Chrysler (Page 32)

The Jeep Wrangler JK-8 Independence comes to Moab to show off the pickup-Jeep style that enthusiasts have been clamoring for since the last Scrambler CJ-8 rolled off the line in the 1980s.

Among the 7 Mopar-modified Jeep vehicles that will be in attendance at the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah will be the Jeep Grand Cherokee Off-Road Edition that made its grand debut in the Mopar display at the 2010 SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

While some of the Moparized Jeep models making their public debut at the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari on April 16th are production vehicles with a handful of Mopar accessories added to make them even more capable – the Wrangler Blue Crush is an outrageous purpose built vehicle that would be hard pressed the fit in on any public road.

The SUV pictured below is commonly known as the Jeep Liberty to American consumers but to outside of the US, the Liberty is known as the Cherokee so to show a little Mopar love to a non-US model, the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari will introduce the US to the Jeep Cherokee Overland.

Jeep looks to shed the less-than-trail-rated capabilities of the refreshed Compass compact SUV and along with the Grand Cherokee front end for 2011 models, Mopar has added a variety of items to make this the first Compass that will tackle the off-road world of Moab, Utah.

The Jeep Wrangler is known for its off-roading capacities bolstered by its lightweight but when you start adding accessories and optional items, the topless Jeep can get heavy in a hurry so Mopar has “trimmed the fat” with the Wrangler Pork Chop for the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari.

The Jeep Wrangler Renegade headed to the 2011 Easter Jeep Safari looks like a pretty standard production-issue Wrangler but under the hood of this topless Jeep is the 6.4L Hemi from Chrysler’s Street and Racing Technology (SRT) division.

Every year, the Chrysler Corporation sponsors the Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah with thousands of hardcore off-roaders coming from around the country to show off their machines and Jeep makes its presence felt each year by bringing out a handful of Mopar-modified models sure to turn heads.

In February the Ram Truck brand debuted a new entry-level half ton pickup packing the 5.7L Hemi engine with the code name “Adventurer” and today, Chrysler’s truck crew unveiled the production version with the name Ram 1500 Express.

The Chrysler Group has announced their first work stoppage due to the Japanese earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis as the Detroit automaker has cut planned overtime at the Brampton, Ontario and Toluca, Mexico production facilities in an effort to conserve electric components sourced from Japan.

Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne wants Fiat SpA to increase ownership of the Chrysler Group from 25 to 51% by the end of 2011 and if new reports are correct, Fiat could increase their stake in Chrysler by 5% in the coming weeks.

March sales numbers are in and with a gain of 31%, the Chrysler Group leads the US auto industry in terms of year over year sales growth among major automotive groups.

he numbers from around the industry are trickling in on this April Fool’s Day and GM has won the battle for March 2011, as the Chevrolet Camaro lead the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger in monthly sales – marking the third straight month that the Bowtie bruiser has lead the segment in sales.

Chrysler executives invited members of the Rocky Mountain Automotive Press association (RMAP) to a luncheon at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Denver yesterday where the 2011 Town and Country, 200 Convertible, 200 and 300 models were on display. They were understandably proud of what Chrysler hath wrought.

Motor Village LA is one of Chrysler’s newest projects, combining all five of their American-sold brands in one (immaculate) LA-based dealership but according to the California New Car Dealers Association, Motor Village LA is in violation of California law that prevents automotive manufacturers from owning dealerships within 10 miles of any other related dealership.

Reports indicate that the 2012 Fiat 500 Cabrio (convertible to most in the US) will make its grand debut for the North American market at the 2011 New York International Auto Show starting in late April.

Since the earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit Japan last week followed by a series of aftershocks and repeated nuclear power plant explosions, automakers around the world have been forced to take a good long look at their component inventory and the Chrysler Group has offered their first statement since the natural disaster hit.

Last night, the Chrysler Group’s 2011 Premier Event began with special incentives on new models, including $25 gift cards and a chance at a free 2011 vehicle just for stopping in and taking a test drive.

During a record-setting two minute Super Bowl commercial featuring Detroit native Marshall Mathers (known better to most at Eminem) rolling through the Motor City in a 2011 Chrysler 200, Chrysler unveiled their new company slogan “Imported From Detroit” - and due to the usage of that new slogan Chrysler Group is suing Detroit-based retailer Pure Detroit.

Chrysler’s Ram brand is the only automaker to currently offer an on-road performance based trimline with their Ram 1500 Sport R/T and Houston’s high performance tuning shop Fastlane is using this sporty Ram pickup to build their 500 horsepower Ram R/T Terramoto (Earthquake en español).

Last week, Chrysler announced that they were recalling almost a quarter million Dodge and Chrysler minivans for an ignition problem that could cause stalling and now the Volkswagen Routan – a minivan built by Chrysler for VW – is being recalled for the same problem.

The Chrysler F-bomb tweet that has gone absolutely viral – in spite of being pulled from the chryslerautos Twitter account – has led to the firing first of the employee who made the tweet and now the company that employed the opinionated Twitterer.

The folks at TrueCar.com have decided to have a little fun and ride the media wave (some would say disaster) that is Charlie Sheen by coming up with a list of The Top 10 Winning Cars for 2011 with the key phrase being winning, which is the former Two-and-a-Half Men star's buzzword.

During Richard Petty’s incredible racing career, he competed in a great many different makes and models of race cars but few stand out more than his legendary Plymouth Superbird and thanks to help from the folks at Heide Performance Products, Petty’s Garage is offering a modern, high performance Superbird based on the new Dodge Challenger.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has repeatedly discussed the likelihood of killing off either the Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan as there isn’t a need to have two similar minivans, so it came as a bit of a surprise this morning when Chrysler’s Ram brand announced that they would be offering their own minivan.

Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne marked the launch of the all-new 2012 Fiat 500 today at Los Pinos, the official residence and office of Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has announced that Chrysler is recalling certain 2010 and 2011 Jeep Wrangler due to a possible condition where the bolts fastening the axle assemblies to the chassis could come loose which can make it difficult to impossible to control the vehicle.

Sales numbers are in for February 2011 and for the second month in the year of the electric car, the 2011 Chevrolet Volt has handily outsold the 2011 Nissan Leaf by a margin of over 4 to 1.

The Chrysler Group has offered up pricing of the mildly refreshed 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan and thanks to a reduction in price, the minivan that started the whole segment is now the least expensive minivan in the industry with a starting price of $23,995 for a comfortably equipped model.

The numbers from around the US automotive industry are in and the Chrysler Group is the weakest of the American automakers in terms of year over year growth (comparing February 2010 to February 2011) and even with consumers seemingly waiting for the impressive new 2011 models to reach dealerships in higher numbers, Chrysler showed a jump of 13% in sales.