| Ford, Chrysler extend offers to clear lots | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 10:47:00 PM by Blog57 Team | | Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group are extending five-year no-interest and low rate-loan offers on some 2006 models to clear out old inventories and make way for 2007 models. Nearly 30 percent of vehicles sitting on Ford dealer lots are 2006 models, while older inventory accounts for 45 percent of the cars and trucks on Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep lots. General Motors Corp. did not stretch its current discount program, which already runs through Jan. 2. The Detroit-based automaker is offering free financing on some 2006 models, or bonus cash ranging from $1,000 to $6,500. The extended offers from Ford and Chrysler come as combined sales for Detroit's Big Three are down 8.6 percent for the year, although Ford and GM reported sales gains in October.... | |
| |
| | | Joyrides Car of the Week | | Posted Saturday, October 14, 2006 2:45:52 PM by Blog57 Team | | In a readers' online vote, Car of the Week honors went to the 1957 Chrysler 300C coupe. It belongs to Robert W. Turnquist of Morristown, N.J. Every weekday, Joyrides online unveils a Car of the Day. On Friday, readers have the chance to vote for their favorite vehicle. .... | |
| |
| | | HAIL HEMI: Chrysler's 300C is bucking market trends. | | Posted Wednesday, October 04, 2006 12:46:11 PM by Blog57 Team | | Introduced at the end of last year, the Chrysler 300C has been selling at nearly double the expected volume during 2006, even though the large car market has slipped back by almost a quarter in the past eight months. This news comes hot on the heels of DaimlerChrysler cutting production numbers on the legendary 5.7 Hemi engine at its Mexican plant. The distinctive 300C, with its look-at-me chrome grille and high equipment levels, has obviously gained market advantage from its 'displacement on demand' technology, which shuts down four of the eight cylinders when big power is not required. "Introducing a large car at a time when fuel prices hit record highs has provided us with both challenges and opportunities," says Brett Aspden, General Manager of the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler New Zealand.... | |
| |
| | | Hot Chrysler 300C | | Posted Tuesday, August 22, 2006 12:45:53 AM by Blog57 Team | | If you thought the Chrysler 300C HEMI was a quick car - and if you didn't, believe us, it is - wait till you hear about the new SRT-8. On sale from this month, the SRT-8 uses the HEMI's 5.7-litre V8 engine in enlarged 6.1-litre form. Size isn't everything, of course, and Chrysler's Street and Racing Technology division has performed other forms of magic to raise the maximum power output from 340bhp to 425bhp. That gives the engine the highest specific output (power-to-capacity) that Chrysler has ever offered in a production car. The torque increase is impressive, too - up from 387lb/ft to 420lb/ft. The result of all this is a top speed of 168mph and a 0-60mph time of exactly five seconds, or 1.4 seconds better than the 5.7 HEMI can manage. For obvious reasons, much of the rest of the car has been modified too; there's a Brembo braking system, revised suspension (including a 15mm reduction in ride height) and a lot of extra air intakes.... | |
| |
| | | Humorous Chrysler ads have serious message on German engineering | | Posted Sunday, August 20, 2006 6:46:30 PM by Blog57 Team | | When DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche is shown in an ad ripping out the suspension of some guy's Chrysler 300C to show off its German design, all the guy says is "Cool." The ad, part of a series of television and radio spots that debuted nationwide July 1, pokes fun at the affable Zetsche. But marketing experts and dealers say the campaign has been effective in getting across a serious message: That Chrysler's ties to Deutschland make it different from its domestic rivals. "I think it's brilliant and long overdue for two companies that came together years ago, neither one of whom is setting the world on fire today," said Gary Stibel, chief executive of The New England Consulting Group, a marketing management consulting firm in Westport, Conn.... | |
| |
| | | 2006 Chrysler 300C SRT8 Road Test | | Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006 4:45:59 AM by Blog57 Team | | Im convinced there are three kinds of people who make cars: designers, engineers and accountants. The former two often champion the cause of the enthusiast, declaring that cars should be exciting to drive and breathtaking to look at, while the evil pocket-protecting hordes scrimp and save, flanking the helpless product development team on the field of battle (boardroom) with cries of increased profit and lower risk investments. All too often the calculator-wielding hordes win, and those just and courageous crusaders of automotive freedom wander back to their offices, studios and cubicles dejected, left to dream up their next assault on the companys moneymen. And eventually, somewhere, some designer or engineer snaps and says "Thats it; Im done <insert expletive here> around." And when that happens, we enthusiasts have a reason to weep for joy.... | |
| |
| | | Teeing up for charity | | Posted Friday, July 28, 2006 2:45:54 PM by Blog57 Team | | Lisa Loring only plays golf once a year. This year, she faithfully showed up again for the 27th Annual Berkshire Medical Center Auxiliary Benefit Golf Tournament at the Country Club of Pittsfield yesterday. "Luckily, I'm in a foursome with three other women who are much better players than I am," she laughed. Loring is medical director at the BMC Women's Imaging Center. Her three teammates are also employees at the hospital. She plays in the tournament, she said, for the fun and for the underlying mission. "I like to give something back to the hospital ? it's a nice thing to do and it's nice camaraderie for us," Loring said. It was a carnival atmosphere that greeted visitors and players to the tournament. Under partly cloudy skies, amid hot humidity and occasional sprinkles of rain, there were 138 smiling, laughing participants mingling at the clubhouse and advancing through the golf course with each team taking the best player's score at each hole.... | |
| |
| | | Chrysler 300c stretch predicted to be a winner | | Posted Friday, July 07, 2006 4:51:32 AM by Blog57 Team | | "Definitely. Stretching that vehicle makes it more luxurious, an aspirational car," says Myles Kovacs, president of Dub magazine. "It is definitely going to entice the consumers to buy that vehicle." "That vehicle" is the 2007 Chrysler 300 Long Wheelbase sedan, a limited-edition model that offers a roomier passenger compartment than the standard 300 because the wheelbase is stretched by 6 inches. Sales begin this fall. Full article here .... | |
| |
| | | Chrysler redesigns Sebring for competitive mid-size market | | Posted Wednesday, July 05, 2006 10:45:53 PM by Blog57 Team | | Chrysler's redesigned Sebring mid-size sedan, expected to hit showrooms as early as September, will compete in a tough segment, said Chrysler Group CEO Tom LaSorda. Last year, the Toyota Camry outsold the Sebring almost 5-to-1 in the United States. The Sebring, last redesigned for the 2001 model year, needs a new look, industry analysts said. The car's sales peaked in 2001 with almost 118,000 sedans, coupes and convertibles sold in the United States. By last year, sales slid to 90,321. ``As Chrysler knows, their vehicle was overdue for a change,'' said Jim Hall, vice president of industry analysis for AutoPacific in Southfield, Mich. But even a redesigned Sebring faces challenges. The mid-size car market is one of the most competitive segments, led by three of the nation's 10 top-selling vehicles: Toyota Camry, Honda Accord and Nissan Altima, which is getting its own redesign this year.... | |
| |
| |
|
|
