Chrysler (Page 28)

Tuesday, August 23rd 2011 marks the end of an era for the Chrysler Group as the Dodge Dakota turned Ram Dakota will officially see the end of its 24 year production run.

We have known since late last year that Maserati would soon be offering a high end performance sport utility vehicles based on the new Jeep Grand Cherokee and thanks to inside information from Automotive News, we now know that this new Maserati SUV will be built in Detroit with the official concept debut planned for the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

The Chrysler Group’s Ram Truck brand is currently running a contest on Facebook that will award two lucky “friends” by giving them each a 2012 Ram 1500 Express for doing nothing more than signing up and inviting friends to do the same.

During a small media briefing this weekend, TorqueNews had a chance to talk to SRT CEO and President Ralph Gilles about the future of the high performance brand’s lineup as well as their stance on competing with the bestselling vehicles in the class.

This past weekend as the 2011 Mopar Nationals opened at National Trails Raceway near Columbus Ohio, the diehard enthusiasts who came together for the nation’s biggest all-Chrysler show, swap and drag race event got a firsthand look at the new 2012 Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler models as the first stop on the SRT High Performance Tour.

We have known for some time now that the midsized pickup formerly known as the Dodge Dakota (now a part of the Ram brand) would come to an end this year and reports are indicating that the Dakota will see its production end this month - with a questionable future for the smaller of the Ram brand pickups.

The Dodge Ram Van was a major player in the full size van market until Daimler replaced it with the Mercedes-sourced Dodge Sprinter but based on some news from around the rumor mill, the Ram Truck brand could reintroduce a line of Ram Vans with help from parent company Fiat.

This morning, the Chrysler Group announced a recall of 299,718 examples of their popular Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country minivans over a concern that the operating unit for the airbag could fail – possibly causing the airbags to open without proper cause.

While speaking at the 2011 Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan, Chrysler and Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne hinted that he could be relinquishing his position atop the Chrysler Group as soon as 2015 or 2016.

The Chrysler Group has seen strong numbers since introducing their lineup of new and refreshed vehicles – allowing them to once again lead the American auto industry in terms of growth as they beat out all other automotive groups last month.

Numbers from around the American automotive industry are trickling in and it looks like the Ford Mustang’s lead of the segment last month was short lived as the Chevrolet Camaro bounced back in July 2011 – outselling the Mustang along with the Dodge Challenger and Nissan 370Z.

The Chrysler Group made big news when they introduced their new “Imported from Detroit” ad campaign with a new television spot during the Super Bowl featuring rapper Eminem and his popular song Lose yourself but when Audi released a very similar commercial a short time later – Eminem and his people weren’t too happy since they didn’t have permission to use the familiar guitar riff.

Fiat had moved one step closer to their official merger with the Chrysler Group as CEO Sergio Marchionne has unveiled his new managerial plan with includes a group of 22 management members who will form the "group executive council" – including 4 individuals who will head up the company’s efforts in the various geographic regions.

The 2012 SRT models including the Dodge Charger SRT8, the Dodge Challenger SRT8, the Chrysler 300C SRT8 and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 are just hitting the streets but an exciting rumor has Mopar lovers looking to next year as it has been whispered by the masses that the SRT brand could offer a supercharged package for the 2013 model year.

The Chrysler Group announced the results of their second quarter for 2011 and unlike the first three months of 2011, the smallest of the Detroit Big 3 posted a loss of $370 million – much of which was due to the company’s aggressive efforts to pay off the government bailout loans.

Late last week, the Chrysler Group announced that they made some $560 million in payments to the US Federal Government and the UAW – officially paying off the TARP loans (Troubled Asset Relief Program - more commonly referred to as bailout loans) six years ahead of schedule.

It's time to follow the money. Contract talks begin Monday morning at Chrysler Group LLC headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., between Chrysler executives Scott Garberding and AI Iacobelli and UAW bosses Bob King and General Holiefield.

We previously brought you the news of the MoVenture – a cross country road rally sponsored by Chrysler’s performance and aftermarket division Mopar and as hump day arrives, the MoVenture teams are halfway through their race from Detroit to Colorado.

Last week, we brought you the news of yet another expose by a Fox 2 Detroit showing Chrysler factory workers drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana during lunch and today, the Chrysler Group has identified and suspended 9 workers shown in the videos.

UAW president Bob King will be among those meeting with Chrysler Group LLC in labor negotiations soon and he believes the automaker intends to “buy $5 million in trucks to give to a non-union company to do work,” presumably transporting their vehicles with non-Teamsters.

The Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 is a truly amazing muscle car but when the 2012 models hit showrooms later this year – the brawny street brawler will get even more impressive thanks to a few new additions including the suspension system and shift controls first seen on the Charger SRT8.

Over the past few months, the only product available from Chrysler’s newly formed SRT brand was the 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 but for the 2012 model year there will be 4 products in the lineup – with prices announced today for the high performance Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep models.