Chrysler (Page 30)

President Obama praised Chrysler Group LLC Tuesday for repaying $7.6 billion it owed the federal government and Canada an impressive six years ahead of schedule.

This afternoon, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne will speak at a ceremony at the automaker’s Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, where he will formally thank the US and Canadian governments for their financial support but more importantly, Marchionne is expected to announce that the company is paying off the $7.53 billion owed to the two governments.

The 2011 Mecum Spring Classic Auction in Indianapolis is chock full of amazing vehicles but nothing Ive seen before at Mecum – or anywhere else – is such a unique piece of muscle car history as the 1974 Plymouth Cuda Tooling Proof Body.

TorqueNews has spent the last two days working through the 2000+ cars of the 2011 Mecum Indy Spring Classic Auction and there is one thing that we’ve learned - this event has something for everyone.

Chrysler’s Mopar division unveiled their factory-modified Mopar ’11 Dodge Charger and now they have introduced a Mopar-modified version of their Dodge Caliber hatchback – but it doesn’t look like it will be available to those Dodge lovers in the US as the special edition Caliber has been launched for the South African market.

Today at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the 24th annual Dana Mecum Original Spring Classic Auction kicked off – offering buyers and tire-kickers a chance to look at the world’s largest collector car auction with some of the most amazing modern and vintage vehicles that you will ever see in one place.

Jalen Rose is best known for being a member of the University of Michigan’s “Fab Five” but Rose is also an avid car collector and among his collection is an original 1969 Dodge Charger “General Lee” from The Dukes of Hazzard – a car which Rose is auctioning off for charity on May 24th.

Chrysler Group has announced that they would be moving planned summer shutdowns forward at several facilities to conserve parts that could be in short supply, stemming from problems caused by the Japanese earthquake on March 11th.

The 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 packs 470hp, 470lb-ft of torque and a nice healthy growl but if you want a little more power and sound, the folks at Corsa Performance Exhaust have you covered with their new Sport and Xtreme catback systems.

According to a top UAW official, Chrysler may add more than 3,000 jobs in Michigan and Illinois to accommodate added production shifts at three facilities building some of their most popular models.

The guys from Mopar came to the conclusion that the standard radiator grille mounted on the recently launched Chrysler 300 MY2011 was not too fancy.

When attendees rolled into Churchill Downs in Kentucky this weekend to watch Animal Kingdom win the 137th Kentucky Derby, they were greeted by a huge array of Ram brand trucks and displays – including the grande debut of the Ram Long Hauler Concept.

In just over 24 hours, the 137th running of the Kentucky Derby will begin and when it does, Chrysler's Ram truck brand will be the title sponsor of the "Run for the Roses" for the second year in a row.

While the latest GM media releases say breathing right with VVT (variable valve timing) helps Chevrolet get more from less, and mild hybrids extend driving range, the pace of oil and gasoline price increases have overcome their benefits for city driving.

The numbers are in for April 2011 sales and for the second month in a row, the Chrysler Group showed strong growth compared to the same month a year ago with the exception being the Chrysler brand – one of just four major brands in the US to show a decline in sales growth.

Ford and General Motors both saw huge jumps in muscle car sales but with the month of April coming to an end, the Chevrolet Camaro led the pack in muscle car sales for the 4th consecutive month.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne announced earlier this week at a media event that the new Dodge Charger will receive a Super Bee trimline option, although no timeline was given nor were any details offered.

Since introducing the new Pentastar V6 in the 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee, the company has slowly spread the powerful yet efficient V6 throughout nearly their entire brand lineup and it looks like the Jeep Wrangler may soon be the next vehicle to pack Pentastar power.