Chrysler (Page 21)

We have known for over a year now that the spring/summer or 2012 would bring us the newest version of the legendary Dodge Viper and today, the Chrysler Group issued the first official teaser image of the 2013 SRT Viper leading up to the planned debut of the American supercar at the 2012 New York Auto Show.

The Chrysler Group announced this past weekend that their Trenton Michigan Engine Assembly Plant had built the 1,000,000th example of the powerful 3.6L Pentastar V6 - just 18 months from when this new engine was formally introduced to the American auto industry.

On Tuesday, January 31st at 8:30am (EST), Chrysler’s Mopar Performance Parts division will celebrate its 75th anniversary at one of their locations in the Metro Detroit area and among the festivities, the Chrysler Group will roll out the third installation in the Mopar branded vehicle lineup with the new Mopar ’12 – although there is no indication as to what this year’s Mopar-modified vehicle might be.

The Chrysler Group announced today that when the 2012 Chicago Auto Show opens next month, their all-truck Ram brand will debut a new premium trimline in the form of the 2012 Ram Laramie Limited.

In 2008, Devon Motorworks was founded with the dream of building a truly unique American supercar based heavily on the Dodge Viper but early in 2011, it was announced that the company was going out of business and this past weekend, one of the two Dodge Viper-based Devon GTX supercars sold at the Barrett Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale Arizona.

Ford Motor Company’s President of the Americas, Mark Fields, sent a notice out to roughly 20,000 salaried workers in the United States and Canada last week announcing that these employees would be receiving bonuses and merit based raises later this year – marking the first time that the company has done this since before the auto industry meltdown in 2008.

The fuel sipping 2013 Dodge Dart may have been the big show-stopped for the Chrysler Group at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show but perched proudly on a nearby turntable is the high performance Dodge Charger SRT8 – clad in yellow and black as part of the sexy Super Bee package as Detroit show-goers have their first chance to meet this awesome sedan.

The compact sedan market has become one of the most vital vehicle classes to the automakers doing business in North America and with the introduction of the 2013 Dodge Dart, the Chrysler Group will finally have a car that could be a major player in that segment – with a price of $15,995 making it less expensive than the bestselling models in that class.

The 2013 Dodge Dart is expected to make its grand debut at the 2012 North American International Auto Show tomorrow in Detroit but as has become the big trend this year – images and videos showing the sporty new C segment sedan have slipped onto the internet ahead of the big debut.

The numbers are in for the last month of 2011 and once again, the Chrysler Group led the way for the entire American auto industry in terms of year over year growth – with all four of their pre-existing brands showing positive growth in December while the Fiat brand trudged onward.

The Chrysler Group announced today that they will be adding a third shift at their Jefferson North Assembly Plant (JNAP) next year – a move that will create around 1,100 jobs and at the same time, Chrysler confirmed that there will be a diesel-powered version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee built in Detroit alongside the current Grand Cherokee, the Dodge Durango and the new Maserati Kubang SUV.

Since Fiat has taken majority control of the Chrysler Group from the US Government there hasn’t been much talk of Chrysler ownership but with the upcoming 2013 Dodge Dart reportedly hitting 40 miles per gallon in preliminary testing late last month – Fiat has met the final requirement set forth by the feds when Fiat purchased the first piece of the American automaker in 2009.

The Chrysler Group’s aftermarket/performance division ‘Mopar’ will once again have a heavy presence at the Detroit Auto Show, with the Dodge Charger Redline that we announced earlier today accompanied by the Mopar modified version of the new mid-sized sedan – the Chrysler 200 Super S by Mopar.

While being coy with facts on the 2012 Dodge Dart, Chrysler has announced almost complete details on the 2012 Dodge Charger Redline coming to the Detroit Auto Show next week.

With just a couple sales days left, Ford is saying it has broken the 2 million vehicles sold barrier for the first time in four years, making it the top brand for 2011, but not the top manufacturer. Another company should end the year with that designation.