable names in the U .S auto industry.
198
One third of the so -called big three, the three major American automakers.
199
Now, 20 years later, the brand has nearly disappeared.
200
The only vehicle it currently makes is a minivan.
201
and more and over time it just wasn't getting the attention and the investment that it deserved.
202
An enthusiast news outlet summed it up by saying Chrysler, once an industrial giant, is a shell of a brand.
203
It is now just one of 14 brands in the stable of Stellantis, a struggling European -American automaker.
204
Top managers had said they would consider killing brands that aren't meeting targets.
205
One of founder Walter P.
206
Chrysler's heirs fears that Chrysler could be one of them.
207
I've seen the brand slowly whittled away over the years,
208
but I feel I'm on a mission to protect some very important iconic brands
209
part of American history that we do not want to lose.
210
Chrysler says at least three new vehicles are on the way, including an updated version of its only product.
211
Chrysler Grand is here to stay.
212
It is being well invested in.
213
The brand is not on the table for elimination and it has a very bright future.
214
Chrysler is one of the four brands that used to make up what once was known as the Chrysler Corporation.
215
There have been others throughout its long history.
216
Examples, Plymouth, Eagle, DeSoto foundational in getting us to the point where we are now with personal transportation
217
and the automotive industry as we know it.
218
The Chrysler Corporation was
219
and in spite of its current European ownership is sort of still considered one of the big three or Detroit three, along with Ford and General Motors.
220
It has had a colorful and often difficult history.
221
Walter Chrysler founded the company and in the brand.
222
It was his intention to deliver vehicles that were beautifully designed with thoughtful innovation
223
and features and top -notch engineering and quality all at affordable price.
224
It nearly went bankrupt in 1980, and then actually did in 2009.
225
To be fair, so did General Motors, fellow D3 giant.
226
Chrysler has been owned by a private equity firm, by Mercedes -Benz, by Italian maker Fiat,
227
and in 2021 it merged with French maker Group PSA to form Stellantis.
228
The latest arrangement has suffered turmoil.
229
After a record year of profits in 2023, the dealers that sell the North American brands sent an open letter severely criticizing management,
230
especially CEO Carlos Tavares.
231
Not long after, Tavares suddenly resigned.
232
Despite their challenges over the decades, these brands have managed to endure and even succeed.
233
The thing that comes across is that ability to develop products that are consistent with the DNA.
234
And Jeep and Ram and Dodge are doing that really well.
235
But Chrysler was never able to carve out a similar niche.
236
Its only models in production are the Voyager and Pacifica, basically different versions of the same product.
237
Chrysler is credited with mainstreaming these vehicles and is leading the segment.
238
In addition, the minivans are made in Ontario,
239
Canada, and the incoming Trump administration is threatening a 25 % tariff on all products imported from the country.
240
Chrysler told CNBC it is looking forward to working with the president elect.
241
Sales have increased since the pandemic, and the segment is targeting some new buyers.
242
Empty nesters, single people and couples with pets.
243
young people who are very outdoor active.
244
I'm proud to say that when I came into leading the brand in 2021, we recaptured segment leadership.
245
And we've held that for the last three and a half years.
246
Chrysler was meant to be a premium or near luxury brand, but its problem was that some of its recent owners decided its stablemates did a better job of serving that market.
247
The Chrysler was meant to be the luxury vehicle.
248
So think about Lincoln and Cadillac, and that's what Chrysler was meant to be.
249
But sometime in the in the 80s.
250
that notion was destroyed.
251
Right.
252
And so Chrysler's were just rebadged.
253
Plymouths and, you know, Dodges and nothing special about them.
254
And recovering that became very difficult because it had persisted for a long time.
255
If you want to look at the cars that that corporation makes now, that are the closest to being luxury cars, they're Jeeps.
256
You know, they're the wagon, the grand wagoneer.
257
Apart from the Jeep strategy, after Fiat bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2009, it sought to position its European brands, especially Maserati and Alfa Romeo,
258
as the new company's main premium and luxury names.
259
Chrysler's reputation for poor quality didn't help even if you made a Chrysler, that was really like, In every way,
260
an engineer could go over it with a fine tooth comb and say, man, this is every bit as good.
261
as a Mercedes.
262
People wouldn't pay as much as they'll pay for a Mercedes because it'll have a Chrysler badge on it.
263
And they're gonna be like, well, you know, what are my neighbors gonna say about that?
264
Of course, some say these strategies haven't worked out all that well either.
265
Alfa Romeo sold fewer than 7 ,000 cars in the U .S through the third quarter of 2024.
266
Some blame Jeep's sales declines on its aggressive move upmarket.
267
The 90s and 2000s were good years for Chrysler in the 90s, the Chrysler brand really benefited from,
268
you know, this sort of an overall revival at Chrysler Corporation.
269
Bold, risk -taking, a little outlandish.
270
We're talking about the same broader company that made the prowler.
271
I mean who makes an open wheel, hot rod, retro looking thing in the middle of.. they did.
272
That was risk taking.
273
The Hellcat is risk taking.
274
That's the kind of thing that needs to come back in order for people to look to Chrysler again.
275
The PT Cruiser's retro -styling polarized opinion, inspiring both ridicule and devotion.
276
Still, it sold well: 1 .3 million.
277
During its 10 year run, But there were also more conventional vehicles, such as the Chrysler 300, which in 2005 sold nearly as well as the Jeep Liberty,
278
a high volume midsize SUV and nearly twice as well as the Wrangler.
279
That was a car that really just took the market by storm.
280
I mean, everybody had to have one.
281
Cars like the 300 embody what many argue was Chrysler's true identity, an affordable combination of upscale design and performance.
282
They brought us to a point where we started to equate power with luxury.
283
And I think that's still true.
284
Founder Walter P.
285
Chrysler, who had already built a reputation as a kind of turnaround executive at brands such as Buick and Willis Overland, began working with some ex -Studebaker engineers in 1920.
286
luxury cars.
287
Their first, the 1924 Chrysler Six, came with a pretty modest sticker price.
288
Walter also had four children.
289
Frank Rhodes is the grandchild of one of the daughters, a very die hard Chrysler person.
290
It was like six months before she passed away.
291
I think Chrysler was going bankrupt at the time and she says do what you can to keep the engine running.
292
And that's all I've been doing ever since.
293
In August 2024, Rhodes wrote an open letter to Stellantis saying he wanted to acquire the Chrysler, Dodge and Mopar brands.
294
I don't have an actual.
295
monetary proposal.
296
I just want to see what Stellantis is going to do
297
and what the executives are going to do to make this right for our country and keep these brands alive.
298
This is an American icon from Stellantis and making sure that they live on for the future.
299
But I can assure you that both brands have a really bright future in the Stellantis portfolio.
300
In a public statement, Stellantis said none of its brands are for sale.
301
Rumors and reports of Chrysler's potential demise have circulated as its lineup has shrunk and sales slowed.
302
I just wanted to set the record straight and bust some of those myths that Chrysler's future is intact.
303
It's being invested in and we will continue to grow the brand for the foreseeable future.
304
To illustrate what lies ahead, Chrysler has unveiled some concept vehicles over the last two years.
305
a 2022 crossover called The Airflow, which will not be going into production.
306
And in 2024, a sporty coupe called the Halcyon.
307
We found a new audience for a really cool sporty looking coupe.
308
And if you take a look at the design elements of that vehicle, both on the exterior and interior,
309
it is very much the direction that our future design language is going in across the entire portfolio.
310
So very modern, leak, not overly complicated in terms of design cues and elements,
311
but just very clean.
312
As far as the Halcyon goes, well that to me is just smacking of pure concept car fancy.
313
I mean, you know, it's got a fully glass cockpit, you know, like a jet fighter.
314
I mean, pretty much all of it is unfeasible for an actual real production car.
315
But Chrysler did say some kind of production version is in the works.
316
I mentioned the Halcyon concept
317
that we are working on bringing to market in a real industrialized form that's affordable for customers as well.
318
In the short term, it is focusing on the Pacifica and Voyager minivans, a refreshed Pacifica in 2026 with a new exterior design.
319
The powertrain on that will be an updated version of the plug -in hybrid system on the current model,
320
one shared with the Jeep 4xe models. by a date.
321
Chrysler will still offer the 3 .6 liter gas version through the end of the decade.
322
In 2026, it also plans to release a large crossover that will come out in both fully electric and hybrid versions.
323
The company is confident the new lineup will help repair the relationship with dealers that has plagued all the American Stellantis names.
324
We've shown the silhouettes and the properties to dealers, and they just cannot wait to get these products on their lots.
325
We've also done market research with consumers because we wanted to make sure
326
that this new direction that we're taking Chrysler brand in is going to meet their expectations.
327
dropped at how beautiful the cars look.
328
And they were literally saying, if this is the direction that Chrysler is going in, sign me up.
329
I think going forward, it's critical for Chrysler to regain some of that spirit of atlanticness and emotion.
330
And you know, these Chrysler products that we've been talking about, these are all products that really hit people in the fields.
331
Music.
332
In the world of American muscle cars, SUVs and pickups, the Hemi is an icon.
333
A big, loud eight cylinder engine found in many of the vehicles collectively known by the Mopar or Chrysler names.
334
Hey!
335
That thing gotta hear me?
336
Yeah.
337
Sweet!
338
Even if you don't know what a Hemi is, you know the term, oh, it's got a Hemi.
339
It's associated with the muscle car era of the 60s.
340
Obviously, there were a lot of very iconic, very powerful, very fast, very fun muscle cars.
341
The Hemi was especially important to Stellantis' profitable pickup brand.
342
Ram.
343
But in an effort to get greener, Ram's then newly formed parent dropped it in favor of a high powered twin turbo inline six.
344
The engine is arguably superior.
345
That didn't matter.
346
Since its launch, Ram sales declined every quarter from Q1 2024 through the same quarter of 2025.
347
When they feel betrayed by their brand, that brand then has to really earn that buyer back.
348
you Now the Stellantis CEO that made that change, Carlos Tavares, is gone.
349
Tim Kaniscus, a longtime company veteran, is back in charge at Ram.
350
Reviving the Hemi engine has been one of his first moves.
351
And the first day we opened up for Hemi orders, we took 12 ,000 orders.
352
CNBC dove in to find out why this engine is such a big deal,
353
what this saga says about the bigger problems at Stellantis, market.
354
you Thank you.
355
Up until 2019, Ram was a growing threat to rivals in the ever important and highly profitable North American pickup truck market.
356
After Chrysler was brought out of bankruptcy through its merger with Italian carmaker Fiat, Ram, like its Chrysler Corporation stablemates,
357
experienced something of a renaissance.
358
Ram trucks, we eclipsed the volume of Chevy Silverado and got close to F 150.
359
It is one Motor Trend Truck of the Year seven times since becoming a standalone brand.
360
It also took home the prestigious North American Truck of the Year Award twice last in 2019.
361
It ranked high on various J .D power lists, such as initial quality and driver appeal.
362
today.
363
This is where many say Ram and the other Chrysler /Mopar brands hit choppy waters.
364
Ram trucks never totally lost their critical appeal.
365
The light duty 1500, which makes up about half of Ram's U .S pickup truck volume, won three of its total Motor Trend Awards since 2019,
366
including for the 2025 model year.
367
It has also won a top award in Texas seven years in a row.
368
Texas is about 20 % of the total US truck market.
369
The Ram 1500 is a truly outstanding truck.
370
It has absolutely the best ride quality of any full size pickup.
371
Also, the interior, in my view, probably the best in the segment.
372
Ram pickups really feel expensive.
373
They feel like quality pieces.
374
But over the last several years, it has lost market share to rivals.
375
Other Detroit brands have lost sales since 2016.
376
But after hitting a peak in 2019, Ram finished 2024 100 ,000 units below where it was eight years earlier.
377
Meanwhile, GM's premium GMC Sierra had grown by about the same number in the same time frame.
378
Stellantis had a slew of problems, including sale product, high prices,
379
and a lineup dealers and industry analysts said didn't fit what customers wanted.
380
It finished 2024 with a 70 percent drop in profits.
381
Its troubles trickled down to all of the American brands.
382
CEO Carlos Tavares also pushed hard to cut costs and green the fleet.
383
More EVs, lower emissions.
384
But fans and insiders say some of these measures were too swift, too severe and ignorant of the U .S.
385
We want cars that you know, that make us replace the tires every year.
386
We think about burnouts.
387
The wrong people were trying to guide America, American enthusiasts in a direction they did not want to go and still don't want to go.
388
Among those moves, Stellantis briefly disbanded the American Street and Racing Technology Division, better known as SRT.
389
It's the Chrysler Mopar version of the performance shops many automakers have.
390
A Chrysler, Jeep, Ram or Dodge vehicle with an SRT badge on it is a high performance one.
391
Stellantis also spiked the V8 engine across most of its lineup, except for a handful of models.
392
Ram's sister brand Dodge had found a fair bit of success reviving its muscle car heritage through its challenge.
393
Challenger and Charger, especially with eye -popping versions like the Hellcat, Hellcat Red Eye, and the Demon.
394
- It even started calling itself the Brotherhood of Muscle.
395
Under Tavares, the Charger and Challenger were combined into a single model.
396
But more importantly for fans, all those over the top V8 powered versions were gone and replaced with a new Charger that came with two powertrains,
397
one fully electric and one with an inline six engine called the Hurricane.
398
There are practically pitchforks at Stellantis headquarters when that happened.
399
Carlos did something that wasn't appreciated.
400
You know, they lost a lot of fan base because they went to electric.
401
I've driven the Hurricane.
402
It's a very nice engine.
403
It's very refined.
404
It's very smooth, which on paper, it's better in every way.
405
Well, it's better in many ways.
406
Yes, on paper.
407
The standard engine has more horsepower and more torque than the Hemi, out of the water.
408
It is a fantastic offering, but there are some people that They count cylinders.
409
They want the Hemi, they want the V8, they want the sound of that naturally aspirated V8.
410
They want the rumble, they want the drama.
411
Americans associate truck performance with V8 engines.
412
The Ram customer in particular really, really, really loves the idea of having that big American V8 under the hood.
413
You take away what made them love the brand and love the trucks to begin with, well, yeah, they're going to revolt.
414
I grew up a tuner.
415
I, you know, to stuff,
416
you know, a inline six twin turbo into a very heavy vehicle,
417
you're not going to get the same performance as a very torquey V8.
418
When the 25 model debuted in quarter one of 2024, sales dropped off a cliff.
419
Here's what that looked like.
420
These choices really cost the brand customers, which in the truck segment, you cannot afford to risk.
421
Here's how Caniscus put it.
422
There are about million people driving a Ram with a Hemi engine in it.
423
About six to 8 % of them buy a new truck every single year.
424
And of that six to 8%, 40 % of them said, I won't shop you if you don't offer that engine.
425
They didn't say I won't buy because I need that engine.
426
But they said, I won't shop you unless you have the opportunity for me to look at your current offering
427
and what I drive today so I can compare and contrast.
428
That's about 30 ,000 units a year automatically that I would have lost.
429
And with loyalty running in 75, 80 % of the truck segment, you don't want to lose any of those customers.
430
Caniscus expects about 40 percent of Ram buyers sooner or later to settle on the Hemi.
431
That's a lot higher than the Ford F -150's V8 take rate of about 25 percent, but slightly lower than GM's, which Caniscus attributes to the fact that apart from a diesel,
432
GM offers a choice of two V8s or a four cylinder.
433
Ford F -150 buyers can swap in a V8 for free on most versions of the truck.
434
Ram buyers have to pay an extra $1 ,200 unless they get the high -end Limited or Longhorn trims.
435
Kniscus thinks a lot of people will choose the Hemi anyway.
436
Hemi is not really just a V8.
437
It's kind of a brand in and of itself.
438
It's become a thing.
439
And Ram isn't giving up on the hurricane.
440
The reality is, as attached as some buyers are to V8s, customers are choosing smaller engines.
441
Toyota has already dropped its V8 from the Tundra lineup with less pushback.
442
You're gonna want to see what the new engine is compared to what you're used to.
443
It's all about the choice.
444
It's not about one versus the other.
445
It's about having the choice.
446
It's also not giving up on electric.
447
Ram is planning two new EV trucks.
448
One fully electric and another with a gas burning generator.
449
Caniscus was also CEO of Dodge when that brand unveiled the electric Dodge Charger.
450
Kind of typecast with, you know, I'm the Hemi guy, I'm the supercharger guy, I'm the Hellcat guy, all that kind of stuff.
451
And it's weird to hear you talk about electric vehicles.
452
A lot of times people that bash electric vehicles have never driven one.
453
Electric cars, they have their faults.
454
There's no question they have their faults, but they are fantastic.
455
Electrification will ultimately take over, but for the time being, while gasoline engines are available,
456
gasoline engine enthusiasts want the ultimate expressions of those gasoline engines, and a big V8 engine is certainly one of those things.
457
I'm an ex Tesla employee.
458
I've never owned an electric car.
459
But if Dodge really wants to sell vehicles, they have to sell customizable cars that scream drive me.
460
We are in the very early days.
461
500 mile range, lighter solid state batteries, inductive charging, sufficient infrastructure and prices that are comparable to gas engines.
462
Caniscus is confident all these will happen.
463
When you get there, you will get mass adoption.
464
The problem is we tried to force mass adoption before we got there.
465
The car displaced the horse because it was better.
466
The electric car is going to be better.
467
We just have a lot of challenges in the industry that we have to overcome first, and we will overcome them.
468
We have to, because as an industry we've invested about a half a trillion dollars in this.
469
- Bye.
📺 Zelfde Kanaal
B26
Why Diamond Prices Are Falling So Fast
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B27
How Walmart Is Hoping Its New Tech Will Help Shoppers And Employees
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B222
Why Off-Season Travel Is Disappearing
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
B21
Mike Rowe: Why The Skills Gap And Job Shortage Persists
Business EnglishInterview EnglishWorking Adults
B25
How Meta Will Enforce New Age And Time Limits On Instagram And Facebook
Business EnglishTeensDaily Conversation
B22
Where Did All The Good Jobs Go?
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B217
How AI Is Killing The Value Of A College Degree
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B24
Who Is Funding Pres. Trump’s Freedom 250 Celebrations?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B28
Will Japan's Recession Affect America? | CNBC
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
Why Corporate America Is Spending More On Security
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B22
Inside Bracket22, A Trading Firm Powered By Al Agents
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B24
Why The Airline Business Is Broken
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B21
Why Hyundai’s Investing $26B In The U.S.
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B22
Why Even High Earners Are Living Paycheck To Paycheck
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B24
How Walmart Is Beating Everyone In Groceries
Business EnglishWorking Adults
B25
Inside The Real Estate Rush Behind AI
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
How Working For Google, Amazon, And Microsoft Lost 'Dream Job' Status
Business EnglishInterview EnglishUniversity Students
B26
How Chinese EVs Won Brazil — And Left U.S. Automakers Behind
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B22
Why Airline Ticket Prices Are Unlikely To Go Down
Travel EnglishWorking Adults
B21
Where Did Americans’ Savings Go?
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
✨ Aanbevolen Video
B25
186 zinnen
How America Got So Good At Buying Sh*t
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B23
97 zinnen
Why the Global Car Industry Is Facing Its Biggest Transformation
Business EnglishUniversity StudentsWorking Adults
B229 zinnen
White House promises full-throttle economic warfare against Iran with new plan for sanctions
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
33 zinnen
THEY'RE HIDING THE TRUTH ABOUT AI
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B242
38 zinnen
How Are Tariffs Affecting iPhone Prices?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
195 zinnen
원어민 실제 영어 표현 배우는 생활경제 뉴스 쉐도잉 리스닝 연습
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B22
232 zinnen
Don't Buy a Car Until You Watch THIS Video | How to Negotiate in 2026
Business EnglishDaily ConversationWorking Adults
B2466 zinnen
The oil apocalypse is here
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
189 zinnen
JD Vance On The US Economy, Trump Administration’s Handling Of Epstein Files | The View
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B24
18 zinnen
Why are weddings so damn expensive?
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
B21
432 zinnen
"Xi MISSED His Chance" – Why Taiwan Could Become the Next Global Crisis
Business EnglishDaily ConversationUniversity Students
Woordenschat en spreektips bij deze les
Deze spreekles op niveau B2 is gebaseerd op de video “Inside The Crisis Facing U.S. Auto Giants”. Deze woorden komen het vaakst terug: Chrysler, brand, vehicle. Deze video bevat 469 zinnen en 5701 woorden om na te spreken. Het gesproken deel duurt 38:47. De spreker praat in een gelijkmatig tempo van ongeveer 147 woorden per minuut, prettig om te shadowen. Slechts 79% van de woorden hoort bij de 3.000 meest gebruikte Engelse woorden, dus de woordenschat is pittig.
Belangrijke woorden in deze video
De 15 moeilijkste woorden uit de video, met uitspraak en betekenis:
| Woord | Uitspraak | Betekenis |
|---|---|---|
| buyer zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈbaɪ.əɹ/ | koper, koopster |
| dealer zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈdiːlə(ɹ)/ | dealer |
| subsidy zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈsʌbsɪdi/ | subsidie |
| profitable bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈpɹɑ.fɪ.tə.bl̩/ | winstgevend |
| bankrupt bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈbæŋk.ɹəpt/ | bankroet, in faling |
| gasoline zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈɡæs.ə.liːn/ | benzine, naft |
| investor zelfstandig naamwoord | /ɪnˈvɛs.tə(ɹ)/ | investeerder, belegger |
| incentive zelfstandig naamwoord | /ɪnˈsɛntɪv/ | drijfveer, aansporing |
| hurricane zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈhʌɹɪkeɪn/ | orkaan |
| hybrid zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈhaɪ.bɹɪd/ | kruising, hybride |
| icon zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈaɪ.kɑn/ | icoon |
| dealership zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈdiːləʃɪp/ | dealer |
| protectionism zelfstandig naamwoord | /pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/ | protectionisme |
| sporty bijvoeglijk naamwoord | /ˈspɔɹti/ | sportief |
| tariff zelfstandig naamwoord | /ˈtæɹəf/ | tarief, douanerecht |
Phrasal verbs die je zult horen
| Woord | Betekenis |
|---|---|
| clean up werkwoord | schoonmaken |
| come across werkwoord | overkomen |
| figure out werkwoord | uitvogelen, er achter komen |
| find out werkwoord | ontdekken, onderzoeken |
| get off werkwoord | van ... afgaan |
| grow up werkwoord | opgroeien |
| look forward to werkwoord | uitkijken naar, zich verheugen op |
| pass away werkwoord | overlijden, ontslapen |
Zinnen om te herhalen
Korte, volledige zinnen uit de video die je in alledaagse gesprekken kunt gebruiken:
- You know, they're the wagon, the grand wagoneer.
- I don't have an actual.
- That thing gotta hear me?
- I've never owned an electric car.
Grammatica in deze video
De structuren die de spreker het meest gebruikt, met de exacte woorden uit de video:
| Structuur | In de video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — iets dat eerder begon en nog bezig is | I've been doing · we've been talking |
| Present perfect have/has + voltooid deelwoord — iets uit het verleden dat nu nog telt | have outpaced · have resisted · have been |
| Lijdende vorm be + voltooid deelwoord — het gaat om wat er gebeurt, niet om wie het doet | was meant · was destroyed · be called |
| Betrekkelijke bijzinnen who / which + zin — extra informatie over een persoon of ding | people who want · people who would · frequently, which makes |
Uitspraak om op te letten
De spreker gebruikt 79 samentrekkingen en verkorte vormen, zoals they're, don't, I'm. Spreek ze kort uit, zoals je ze hoort.
- De klanken “sh” en “zh”: dealership /ˈdiːləʃɪp/, protectionism /pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/, inflation /ɪnˈfleɪ.ʃən/, notion /ˈnoʊʃən/, adoption /əˈdɑp.ʃən/
- Lange woorden — let op de klemtoon: enthusiast /ɪnˈθuːziˌæst/, protectionism /pɹəˈtɛk.ʃə.nɪ.zəm/, automotive /ˌɔtəˈmoʊtɪv/, automobile /ˈɔː.tə.məˌbil/, portfolio /pɔːtˈfəʊ.liˌəʊ/
Klanken die Nederlandstaligen lastig vinden:
- Stemhebbende eindmedeklinker — /b/, /d/, /g/, /z/, /v/ niet verscherpen: incentive /ɪnˈsɛntɪv/, hybrid /ˈhaɪ.bɹɪd/, revive /ɹɪˈvaɪ̯v/, automotive /ˌɔtəˈmoʊtɪv/, badge /bæd͡ʒ/
- /æ/ — opener dan de Nederlandse “e”: bankrupt /ˈbæŋk.ɹəpt/, gasoline /ˈɡæs.ə.liːn/, enthusiast /ɪnˈθuːziˌæst/, tariff /ˈtæɹəf/, badge /bæd͡ʒ/
Zo oefen je met deze video
- Luister de hele video één keer zonder te spreken en noteer de woorden die je niet kent.
- Spreek zin voor zin na op normale snelheid en herhaal elke zin tot je ritme gelijk is aan dat van de spreker.
- Neem jezelf op en vergelijk met het origineel; let daarbij op woorden als buyer, dealer, subsidy.
Wat is de Shadowing-techniek?
Shadowing is een wetenschappelijk onderbouwde taalleermethode die oorspronkelijk is ontwikkeld voor professionele tolkentraining en gepopulariseerd door polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. De methode is eenvoudig maar krachtig: je luistert naar native Engelse audio en herhaalt het onmiddellijk hardop — als een schaduw die de spreker volgt met slechts 1–2 seconden vertraging. In tegenstelling tot passief luisteren of grammaticadrills, dwingt shadowing je hersenen en mondspieren om echte spraakpatronen tegelijkertijd te verwerken en te reproduceren. Onderzoek toont aan dat het de uitspraaknauwkeurigheid, intonatie, ritme, verbonden spraak, luisterbegrip en spreekvaardigheid aanzienlijk verbetert — waardoor het een van de meest effectieve methoden is voor IELTS Speaking-voorbereiding en echte Engelse communicatie.