Chrysler Wraps Auburn Hills HQ with New "Imported From Detroit" Tagline

The Chrysler Group is showcasing its new “Imported from Detroit” tagline for the 200 model series with a massive wrap covering almost the entire west side of the company’s 15-story headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The Detroit automaker's new tagline made its debut in a two-minute advertising spot for the company's latest entry to the mid-size segment on Super Bowl Sunday.

“The 2011 Chrysler 200 is a vehicle designed with purpose, it has beautiful shapes and incorporates the utmost attention to detail,” said Olivier Francois, President and CEO of the Chrysler Brand, Chrysler Group LLC, and Lancia.

“This new mid-size sedan delivers on a promise to our customers to be the very best of American design combined with a value proposition that will exceed their expectations. The new tagline was created to convey the message that one does not have to cross an ocean to obtain luxury, its available right here,” Francois stated.

Francois last statement could be taken as a poke to European buyers who -figuratively speaking- will have to "cross an ocean to obtain luxury" given that the soon to be released Lancia Flavia is a re-badged 200 Imported from Detroit...

Building Wrap Facts [From Chrysler Press Release]

• The Chrysler 200 featured in the building wrap is 116 feet wide by 145 feet tall
  • Its grille is 51 feet wide
  • The badge on the Chrysler 200 grille is 31 feet in length
  • Headlight is 32 feet long
  • Its hood measures 44 feet in length and 85 feet in width
  • Its windshield is 66 feet wide and 20 feet long
  • The side-view mirrors are each 9 feet wide and 7 feet long
• The Chrysler brand logo is 98 feet wide
• The building wrap covers 14 stories of the Headquarters’ tower
• It took three days to place the wrap on the tower

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Aussie Valiant Charger R/T Turns Up Stateside

Pop quiz: what’s the greatest sports car ever built in the Australia? Well, there are a few potential candidates. There’s the short-lived 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO nee Holden Monaro, for one. Then there’s the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase 4, the Holden Torana A9X hatchback and the then-futuristic Holden Commodore SS Group A. They’re all good cars, and all highly collectible.

Personally, I’ve always been a fan of the Chrysler Group's Valiant Charger R/T E49. The Valiant Charger was the short wheelbase version of the unremarkable Valiant coupe and the R/T’s homologation specials of their motorsport cousins.

The E49 was the last of the R/T’s, built primarily to win the 12 hour Bathurst endurance race. There were 149 of these legendary cars made, in colourfully named shades such as “Hot Mustard” and “Bondi Bleach”.

Hemmings, the Walter Cronkite of classic car magazines, has recently blogged about a right-hand-drive ’72 Valiant Charger R/T E49 in “Pink Panther” that has turned up stateside. With a straight six, 3spd manual tranny, auxiliary fuel tank and black leather interior, this particular Charger treads that fine line between “garish” and “ultra-cool”. Personally, I think it falls more on the “garish” side, but that’s just me. Check out the pics and leave your mark in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Via: Hemmings

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Ram Truck Announces New Entry-Level 1500 HEMI V8, Still to Decide on Name

In a somewhat strange move, the Chrysler Group's Ram Truck division announced today that it would launch a new entry-level version of its 1500 pickup truck equipped with a standard HEMI V8 engine, but it has yet to decide on the vehicle's name. According to the company, the new model is currently known under the code name “Adventurer".

The Detroit firm said the new model borrows the formula of the 2011 Ram Tradesman and is aimed at "first-time buyers and owners who are looking for a vehicle with performance and style that they can customize and make their own."

The unnamed new Ram 1500 will come equipped with a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 engine delivering 390 horsepower and 407 lb.-ft. of torque as standard. It will be offered in a monochromatic paint scheme featuring a body-colored grille with black honeycomb inserts, body-colored front fascia and body-colored rear fascia with chrome-tipped dual exhausts.

Other standard features include fog lamps, 20-inch aluminum wheels with locking lug nuts, a locking tailgate, cargo lamp, rear-bumper step pad, 6” x 9” side-view mirrors, a 160-amp alternator, 3.55 rear axle ratio, 700-amp maintenance-free battery, four and seven-pin trailer wiring harness, heavy-duty front and rear shock absorbers, and front and rear stabilizer bars.

Inside, Ram's new pickup truck model get a heavy-duty vinyl 40/20/40 split-bench seat, air conditioning, six-speaker media center with CD and MP3 player, as well as audio jack input for mobile devices and automatic headlamps.

The standard list of safety features include front air bags, supplemental front curtain and side air bags, anti-lock four-wheel disc brakes and electronic stability control.

Ram said that buyers will also be able to choose from a variety of options ranging from Mopar chrome tubular side steps to a Sirius Satellite Radio.

“We know we have the formula right,” said Ram Truck President and CEO Fred Diaz. “Now we just need a great name that promotes pride of ownership. This new Ram model will be an attractive alternative for a younger or first-time buyer looking for performance at an affordable price. Case in point, it will have more horsepower and a lower base price than our competitors’ entry-level performance cars with the added benefit of versatility and capability.”

The new truck will come as a regular cab, short-bed model, with a choice of 4x2 or 4x4 drivetrain. Sales will begin in the second quarter of the year with prices starting from 23,830, including $975 destination charge.

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Lancia Lifts the Wraps off All-New Ypsilon Ahead of the Geneva Salon

Marking the 25th anniversary since the introduction of the Ypsilon (first as the Y10 in 1985, then as the Y in 1996, and finally as the Ypsilon from 2003 and onwards), Lancia is presenting the fourth generation of its luxed-up supermini in a world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

The much delayed successor to the outgoing Ypsilon, which has been in production since 2003, has been designed from the ground up, and for the first time in the model's history, is offered in a five-door body style.

Even though the Ypsilon shares its platform and mechanical hardware with Fiat's small cars, the Lancia model won't be mistaken for anything else thanks to the bespoke styling, which incorporates a number of design cues from the larger Delta. Exterior highlights include the hidden rear door handles that give the impression of a three-door model and a new interpretation of Lancia's grille, designed to match Chrysler's version as seen on the 200 and 300 models.

As with all past incarnations of the Ypsilon, the newcomer promises to offer a high-quality interior and some 600 customization possibilities created by mixing and matching the 17 body colors (four of which are two-tone), 3 interior trim levels (Silver, Gold and Platinum), 6 different upholstery trims and 3 types of alloy wheels plus an extensive range of other options.

The Italian firm's premium city car measures 3,840mm in length, 1,670mm in width, 1,510mm in height, and rides on a 2,390mm-long wheelbase. Lancia claims the new Ypsilon "can accommodate up to five people, has one of the most spacious boots in its segment, in relation to dimensions, and is one of the best in class in terms of passenger room".

At launch, there will be four engines on offer, depending on the market: a 1.2-liter petrol unit with 69HP; a 0.9-liter turbocharged two-cylinder petrol with 85HP; a 1.3-liter MultiJet II turbo diesel delivering 95HP and a dual-fuel petrol-LPG 1.2-liter unit producing 69HP.

All petrol and diesel engines are equipped with a Start&Stop system while some models also get low rolling resistance tires developed by Goodyear.

The new Ypsilon which will go on sale from June across key European markets and from September under the Chrysler badge in Great Britain and Ireland. And no, the Fiat Group did not say if it has any plans to bring the Chrysler...Ypsilon over to the States.

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Geneva Preshow: Fiat Publishes New Photos of Freemont Crossover

The star of Fiat's exhibition area at the Geneva Motor Show and the first Fiat-branded vehicle to come out of the partnership with the Chrysler Group is the new Freemont 7-seater crossover. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that the Freemont is a re-badged 2011 Dodge Journey, but if for whatever reason you weren't satisfied with the first batch of official photos, the Italians have just released a more comprehensive set that includes pictures of the interior as well.

We'll remind you that the Freemont is due to go on sale in Fiat dealerships across Europe from the second half of 2011. The Italian firm's newcomer will initially come with front-wheel drive and a Fiat-sourced 2.0-liter turbo with 140HP and 170HP, linked to a manual gearbox. By the end of the year, Fiat will also offer two four-wheel drive versions fitted with the 170HP 2.0 MultiJet diesel, and Chrysler's 276HP 3.6-liter V6 petrol unit. For more details on the Freemont, check out our previous story here.

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New Lancia Grand Voyager Minivan is a Rebadged Chrysler, and Yes, this Picture Too Appears to be a Chop

The third Chrysler model to wear a Lancia badge is the Town & Country minivan, which replaces the Phedra and will premiere alongside the Thema and the Flavia concepts at the Geneva Motor Show next month. The Fiat Group decided to keep the European market name of the Town & Country, calling it the Lancia Grand Voyager.

The Italian firm's American people carrier measures a hefty 5.14 metres in length, 1.99 metres in width and 1.72 metres tall, and rides on a 3.1 meter-long wheelbase. When European sales start later this year, it will be available in three trim levels (Silver, Gold and Platinum) and and two engine options, the Euro 5-compliant 283 HP 3.6-liter V6 petrol unit and the more appropriate for European consumers, 2.8-liter CRD diesel with particulate filter as standard delivering 163 HP and 360Nm.

Lancia says the petrol model returns an average fuel consumption of 12.3 lt/100km (19.1 mpg US), while the diesel version, 8.4 lt/100km (28 mpg US) with CO2 emissions of 227 g/km.

On a side note, as is the case with the Lancia Flavia Convertible image, the solitary official photo of the Grand Voyager also appears to be a doctored picture of the Chrysler Town & Country, which can be proved -among other things- by the identical reflections on the chrome trim on the profile and the door handles, the position of the wheels, and the apparently fake logos on the alloys.

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