Chrysler (Page 13)

When the Chrysler 300 was first introduced in the 1950s, the high performance sedan was informally referred to as the “businessman’s muscle car” and with the introduction of the 2012 Chrysler 300C SRT8 – the 300 moniker is as much of a muscle car as it has ever been with more power and luxury than has ever been offered by the Chrysler brand in the past 50 years.

Among the Mopar artwork released last week was a shot of a 2013 Ram with a blue driver’s stripe that I speculated could be a hint as to the next Mopar branded vehicle but after seeing this sporty truck in person at the Mopar headquarters today – the black and blue ‘Urban Ram’ is more likely to be a hint to a future SRT pickup.

Mopar had an event this morning to show off a few of the modified vehicles that will line the massive display at the upcoming 2012 SEMA Show but among the most interesting vehicles was only shown in pictures with the introduction of the Moparized 2013 SRT Viper.

We brought you the news a few weeks ago that the Chrysler Group had trademarked the interesting name “8 Mile” and now we know that it will be used as a special Detroit-themed trimline for the Chrysler 200 midsized sedan with the 200 8 Mile being joined by the new Chrysler 300 Motown and Glacier packages.

Early this morning, the first playable demo for the new (highly anticipated) racing simulator Forza Horizon arrived in the Xbox Live Marketplace, offering gamers their first experience racing in the open world, at night and on dirt in a Forza series game with the first drivable cars being the 2013 SRT Viper GTS and the Mitsubishi Evolution X.

The Chrysler Group has issued a recall for select Dodge Ram 1500/Ram 1500 and Dodge Dakota models from the 2009 and 2010 model years over a concern that a fastener in the rear differential could work itself loose – possibly leading to the rear differential locking up.

The Chrysler Group continued its incredible climb from the grip of bankruptcy in September 2012, posting the 30th straight month where they have posted a year over year improvement in sales figures thanks to a combination of continued improvement in the American auto industry and a lineup that keeps adding popular new models.

Thanks to the EPA website and the Mopar lovers at Allpar.com, we knew in the middle of September that the 2013 Dodge Dart Aero would offer 41 miles per gallon but the Chrysler Group has now made a formal announcement on this new super-efficient compact sedan including the special features and a price hundreds below the Chevy Cruze Eco.

Sales numbers in the American muscle car class dipped in September 2012 from the month before but that didn’t stop General Motors from selling more Chevrolet Camaro coupes and convertibles than their competitors’ muscle cars from Ford and Dodge.

The debut of the long awaited open road driving simulator Forza Horizon is still three weeks away but the folks at Turn 10 announced today that the first playable demo of Forza Horizon will be available in the Xbox Live Marketplace next Tuesday (October 9th) – offering gamers their first chance to experience the game that is expected to set the new standard for driving simulators.

The 2012 Paris Motor Show has introduced the European auto show crowd to the Maserati sport utility vehicle based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee that made its “production form” debut at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show but the ute on display right now has shed the awkward Kubang name used in Detroit – instead turning to the new name of the Maserati Levante.

The Chrysler Group routinely has one of the largest and most engaging displays at the SEMA Show each year and with under a month left until the huge automotive convention begins at the Las Vegas Convention Center – the folks from the Mopar division have offered up a very brief glimpse at five of the vehicles that will be in the massive Mopar display.

The folks from Hennessey Performance have a long history of building ultra high performance versions of the Dodge Viper that bear the “Venom” name but with the introduction of the 2013 Hennessey Venom 700R and Venom 1000 Twin Turbo – the Texas supercar tuning company has raised the bar for the 2013 SRT Viper aftermarket.

The recent pricing announcement for the 2013 SRT Viper and SRT Viper GTS including all of the options revealed a great deal about the new Mopar supercar but skimmed over by many was the fact that the limited production Launch Edition version of the 2013 SRT Viper GTS will cost buyers somewhere in the range of $150,000.

A memo came across my desk this morning that revealed that some state Dealers Associations are reaching out to Chrysler Group dealerships around their state, asking dealership owners for their opinion on the $25,000 fee being demanded by the Chrysler Group in order to earn the right to sell the new 2013 SRT Viper – claiming that these financial requirements could violate state franchise laws.

Chrysler has announced it has halted its plug-in hybrid program testing due to overheating battery issues. Despite this, the program will continue.