Chrysler’s SRT Team Teases…Next Dodge Viper SRT10 on Facebook

In a very…tongue-in-cheek move, Chrysler’s newly formed Street and Racing Technology (SRT) brand responded to fans asking them on various social media sites what future products are in development by posting this…revealing sketch on its dedicated Facebook page. Here is what Chrysler’s SRT team wrote:

“Like many of you, Twitter user @DaveOrrSales asked for a taste of what's to come at SRT. We dodged death to sneak you this top-secret photo. That's all you get, crew.”

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Viper V10-Powered Chrysler PT 10 Cruiser Pickup Truck for Sale on eBay

Whether you love it or loathe it, Chrysler’s PT Cruiser was a running success for the Detroit automaker and over its ten-year lifespan, we saw countless projects cars and tunes based on the retro-styled compact model. However, ask any true Mopar fan what the ultimate modification is for any Chrysler Group model, and you’ll most likely get the answer an engine swap with the Dodge Viper’s ferocious V10 powerplant.

Here at Carscoop, we’ve shown you plenty of Viper-powered cars ranging from a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Challenger to a Saab 9-3 and a Jeep Wrangler. Now it’s time to add the Chrysler PT Cruiser to our list of venomous engine swaps with this eBay find.

The PT/10 Cruiser Pickup Truck is said to have been built in 2000. It is based on a custom chassis with power coming from the Viper’s V10 engine churning out 500 ponies. Other goods sourced from the Dodge sports car include the 6-speed transmission, rear suspension, steering rack and seats.

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Chrysler Debuts New Imported from Detroit Commercial Starring Dr. Dre

And the beat goes on for Chrysler's much-talked about Imported from Detroit campaign with the release of the latest spot of the series called “Good Things” starring hip-hop artist, producer, record executive, and occasional actor, Dr. Dre.

The famous rapper is seen driving the 2012 Chrysler 300S sedan through the streets of Los Angeles while showing off his signature Beats by Dr. Dre audio system that is optionally available in the car.

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Toyota Sales Plunge More than 33% in May, Chrysler Group up by 10%

The numbers for U.S. auto sales for the month of May are out and as expected, Japanese automakers continue to be hit hard by the ongoing production disruptions caused by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in their home market. As a result, Toyota’s sales plunged 33.4% over the year-ago month to 108,387 units, while rivaling Honda saw its sales fall 22.5% to 90,773 vehicles, Nissan recorded a 9.1% drop to 76,148 units and Mazda 17,875 vehicles, down 20.9%.

General Motors dealers in the United States delivered 221,192 vehicles in May posting a decline of 1%, while the Ford Motor Co. said its sales decreased by 0.1% to 192,253 cars, trucks and SUVs.

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Fiat Rumored to Bring Bravo Successor to the U.S. Market

The launch of the Fiat 500 in the U.S. market has whetted the Italian company’s appetite, as according to reports, Fiat is now considering the addition of a second model to its North-American range, the successor to the Bravo. As we wrote last month, the next-generation Bravo will take the shape of a small crossover with Fiat looking to emulate the success of Nissan's Qashqai.

The 500's early sales figures have exceeded the firm’s expectations despite initial concerns about relaunching the Fiat brand in the U.S. with such a small car. The partially open-top 500C was added to the range recently, with more powerful Abarth versions to follow in the very near future.

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Chrysler Tones it Down a Notch with its New Imported from Detroit Campaign for the 2011 Town and Country

The refreshed 2011 Town and Country minivan is the point of focus in the latest commercial in Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit” campaign. The new TV spot is called “The Quiet Ones” and it takes us to Michigan and the state’s 2011 hockey champions, the Novi Wildcats, featuring one of the team members, Mason Pew. Read more »

Lancia Releases More than 70 New Photos of the 2012 Ypsilon

In typical Fiat Group fashion, despite the fact that the new Lancia Ypsilon received its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show close to three months ago, the company waited until today to release a full gallery of pictures. There are more than 70 photographs showing the Italian supermini mostly in its natural habitat, the city. Along with the new images, Lancia also offered new information on its entry-level model, which will be launched from June in major European markets and from September in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where it will wear the Chrysler logo. Read more »

Chrysler Group Repays US and Canadian Government Loans in Full

The Chrysler Group announced the repay of U.S. and Canadian government loans totaling $7.6 billion (€5.39 billion), more than six years ahead of schedule. More specifically, the Detroit automaker made a payment of $5.9 billion to the U.S. Treasury (UST) and $1.7 billion to Export Development Canada (EDC) to retire the loans granted in June 2009. EDC is the holding company through which the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments provided loans to Chrysler Group. Read more »

So Long and Thanks for all the Fish: The Last of San Francisco’s U.S. Dealerships Closes its Doors for Good

Are you in the market for a new car in San Francisco and are considering a product built by America’s Big 2.5? If so, then I have some bad news: the last U.S. domestic automaker dealership has just shut up shop. San Francisco Ford Lincoln Mercury on Van Ness Avenue closed a few weeks ago, leaving some 50 employees out of a job.

Ford Lincoln Mercury presidente Mel Turner told the San Fransisco Chronicle: “We are proud to have served the San Francisco community and will be focusing over the coming weeks on helping employees through this transition and ensuring our current customer commitments are met.”

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Chrysler’s Latest Imported from Detroit Ad Featuring Designer John Varvatos

The next chapter of the Chrysler Group’s much talked about 'Imported from Detroit' campaign brings us yet another native of America’s Motor City who made it big, renowned fashion designer and entrepreneur, John Varvatos. The TV spot is named ‘Attitude’ and centers on the new 2011 Chrysler 300 sedan (notice the new Mopar grille?) playing on Varvatos’ sense of style, and according to the ad, his “Detroit blue-collar attitude” when it comes to work.

The latest commercial in Chrysler's ‘Imported from Detroit’ series follows the ads with rapper Eminem for the 200 sedan and more recently, the Homecoming spot starring Detroit Lions rookie, Ndamukong Suh, again for the 300 sedan. The US automaker also plans to air a commercial featuring artist, producer, label head and entrepreneur, Dr. Dre in the all-new 2012 Chrysler 300S. Watch the spot with John Varvatos in the video after the jump.

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New Mopar Grilles and Alloy Wheels for 2011 Chrysler 300 Sedan

Mopar, the Chrysler Group’s in-house performance and styling brand, has been on the busy side lately having introduced several upgrades for the latest Jeep vehicles, as well as standalone versions of the newest Dodge Charger and Challenger models. Now, the Detroit firm’s tuning division is onto its next project sprucing up the new Chrysler 300 sedan with a range of custom grilles and bespoke alloy wheel designs. Read more »

Chrysler Hires NFL Rookie of the Year for New ‘Imported from Detroit’ Campaign

Unless you’re a fan of the NFL, chances are you’ve never heard of the new face of Chrysler’s ‘Imported from Detroit’ campaign, Ndamukong Suh. For those of you whom the name doesn’t ring a bell, Suh is a young football player who was recently named Defensive Rookie of the Year. In the summer of 2010, the 24-year old signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Lions worth $68,000,000 with $40,000,000 guaranteed – no, we got the zeros right….

Even though the Ford family is signing his checks, Suh is the star of Chrysler’s latest ‘Detroit’ ad for the new 300 sedan titled “Homecoming”. The commercial plays up the values of humble beginnings and hard work ethics with Suh putting up a face that makes you ask “why so serious?” Hit the break to watch the advert.

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Chrysler’s Ram Truck Brand to Debut New ‘Guts. Glory. Ram.’ Tagline

Following in the footsteps of its sister brands Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep, the Chrysler LLC Group’s Ram Truck division is relaunching its marketing strategy with a new tag line that will make its official debut during this weekend’s TV broadcast of the Kentucky Derby racing event, which the company is an official sponsor.

The firm’s new motto is ‘Guts. Glory. Ram’ and according to the Auburn Hills-based group, it pays homage to the history of Ram Truck Brand and “represents the hard work and dedication placed in the design, engineering and production of each and every Ram truck”.

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Ram Goes Big, Really Big with New Long-Hauler Concept Truck

The Chrysler Group claims, “they don’t get much bigger” than its new Ram Long-Hauler Concept truck and at a whopping 24 feet (about 7.3 meters) long, who can blame them? Based on a Class 5 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab, the monstrous Long Hauler rides on an extended wheelbase measuring 197.4-in. (5,014mm) in length, which is more than enough to fit a Mercedes-Benz E-Class (191.7-in)!

The concept truck is also 79.1 inches tall and tips the scales at an environmentally…unfriendly 9,300 lbs (4,218 kg), or close to 2.5-times as much as a Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan. Ram says the Long-Hauler has a maximum Gross Combined Weight Rating of 37,500 lbs (16,783 kg).

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Chrysler Reports Net Profits for the First Time Since Emerging from Bankruptcy

On Monday, the Chrysler Group LLC reported its first quarter gains since exiting bankruptcy almost two years ago in June 2009. The Auburn Hills-based automaker, which is now operated by Fiat S.p.A., said net income totaled $116 million in the first quarter of 2011 compared to a net loss of $197 million in the same period last year.

At the same time, the company’s revenues grew 35 percent from $9.7 billion in Q1 2010 to $13.1 billion in Q1 2011. In addition, the automaker said it had $9.9 billion in cash reserves at the end of the first quarter compares to 2.5 billion in December 31, 2010.

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Take that Google: Dodge Rebels Against Robots in New 2011 Charger Commercial

The future, as we imagine it now, may be full of robots doing all kinds of things for us humans, including driving our cars. As some scientists over at Google recently proved, driver-less vehicles may become a reality sooner than we expect, so here's what an automaker that produces cars for drivers has to say about this issue.

In the Chrysler Group’s latest commercial for the 2011 Dodge Charger called “The Future of Driving”, we are presented with a gloomy future, in which robots control all aspects of our lives, from choosing our diet and wardrobe to even walking our pet dogs. The hero of the commercial has nothing to say about all these things, but when a robot invites him to sit on the passenger seat of his own car, things get a little bit out of control...

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Chrysler Group to Repay $7.5 Billion of Government Loans by the End of June

In order to pave the way for Fiat to reach 51 percent ownership of the Chrysler Group, the Auburn Hills-based automaker announced today that it intends to repay in full the loans provided by the U.S. and Canadian governments back in 2009 ($7.53 billion in total).

The Chrysler Group said it plans to complete the repayment during the second quarter of 2011 (ending in June). The company will use money from a new term loan facility plus a new issue of debt securities that will be sold to institutional investors in a private offering along with proceeds from Fiat’s recent cash infusion to increase its stake in Chrysler.

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Jeep Betting on Three New SUVs to Boost European Sales Five-Times by 2014

Jeep has disclosed plans to increase European sales from 25,000 units this year to 125,000 units by 2014. Europe will play a key role in Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s plans to double the brand’s global sales from 420,000 units last year to 800,000 units in 2014.

"Our plans for Europe are ambitious but doable. Europe for Jeep is an incredibly important market. We have been here for 30 years and half of our international sales historically were in Europe," Jeep CEO Mike Manley told Autonews Europe.

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North American Fiat 500C

Fiat has unveiled the 2012 North American-spec 500 Cabrio at the New York International Auto Show.

Distinguishing the 500C is its powered dual-layer cloth roof that features a glass rear window and a spoiler with built-in central brake light. Retractable to multiple positions, it can even be folded fully back while driving at speeds of up to 50 mph (80 km/h).



Fiat describes the interior of the 500C as ‘airy and roomy’, although that probably depends on how many people are sat inside at the time, and the size of those people. Claimed interior space is 76.2 cubic feet (2,157 litres), while the luggage compartment is 5.4 cubic feet (152 litres).



Perhaps to distract from the its petite size, Fiat is offering a myriad of colour permutations that allow 500C owners to create a potentially unique car. There are fourteen paint finishes, three roof colours, two interior colour themes and twelve seat colour and material combinations for them to choose from.

Like the hatchback, only one engine is available for the 500C: a 101 bhp (75 kW / 102 PS) 1.4 litre unit that produces 133 Nm (98 lb/ft) of torque.



Thanks to MultiAir valve gear technology, it allows the 500C to achieve reasonable EPA ratings of 30 mpg US (36.0 mpg UK / 7.8 l/100km) for City and 38 mpg US (45.6 mpg UK / 6.2 l/100km) for Highway when paired to the five-speed manual transmission. Alternatively, there’s a six-speed automatic for those not keen on changing gear themselves.



Fiat is offering two trim levels for its new convertible. The entry-level 500C Pop includes the five-speed manual gearbox, Bluetooth telephone connectivity, air conditioning, heated powered door mirrors, tyre pressure monitoring, seven air bags and a trip computer. But, rather meanly, it only gets 15” steel wheels.



The premium 500C Lounge comes with the six-speed automatic transmission plus Sirius Satellite Radio, automatic climate control, Bose audio system with six speakers, chrome door mirror caps, security alarm and 15” aluminium wheels.



Just because the 500C is small, it doesn’t mean it’s cheap. When sales start in late spring, the Pop will have an MSRP of $19,500 and the Lounge is going to cost $23,500.



To put those amounts into perspective, sister brand Chrysler sells the 200 Touring Convertible at an MSRP of $26,445. It may not be as chic as the Fiat, but it’s much larger, more practical and its EPA Highway fuel economy of 31 mpg US (37.2 mpg UK / 7.6 l/100km) isn’t too bad.



Related posts:

American spec Fiat 500

Fiat 500C by Diesel

Chrysler CEO Says Lancia Ypsilon Not Coming to the U.S. After All, while Compact Model is “Under Review”

Back in 2009, the Fiat and Chrysler alliance had revealed plans for the U.S. launch of a compact model based on the Lancia Delta in 2012 and a Chrysler-badged version of the Lancia Ypsilon in 2013.

Now it seems that the automaker has changed its strategy. At the New York Auto Show, Chrysler and Lancia brand president Olivier Francois told Car&Driver that the Ypsilon-based Chrysler model is dead for the U.S. as the company believes it is too similar with the Fiat 500, upon which the Lancia subcompact is based on, and could hurt its sales.

For the record, during a recent press event in Turin, Italy, a Lancia official told Carscoop that the Ypsilon U.S. launch would largely depend on the market's response to the Fiat 500.

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