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Filed under: Car Buying , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Jeep A quick look at July sales figures shows that Chrysler saw a massive 34% drop in its Daily Sales Rate vs. July 2007, but the bottom line could have looked worse. Chrysler's recent announcement that its financing arm would exit the leasing business by July 31 had lead to a rush of customers visiting local Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealerships. Some dealers sold four times as many vehicles as usual for the last couple days of the month, giving the stores some relief from an otherwise bleak July. Now dealers are worried that the increased sales volume could lead to a still more bleak August, since many customers pulled forward their purchase decision. Some dealers are trying to find third-party banks willing to get in on the leasing game, but a tight credit market and massive losses at automaker credit arms have made leasing look very unattractive as lease price begin to rise. Chrysler is hoping a fresh round of incentives will help...
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Filed under: SUVs , Green , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge Click the above image for a hi-res gallery at AutoblogGreen Later this month Chrysler will finally launch the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango hybrids. These are the first non-GM products of the 2-Mode hybrid partnership that also includes GM, Daimler and BMW. Chrysler hopes that the hybrid models can revive its big SUV sales, but if GM's experience with the Tahoe and Yukon Hybrids is any indication, there may be cause for concern. With that in mind, Chrysler has priced its hybrids $8,000 lower than the comparable GM models in that hopes that doing so will kick-start sales. Back in June, AutoblogGreen drove the Chrysler Aspen hybrid from Portland, Maine to Boston, Mass. Head over to ABG to read all about how it fared and how much the hybrid system boosts the truck's mileage. Hint: it did better than expected. [Source: AutoblogGreen ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Supercars , BMW , Dodge , Rendered Speculation Combining a Dodge with a BMW doesn't sound like a good idea. But then again, sound and sight are two different things. So just when we thought we'd seen it all, we're thrown for a surprise. A Russian illustrator by the name of Remio, evidently quite skilled with the Photoshop and CAD, has managed to blend the new Dodge Challenger with the BMW M1 Homage show car, and the results are rather surprising. While some rendered speculation can prove to be quite close to the mark when the subject goes into production, we'll have to file this one squarely in the "never gonna happen" folder. Shame. [Source: Cardesign.ru via CarScoop ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Car Buying , SUVs , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Jeep , Earnings/Financials The automotive sales sector is in a major state of flux as consumers continue to run from SUVs and pickup trucks into smaller, more fuel efficient cars. One manufacturer hit especially hard by this transition is Chrysler, a company that recently posted the worst fleet average fuel economy numbers of all major automakers in the U.S. due to its truck-heavy lineup. Still, the automaker has built up a large supply of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep utility vehicles that they have got to get off dealer lots somehow. To ease consumers into the fuel-thirsy utes, Chrysler has introduced new incentives of zero-percent financing for 72 months on the 2008 Dodge Durango, Chrysler Aspen and Jeep Grand Cherokee and Commander. While the lack of any financing charges will certainly impact the bottom line, it is nothing compared to the losses the automaker has been hit with over its past lease deals. In fact, truck and SUV residuals...
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Jeep Chrysler is losing money by the truck-load, and its vehicles aren't selling, so common sense dictates that team Pentastar was going to start making cuts soon. That time is now, when Chrysler notified workers that it would be cutting 1,000 white collar workers. Chrysler spokesman David Elshoff told employees that the company would achieve its cut target through retirements, attrition, and buyouts, which means people won't be handed boxes and receive security escorts just yet. Chrysler management is making the cuts with the belief that the current economic situation here in the States isn't going to improve any time soon. A quick look at the Pentastar's car lineup shows the privately owned company would be in trouble even if the economy had a rosy outlook. No timetable was given for the white collar cutback. [Source: Detroit News ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Coupes , Dodge , First Drive Click the Challenger for a high res gallery During the recent What's New event at Chrysler's Chelsea Proving Ground, we had the opportunity to sample the new Dodge Challenger SRT-8. For the 2008 model year, Chrysler is only building SRT-8 versions of the Challenger with a combination of the 6.1L HEMI V8 and a five-speed automatic transmission. We first saw the production version of the Challenger earlier this year at the Chicago Auto Show and while we thought the styling was great with perfect muscle car proportions, it is undoubtedly a big car. The Challenger is built on Chrysler's LX platform shared with the 300 and Charger. Compared to the Mustang it looks huge and it hardly seems like it would actually feel sporty. Fortunately, the dynamic behavior of large cars has made huge strides since the original Challenger went away in the mid-seventies. We first tried out the Challenger on the road at Chelsea before taking it for a hot lap...
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Filed under: Trends , Sedans/Saloons , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge Gas prices are up, which has led to increased interest in midsizers, more specifically, the midsize offerings from Chrysler's competition. The Sebring has taken a 30 percent sales whack this year, mostly due to reduced fleet sales. The Avenger's year has been a little brighter, posting a two-percent gain. Contrast that with everyone else; Malibu, Fusion, and Accord are up ten percent or more this year; and therein lies Chrysler's problem. Ditching Chrysler's outmoded V6 for the four-cylinder powertrain will deliver more competitive fuel economy, if you can stand the NVH increase. Top heavy with trucks and taking fire over the Avenger and Sebring's interior quality and efficiency, Chrysler's seriously looking at re-jiggering the sedan twins, killing the top R/T and Limited trim levels and sliding some of the good stuff down to the SXT and Touring trim levels. The 3.5-liter V6 will be left out as standard...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Podcasts , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge , Ford , GM , Mazda , Toyota , Earnings/Financials We busted our humps getting to Podcast #100, and then promptly slacked off. Chris Shunk and Dan Roth make the effort this week to get Autoblog Podcast #101 out the door while the rest of the team remains difficult to corral. The usual banter about what's been in the Autoblog Garage starts us off before we dive headlong into the pithy GM news from earlier this week. Love it? Hate it? Send your comments, suggestions, or anything else to podcast at autoblog daht kahm. Thanks for listening! SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator DOWNLOAD the show now Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Motorsports , Coupes , Sports/GTs , Dodge Click above for a high-res gallery of the Challenger Drag Race Package This weekend, Dodge officially unveiled two Challenger Drag Race Package cars that made their inaugural runs down the 1/4 mile track in front of thousands of race fans at the Mopar Mile-High Nationals near Denver, CO. Based on the standard Challenger SRT8, each of the Drag Race Package cars features a completely stripped body that has the body sealer, sound deadener, and undercoat all removed. Additional components are also left out including the windshield wipers, HVAC system, air bags, rear seats, power steering, exhaust system, side-impact beams, rear bumper beam, and more. Further weight is saved by using composite and poycarbonate components, and overall a total of 1000 pounds has been shaved off the car. Additional changes include repositioning the engine for a better driveline angle, a slightly shortened wheelbase, a bolt-in crossmember, and solid engine mounts...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Coupes , Dodge Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8. For those of you desperately waiting for the next batch of Dodge Challenger SRT8 s to be built after the announcement that the first 6,400 2008 models were already spoken for, fret not, supply is on your side. The Detroit News is reporting that while the majority of limited edition SRT8s were already sold before they were built, about one-quarter of the Challengers were set aside for dealer orders. Several retailers across the U.S. have between two and twenty Challengers sitting on the lot, with one dealer advertising in Michigan's Macomb Daily that nine Brilliant Black, eight Hemi Orange and two Silver Metallic HEMI-powered coupes are available for the taking. Naturally, supply is dependent on where you live. One dealer in Naples, Florida sold out all eight Challengers in three days, while others have only sold only one out of their allotment. And just because you can find...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Trucks/Pickups , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge The 2009 Dodge Ram appears to be a top-notch competitor in the light truck market, but that won't keep the soon-to-be-released model from feeling the pinch of high gas prices. Chrysler told dealers in a July 8th conference call that the new Ram would be launched with 0-percent financing... for 72 months. To put this into perspective, an all-new $30,000 vehicle with 7-percent financing would translate into a $511 per month car payment over 72 months. With 0-percent financing, the payment would be only $417, for a savings of nearly $7,000. When the 2009 Dodge Ram was unveiled to the public at the Detroit Auto Show , it was looked at as a potential savior for the Pentastar. Only seven months later and two months before its scheduled to go on sale, It's going to be launched with the same financing as the slow-selling outgoing model. Ouch. [Source: Automotive News (subs req'd)] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Aftermarket , Motorsports , Dodge 2006 Dodge Challenger Super Stock concept With a name like Challenger, Dodge's new muscle car had better put down some serious quarter-mile times or else be able to propel itself into outer space. Fortunately, Chrysler's performance parts division Mopar is preparing to do one (if not the other) when it unveils its new Drag Race Package for the Challenger at the annual Mopar Mile-High Nationals at the Bandimere Speedway in Denver next week. While specific details on the package - which we previewed in our exclusive video last week - remain scarce before the official debut, the Challenger Drag Race Package marks the 70th anniversary of Mopar and forty years since the company's last factory-built drag-race package. Based on the Challenger SRT8, the Drag Race Package features a composite "Body-in-White" direct from the factory and a host of lightweight components, to say nothing of all the parts being deleted for drag-strip...
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Filed under: China , Chrysler, LLC. , Dodge Above: Great Wall Peri Most automakers are struggling with horrible US market conditions right now, but unlike competitors such as Toyota and Ford, Chrysler doesn't have sales in other areas of the world to fall back on. The Pentastar is looking to improve its fortunes overseas while also benefiting from low labor costs by partnering with the Great Wall Motor Company. The young Chinese automaker doesn't specialize in the small vehicles Chrysler needs here in the States, however, as the company's primary focus is on trucks and SUVs. The goal of the union is to share distribution channels, technology, and components, which should save both companies money in R&D and improve economies of scale. The deal is unrelated to a separate pact with Chery to produce a small, Dodge-branded car for sale in North America. With sales down in the states by 28% in June, Chrysler appears to be in the most trouble of the Detroit automakers in the near...
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Filed under: Motorsports , Hirings/Firings/Layoffs , Dodge Okay, we'll admit it. Most of us here at Autoblog aren't big NASCAR fans. But we have been intrigued by the recent migration of championship-winning open-wheel racers to the stock car series. Former Indy 500 and Monaco GP winner Juan-Pablo Montoya seems to be making a go of it, while fellow Indy and F1 champ Jacques Villeneuve has all but given up hope of ever making it with the good ol' boys. But how about Dario Franchitti? After winning both the Indy 500 and the IRL title, Franchitti made the move to NASCAR. Unfortunately, however, his skills in open cockpits have yet to translate to closed ones in the same way as they have for his Colombian team-mate, and his sponsorship cash in the top-level Sprint Cup has run dry after Coors Light dropped the No. 40 Dodge. Team principal Chip Ganassi has had no choice but to shut down Franchitti's ride as a result. Ganassi emphasized that Dario is encouraged to continue in the...
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Filed under: Aftermarket , SEMA , Tuners , Coupes , Dodge Click above for a high-res gallery of the Dodge Challenger SRT-8. Mopar can't let Speedfactory have all the fun supercharging the Dodge Challenger SRT-8 , so when the SEMA show rolls around this November, the in-house tuners of all things pentastar will unveil a blown Challenger of their own. The Mopar-modified SRT-8 will be fitted with all the show-going kit you'd expect at the world's largest aftermarket expo, including a cold-air intake, high-flow cat-back exhaust and a variety of wheel designs and sizes. The details of the blower are still unknown, but with Speedfactory boosting the 6.1-liter HEMI V8 from 425 to 630 hp with its Stage 2 mods, we'd suspect similar figures from the Mopar kit. Gallery: 2008 Dodge Challenger SRT8 [Source: InsideLine ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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