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The definitions on ejje.weblio:

  * [彼ら](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%BD%BC%E3%82%89)
  * [彼女ら](http://ejje.weblio.jp/content/%E5%BD%BC%E5%A5%B3%E3%82%89)

What I would like to know is:

  1. 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group, right? 
  2. As explained in [Why is “学生” made “plural” in this newspaper article?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/23476/why-is-%E5%AD%A6%E7%94%9F-made-plural-in-this-newspaper-article), adding -ら allows for a more precise statement. But I wonder, do they sound impolite and rough and would not be used in newspapers?
  3. Is 彼ら rarely used in speaking? And never in writing?
  4. Is 彼女ら just _never_ used?
  5. Is あいつら not uncommon, but used in extremely informal conversations?
  6. You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?
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pronouns plurals
Politeness / political correctness and gender polarity of "plural" suffix -等(ら) for 彼 and 彼女 etc
> 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group,
> right?

If you think using _he_ in English when the gender is unknown is politically
incorrect, then you would still want to worry about 彼ら a bit, too. You don't
have to be too strict, but avoiding gender-neutral 彼ら when possible is a good
habit.

And I think the singular 彼 strongly indicates the male gender, perhaps even
more strongly than English _he_.

> Adding -ら allows for a more precise statement. But I wonder, do they sound
> impolite and rough and would not be used in newspapers?

彼ら and 彼女ら are used both in formal and casual situations. There's nothing
impolite.

> Is 彼ら rarely used in speaking? And never in writing?  
>  Is 彼女ら just never used?

They are used both in casual speaking and writing, but not as frequently as
he/she/they is used in English. Repeating the original noun (e.g. 学生たち, その人たち,
山田さんたち), or simply omitting such pronouns, is the preferred way in Japanese.

> Is あいつら not uncommon, but used in extremely informal conversations?

あいつら (as well as こいつら, そいつら) is more than just informal; it's rough, and
frequently (not always) used in derogatory sentences. I would never use あいつ(ら)
unless I'm really upset.

> You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?

彼ら, 彼女ら and 彼女たち are all commonly used, but 彼たち is extremely uncommon for some
reason. I don't know why. But you can check [this
article](http://www.ytv.co.jp/blog/announcers/michiura/2009/12/post-69.html).
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> 彼ら is definitely gender neutral and 彼女ら can only have females in the group,
> right?

Japanese plurals are (or at least can be) associative. 彼ら means "he and the
ones I/we associate with him", just like 田中たち doesn't necessarily designate a
group where everybody is called Tanaka, but means "Tanaka and the ones
associated with him/her". So 彼ら would usually have a male representative, and
彼女ら would have a female representative. Not everybody would have to be female.
See previous question here: [What rules should be followed when saying
"we"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/5844/what-rules-should-be-
followed-when-saying-we/5850#5850)

> You cannot substitute たち for ら and say 彼たち, 彼女たち, or あいつたち, right?

たち and ら are both quite productive (i.e. you can attach them to almost all
kinds of animate nouns/pronouns), but ら has an affectionate/derogatory nuance:

広辞苑･･･ら[等]  
①体言の下について複数を表す。  
②人を表す名詞や代名詞に付いて、 **親愛・謙譲・蔑視** の気持ちを表す。

彼ら is an exception, since as @naruto says, 彼たち is uncommon. Also, あいつたち is, I
guess, possible, but sounds strange, since あいつ already has
affection/derogation built in and therefore goes better with ら.
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