Chrysler Announces New Incentives: 0% Financing or up to $4,000 Rebates

The Chrysler Group LLC is the latest automaker to join the incentive war that car makers have been waging for the past month in order to increase sales to individual customers in the U.S.

The Detroit company said that it has began offering 0 percent financing or discounts (e.g. Dodge Charger buyers can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 72 months or a $3,000 rebate) on most 2010 model year Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck vehicles when financed through GMAC Financial Services.

The incentives announced are valid until June 1, 2010. For more details, check out the official release after the jump.

From Chrysler Press Release:

Chrysler Brand

Consumers purchasing 2010 model year Chrysler brand vehicles can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or 1.9 percent financing for 72 months through GMAC Financial Services, or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

Jeep Brand

Consumers who purchase Jeep brand 2010 model year vehicles can choose 0 percent financing for 36 months or attractive financing rates for longer terms or up to $4,000 Consumer Cash.

• Consumers who purchase a Jeep Liberty, Jeep Grand Cherokee or Jeep Commander can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months or Consumer Cash of up to $4,000
  
  • In addition, consumers who purchase or lease a Liberty, Grand Cherokee or Commander and finance through GMAC Financial Services are eligible for up to $1,000 in GMAC Bonus Cash
    
• Consumers purchasing a Jeep Wrangler are eligible for $500 in Mopar® Bucks
  

Dodge Brand

Consumers purchasing most 2010 model year Dodge brand vehicles can choose from 0 percent financing for 36 months or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

• Consumers purchasing a Dodge Avenger, Dodge Grand Caravan or Dodge Nitro can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or up to $2,000 Consumer Cash
  
• Consumers who purchase Dodge Charger can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 72 months or Consumer Cash of $3,000
  
• Consumers purchasing a Dodge Challenger can choose from attractive financing rates from GMAC. In addition, the consumer receives $2,000 in Mopar Bucks with the purchase or lease of a 2010 Dodge Challenger
  
• Consumers who purchase a Dodge Journey or Dodge Caliber can choose from 0 percent financing for 36 months, or Consumer Cash of up to $1,500
  

Ram Truck Brand
Consumers who purchase most 2010 Ram truck vehicles can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

• In addition, consumers purchasing or leasing a Dodge Dakota or Ram 1500 and finance through GMAC are eligible $1,000 GMAC Bonus Cash
  

Leasing
Chrysler Group is offering attractive lease rates on several 2010 model year vehicles.

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Chrysler Announces New Incentives: 0% Financing or up to $4,000 Rebates

The Chrysler Group LLC is the latest automaker to join the incentive war that car makers have been waging for the past month in order to increase sales to individual customers in the U.S.

The Detroit company said that it has began offering 0 percent financing or discounts (e.g. Dodge Charger buyers can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 72 months or a $3,000 rebate) on most 2010 model year Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck vehicles when financed through GMAC Financial Services.

The incentives announced are valid until June 1, 2010. For more details, check out the official release after the jump.

From Chrysler Press Release:

Chrysler Brand

Consumers purchasing 2010 model year Chrysler brand vehicles can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or 1.9 percent financing for 72 months through GMAC Financial Services, or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

Jeep Brand

Consumers who purchase Jeep brand 2010 model year vehicles can choose 0 percent financing for 36 months or attractive financing rates for longer terms or up to $4,000 Consumer Cash.

• Consumers who purchase a Jeep Liberty, Jeep Grand Cherokee or Jeep Commander can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months or Consumer Cash of up to $4,000
  
  • In addition, consumers who purchase or lease a Liberty, Grand Cherokee or Commander and finance through GMAC Financial Services are eligible for up to $1,000 in GMAC Bonus Cash
    
• Consumers purchasing a Jeep Wrangler are eligible for $500 in Mopar® Bucks
  

Dodge Brand

Consumers purchasing most 2010 model year Dodge brand vehicles can choose from 0 percent financing for 36 months or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

• Consumers purchasing a Dodge Avenger, Dodge Grand Caravan or Dodge Nitro can choose 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or up to $2,000 Consumer Cash
  
• Consumers who purchase Dodge Charger can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 72 months or Consumer Cash of $3,000
  
• Consumers purchasing a Dodge Challenger can choose from attractive financing rates from GMAC. In addition, the consumer receives $2,000 in Mopar Bucks with the purchase or lease of a 2010 Dodge Challenger
  
• Consumers who purchase a Dodge Journey or Dodge Caliber can choose from 0 percent financing for 36 months, or Consumer Cash of up to $1,500
  

Ram Truck Brand
Consumers who purchase most 2010 Ram truck vehicles can choose from 0 percent financing for up to 60 months, or Consumer Cash of up to $3,000.

• In addition, consumers purchasing or leasing a Dodge Dakota or Ram 1500 and finance through GMAC are eligible $1,000 GMAC Bonus Cash
  

Leasing
Chrysler Group is offering attractive lease rates on several 2010 model year vehicles.

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Chrysler Reportedly Kills Sebring Name, Gives Birth to Nassau

According to a news report from the Detroit Free Press, Chrysler's super-refreshed Sebring replacement will be called the Nassau, after executives decided the Sebring name has been "tarnished". More like utterly destroyed.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Nassau name, it's derived from a few previous Chrysler concepts (most recently the 2007 Nassau 4-door coupe/wagon concept) and the location where Bond won his Aston martin DB5 in a poker game.

Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne explained one reason for the name switch, referencing Chrysler's poor image/entry in the mid-size segment: "If you look at the Sebring and benchmark it against the competition, it's not where it needs to be." Hopefully a redesign and a new identity will help out.

A more Euro-centric feel for the car will also help out where Chryslers are going to be pushed as Lancias (i.e. anywhere but North America).

We can expect a fully redesigned interior that will hopefully have a little more character and a little less cheap plastic (Chrysler's goal here is Buick, after all), while power will come from Chrysler's 2.4 liter 4-cylinder or the new Pentastar V6.

One thing's for sure: as long as it gets the 2007 concept's nose, something will have gone right in the world.

By Phil Alex

Via: Detnews

Chrysler Nassau Photo Gallery

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Malignant Rumors: The SRT8 Super Jeep Returneth

Car and Driver is under the impression that Jeep engineers are crazy enough to create a second-generation of their hi-po SRT8 Grand Cherokee. The basis? No one will confirm or deny anything (good enough for me!).

According to their contacts, SRTs come out in the opening years of a newly-released model. That means a preview this year would make for a prime 2012 SRT8 Grand Cherokee.

With Chrysler woes and reorganization, we shouldn't expect anything super-new with the power plant. Look for is a stroked version of the current 6.1 liter engine (at 6.4 liters), still naturally aspirated, and putting out over 500 horsepower / lb-ft.

Everyone's screaming that to go big, it'll have to best the BMW X5M's 4.0 second sprint to 60 and its 555 under-hood steeds, and I agree (even though "between 505 and 525 hp" would be a HUGE increase). For comparison, the old SRT8 Grand Cherokee hit 60 in the mid 4s.

With mega output, an established reputation, an old M-Class platform underneath, and a target dead in its sights, this new high performance stormer will likely be a kick when it officially comes out. Expect more info as it's released.

By Phil Alex

Via: C&D

*Outgoing 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Shown in the Photos

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Obama: Auto Industry Bailout was the Right Thing to do

President Barack Obama is using GM's recent loan repayment and Chrysler's operating profit as proof that his "unpopular" auto bailout decision was the right thing to do.

"I knew this wasn't a popular decision. But it was the right one," Obama said. Without the bailout, the American economic outcome could have been much more disturbing.

"General Motors and Chrysler...were on the brink of collapse. The rapid dissolution of these companies -- followed by the certain failure of many auto parts makers, car dealers and other smaller businesses -- would have dealt a crippling blow to our already suffering economy."

Obama went on to justify the risky bailout by explaining that, even though the companies were to blame for their own downfall and it could have been viewed as "throwing good money after bad", the bigger issue was keeping families' income on the table. If anything were to happen to the companies, upwards of a million jobs could have been lost.

The Detroit News explains one way in which the White House hopes to cover taxpayers' losses: "collecting a fee from the nation's 50 largest banks to pay for the taxpayer losses from financial and auto bailout."

As expected, the GOP is putting up tripwires, wondering why the banks should be responsible for covering taxpayers' losses. Maybe it's because the banks were responsible for initially losing taxpayers' money.

Obviously that's an oversimplification, but social responsibility isn't a one-way street, guys.

By Phil Alex

Via: Detnews

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Marchionne Appears to Like the Idea of a Three-Way Alliance Between Fiat, Chrysler and PSA Citroen-Peugeot

Sergio Marchionne, head of the Fiat and Chrysler groups is predicting that the next major merger in the automotive industry will involve France's largest automaker, the PSA Peugeot-Citroen Group.

"The next merger will probably be French," Marchionne told reporters in Rome today. "They [PSA] tried with Mitsubishi and they will try with someone else."

If the recent Renault-Nissan / Daimler share exchange is anything to go by, it's the cool thing to do.

Marchionne has agreed in the past that partnering up with Europe's second-largest manufacturer would be a "marriage made in heaven."

A report on Business Week goes on to reiterate Marchionne's beliefs: to survive globally, international manufacturers need to build "at least 5 million cars".

Merging with the French Group, which built 3.2 million cars last year, would put the theoretical mega-company over that threshold as Fiat and Chrysler built approximately 2 million and 1.3 million car last year, respectively.

The deal could make big sense to PSA, which is looking to share development, parts, and production costs in a world where everyone seems to be playing team-up musical chairs for survival.

By Phil Alex

Via: Businessweek

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Chrysler Wraps Headquarters to Celebrate "Truck of the Year" Award

To celebrate the 2010 Ram Heavy Duty Motor Trend "Truck of the Year" win, Chrysler has put a dedicated 140-foot tall and 120-foot wide building wrap at its Pentastar Central headquarters in Auburn Hills.

Fred Diaz, President and CEO of the firm's newly formed Ram Truck division, had this to say about the wrap:

"The purpose [of the wrap] is to share our pride in the Ram Heavy Duty as well as the Ram 1500 with our employees that work hard each day to support this company as well as the communities that surround Chrysler Group. This display will be seen by approximately 200,000 drivers and passengers along the Interstate-75 in Auburn Hills, Mich., each day."

The company said that the building wrap is part of an overall marketing campaign for the Ram Heavy Duty that was recently launched nationwide.

Building Wrap Quick Facts

• The Ram Truck featured in the building wrap is approximately 100 feet long and 41 feet tall
  
  • Its headlamps are 18 feet wide and 9 feet tall
    
  • Its tires are 16 feet wide and 17 feet tall
    
  • Its windshield is 28 feet wide and 9 feet tall
    
  • The front grille is 27 feet wide and 12 feet tall
    
• The building wrap covers 14 stories of the Headquarters' tower
  
• It took three days to place the wrap on the tower
  
• The building wrap could stay on the tower up to 120 days.
  

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Dodge to end Viper Production with 50 Final Editions

Dodge's Viper SRT10 will be going out with a bang, or in this case, a limited run of 50 "Final Edition" models starting production this summer.

The Final Edition package will be available on all three variations of the Viper (Coupe, Roadster, ACR) and will consist of the body painted in a Graphite Clear Coat with a center-mounted black racing stripe highlighted in red.

The coupes and ACRs will get a "black windshield surround" and all models will get the oh-so-expected "unique side sill badges" proclaiming that YOU, sir, are more unique than every other Viper owner.

Not only that, but there's a dash plaque in case people didn't get the memo on those sill badges. The rest of the interior gets the Darth Maul treatment with red stitching, red halos painted on the gauge cluster, and other shiny bits here and there. Coupes and Roadsters will roll on anthracite 6-spoke rollers, while ACRs will get black 5-spoke Sidewinders.

Number breakdowns for the 8.4 liter, 600-horsepower Final Edition beasts are like this: 20 Coupes, 18 Roadsters, and 12 ACRs. Get 'em while they're hot.

By Phil Alex

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500,000th Fiat 500 Rolls Off the Production Line in Poland

In an important milestone for the new Fiat 500's history, the 500,000th example of the Italian automaker's retro-styled mini rolled off the production line this week at the Fiat Auto plant in Tychy, Poland, 21 months after its market launch. The commemorative model was finished in a so-called "Funk White" color and powered by a 69HP 1.2 engine with Start&Stop.

The new Fiat 500 is sold in 83 different countries around the world, from Italy to Brazil, and South Africa to Japan.

According to the Italian automaker, the ten biggest markets for the first 500,000 cars have been Italy with 244,755 units, France with 58,425, Great Britain with 51,445, Germany with 48,319, Holland with 13,682, Switzerland with 10,765, Spain with 10,103, Belgium with 9,548, Japan with 9,030 and Austria with 8,648 units.

If the Fiat Group sticks to plan, then we'll be seeing the Fiat 500 making its way to Chrysler's U.S. showrooms before the end of the year.

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Born in the USA: Lancia, Fiat, and Alfa Romeo Jobs Coming to North America

Automotive News reports that Fiat's Italian manpower is being cut by 5,000 (approximately 6.25% of its total workforce in Italy) while "increasing domestic production to 900,000 units in 2012 from 661,100 units in 2009."

Fiat's response: "Media speculation about the plan's contents [is] 'premature and groundless.'"

Part of the supposed shift involves a decrease in models built, from fourteen to nine, while ramping-up production of the survivors.

Hit really hard will be Fiat's plant in Mirafiori, Turin. "Mirafiori builds the Fiat Punto Classic, Idea and Multipla models, the Lancia Musa and Alfa MiTo. Fiat is remodeling the plant to use a single line to build the Alfa Romeo MiTo and two new small minivans to replace the Idea and Multipla."

The Mirafiori plant is set to ax nearly 50% of its 5,840 workers; that's in addition to the 1,400 that are getting the boot in Termini Imerese, Sicily (where the Lancia Ypsilon is built), the 1,500-2000 in Pomigliano (being outfitted to built only the Panda replacement), and 500 workers at the Cassino plant.

Fiat is said to be bringing some production over to Chrysler's North American manufacturing facilities, which would then export the vehicles back to Europe.

Numbers from Chrysler are in the neighborhood of 270,000 Fiats, Lancias, and Alfas (plus 100,000 500s in Mexico) built on this side of the Atlantic by 2014.

Here's how the models will likely break down:

Alfa Romeo (in America): four models including the Giulia (sedan and touring variants of the 159 successor), a "large crossover", and a big, rear-wheel-drive 166 successor (likely to use Chrysler's LX platform).

Lancia (in Europe): using re-badged Chrysler and Dodge products, Lancia wants to remain (or is that become?) "near premium" by using the 300C (ok), the new-Sebring lineup (wait and see), and the Voyager (why won't you just die?).

Fiat (in Europe): will use the Dodge Nitro (somehow I don't see it winning people over), and Dodge's Journey crossover.

Thoughts on this newly globalized Fiat plan? You know where to go (it's down).

- By Phil Alex

Via: Automotive News

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Chrysler's 1993 300C Concept Car up for Sale

With the glitzy Chrysler Thunderbolt taking the spotlight at the at the 1993 Detroit Motor Show, we seriously doubt that anyone even vaguely remembers the company's second concept car at Motown, the 300C sedan. Important or not, fact is that the 300C prototype model is up for grabs at Volocars.

The one-of-a-kind concept features a customized interior and exterior, as well as a glass panoramic roof with electric sun shade with the seller claiming that it cost $145,000 to build. The documented prototype, which has covered only 350 miles, is priced at $25,998. Comprehensive gallery after the jump.

Source: Volocars , Via: Hemmings

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