The Pandemic from COVID-19 has caused rather obvious damage in every occupational sector. Even the auto industry has not been unscathed by the situation created a few years ago, especially with regard to the microchip crisis and delays in auto production in general. This issue brought the need for law enforcement agencies to have to look for other types of solutions to renew their fleet of cars in the service of justice. One choice that was then very convenient and effective seemed to be the Dodge Durango Pursuit.
Charges against Stellantis for the Dodge Durango
Stellantis is now faced with an additional situation that is not at all easy to handle. The rather complex situation of delays in car production is creating a very heated dispute between the Merrillville, Indiana, Police Department and the Stellantis group. The reason for the diatribe would be precisely the American brand Dodge’s vehicle, model Durango Pursuit, which U.S. law enforcement agencies are purchasing as an emergency vehicle.
In this regard, the Merrillville, Indiana Police Department, led by Chief Konstantinos Nuses, has disclosed heavy charges against the automotive group. Nuses, wanted to publicly denounce the numerous and frequent damages that are occurring to the engines of the Durango Pursuit, the main cause of such failure would seem to be referred to the oil coolers. According to the police chief, this is a rather significant problem, which is generating negative effects in several respects, such as community safety and the proper operation of the police department itself.
Dodge Durango Pursuit’s choice as an alternative to the Ford Police Interceptor
The Dodge Durango Pursuit choice came subsequent to having had to look for a viable alternative to the Ford Police Interceptor. The front change would have come about because of the well-known production problems that have arisen in recent years. This is precisely why the decision to lean on the Dodge brand, seemed to be a major turning point, a thought that at the moment already seems to have vanished.
Once the fleet of vehicles was purchased, after traveling even less than 15,000 miles, many of the cars began to have very serious engine problems, forcing the police department to keep a high number of cars out of service for quite a long time.
In the letter, Chief Nuses stated that the situation is not at all acceptable, having also pointed out that the cars were purchased with all taxpayers’ money. As anticipated, the police chief stressed that the department itself is struggling to carry out its operations in a consonant manner, also putting the safety of citizens at risk.
Stellantis fails to keep promises, creating economic damage
The Merrillville department has executed numerous requests for action to Stellantis, which currently does not seem to have taken the serious situation faced by the U.S. police force seriously enough.
In fact, the automotive group promised to overhaul vehicles as early as May of the year 2023, so well over a year ago. To this day, however, these inspections have not yet been carried out on any of the alleys we are talking about.
It was precisely for this reason that the Merrillville department had to make the decision to sell the Durango Pursuits, which generated a substantial economic loss.
No compensation from Stellantis for police car breakdowns
In the letter submitted as a complaint, Konstantinos Nuses also stated that Stellantis did not offer the department any kind of compensation for the time the vehicles were kept unused. The police chief accused the behavior of the automobile group as totally unacceptable, given that the errors coming from the car factory at the time was borne by the expenses of taxpayers and police employees.
As can be understood from this affair, the automotive sector plays a particularly important role in many aspects of daily life, which are also touched upon unintentionally. Indeed, a diatribe such as the one between the Merrillville department and Stellantis could raise questions about the quality that manufacturers put into the cars they sell to consumers.