How do you follow up a Super Bowl ad staring Eminem's music and one of 2011's most successful taglines? If you're Chrysler, you call in Clint Eastwood and revisit the city of Detroit's comeback story for a progress update.
Appropriately titled "Halftime in America," Chrysler's Super Bowl ad made its impactful debut immediately following the game's halftime show. Starring American icon Clint Eastwood, the ad's theme mimics the game itself, reminding Americans that even though times are tough, Detroit has proven that comebacks are possible.
Stirring? We think so. See for yourself after the jump and let us know in the comments if you think Chrysler has created a worthy follow up to last year's commercial.
Last year, Chrysler made a big splash in the advertising world with its "Imported From Detroit" campaign, a marketing blitz that kicked off with a Super Bowl spot featuring rapper Eminem behind the wheel of a Chrysler 200 sedan. The campaign jumpstarted a national dialogue about Detroit, went on to win an Emmy, and the tagline has since become a cornerstone of Chrysler's marketing efforts. But according to The Wall Street Journal, the Auburn Hills automaker isn't looking to return to The Big Game with Marshall Mathers - it's going with veteran actor Clint Eastwood.
According to the WSJ, Eastwood will feature in an expansive two-minute long ad and the action will likely center on the actor "giving the country a pep talk." While seemingly every other automaker has already spilled the beans on their Super Bowl marketing efforts, the Pentastar is playing its hand close to the vest, with the WSJ unable to get Chrysler to comment on the story.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama visited the Washington Auto Show, and he even had time to get a closer look at a few vehicles. We're guessing that the carmakers were more than happy to set aside some time to talk to the Commander In Chief, but not every automaker got the chance.
Bloomberg says that the Association of Global Automakers is upset because the president only spent time with the Detroit Three, even though other automakers reportedly flew in executives from around the world for the occasion. The executives were reportedly on hand and waiting in a "bullpen" in the event President Obama had any questions about specific vehicles, but The Pres stuck to American cars like the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Chevrolet Silverado.
AGA CEO Michael Stanton voiced his disappointment about the perceived slight, adding that many members "bent over backwards to meet the request from the White House." Stanton also points out that AGA members have invested $43 billion in the U.S. and employ over 80,000 workers here.
Chrysler employees received some good news this week. The automaker announced it would issue profit-sharing checks worth $1,500 to each of its hourly workers for the first time since 2005. The company posted a $183 million profit for 2011, marking the first time the company has avoided a loss in six years, according to The Detroit Free Press. The earnings were due largely to a host of more compelling vehicles, including the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango, Chrysler 200 and 300. Each of those vehicles command a higher price tag than their less-refined predecessors.
On average, buyers have been willing to hand over $3,200 more for their Chrysler vehicles than they did just one year prior. Company CEO Sergio Marchionne said the profit-sharing checks were a reward that the company's workers had earned.
Interestingly enough, parent company Fiat isn't enjoying the same success back home. According to the report, without the earnings from the Italian automaker's stake in Chrysler, Fiat would have reported a $265 million loss in 2011. In a strange turn of fate, Chrysler has begun supporting Fiat. With Italy and the rest of Europe in the throws of a debt crisis, the automaker doesn't look to have a better 2012, either.
Good news has been in abundant supply for the domestic automakers the last twelve months, and nowhere is that more evident than in the headline to this press release: "Chrysler Group Reports Full Year 2011 Net Income of $183 Million." Now, $183 million isn't exactly a king's ransom in the auto industry (or elsewhere - Apple made $25.92 billion last year). But if Chrysler is making money again for the first time since emerging from bankruptcy, well, perhaps the U.S. auto industry has finally recovered from 2009.
Domestic automakers have much to be happy about, with Chrysler, Ford and General Motors all gaining market share last year for the first time since 1988. Yet according to Bloomberg, 2012 won't be as good to Detroit. Total sales are projected to grow from 12.8 million vehicles last year to 13.6 million, according to the report, but increasing competition from Korea and a Japanese recovery from the natural disasters of 2011 mean those extra sales aren't likely headed to the Big Three.
The news agency spoke to five analysts, and predictions have the U.S. automakers losing 1.3 percentage points this year. The analysts estimate that GM will drop 0.6 of a percent, Ford will lose 0.5 percent, and Chrysler will be down 0.2 percent. Toyota is seen gaining 0.9 percent, with Honda grabbing an extra 0.5 percent, while Hyundai and Kia are only projected to see their combined market share improve by 0.01.
If all this comes true, GM would have the top market share in the U.S. at 19 percent, with Ford in second at 16.3 percent, followed by Toyota at 13.8 percent, Chrysler at 10.5 percent, and Honda at 9.5 percent.
This year Mopar is celebrating 75 years since its name - a combination of MOtor and PARts - was first trademarked. During that time, Mopar has evolved to become synonymous with performance parts for Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, as well as amp'd-up specialty package vehicles, vehicle service and maintenance, and add Fiat to the long list of Chrysler Group brands it supports since the Italian automaker took part ownership in the smallest of Detroit's Big 3.
Anniversaries usually come with presents, and Mopar is bring four to show and share at the Chicago Auto Show next month. The first, and only one that will be sold turn-key, is the '12 Mopar 300, which becomes the brand's third factory-built model for modern times following the '10 Mopar Challenger and '11 Mopar Charger. While offering no more power than a standard 5.7-liter V8-equipped 300, the '12 Mopar does benefit from a new final-drive ratio of 3.91:1 that drops its 0-60 time in the low five-second range, as well as a significantly stiffer suspension, grippier tires and brake system upgrades.
Then there's the exterior. If the plague's preferred method of transmission were by car, this would be its ride. It is the Black Death on wheels, which themselves are 20-inch, 8-spoke forged aluminum rollers painted Gloss Black with Mopar center caps. We especially like the tasteful blue striping that appears across the '12 Mopar's sides and around its rims. While we've yet to see it, Mopar says the interior is equally void of light save for accents of Mopar Blue.
Only 500 of these '12 Mopar 300 models will be built and sold this summer for the price of $49,700, which includes destination charges. Each one will also come with a special box of goodies that includes Mopar-branded key fobs and merch; proof of the vehicle's exact manufacture date and number built; and a sketch of the car signed by its designer.
Follow the jump for three more anniversary models from Mopar.
In September, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began a probe of 2002 and 2003 Jeep Liberty models. Owners were reporting that airbags were deploying when there hadn't been an accident. At the time, there were 39 complaints filed: seven to NHTSA and 32 field reports from Chrysler. Ten of those complaints resulted in injuries.
A report by The Detroit News says the probe has been upgraded - there have now been 87 complaints, with 50 of them resulting in injury. Chrysler hasn't been able to nail down a single cause of, or even a single protocol for the problem; the airbags have deployed on startup and when the car is running - sometimes it's just the driver's side unit and sometimes it's both driver and passenger bags.
There are 386,873 Liberty vehicles included in the probe from those two model years. Chrysler says it is cooperating fully with the investigation and trying to find the source of the issue, with one suggestion being "a transient voltage spike" in a circuit.
The 2010 Jeep Grand Cherokee was the first home for Chrysler's Pentastar V6 engine. As you may recall, the powerplant was codenamed "Phoenix," and it was charged with replacing seven other engines in 11 models in the Chrysler and Dodge lineups. Along with it being a well-regarded piece of engineering, its sheer ubiquity goes a long way toward explaining how in just 18 months the Trenton, Michigan plant that produces it has cranked out a million of them.
The 3.6-liter V6 is rated from 283 horsepower up to 305 hp, and can be found under the hood of front-, rear- and four-wheel drive vehicles in varying transmissions. Another signal of how much Chrysler thinks of the Pentastar: after being finagled into the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, rumors last year suggested a twin-turbo version of it could go into the Maserati GranTurismo.
Follow the jump for Chrysler's press release on the seven-figure milestone of a lump voted one of Ward's "10 Best Engines."
The 2013 Dodge Dart looks like it could be a hit with car buyers, and job seekers near the automaker's Belvidere, Illinois plant can likely appreciate the new sedan as well. The Detroit Free Press reports that Chrysler is looking to staff up with 400 to 500 jobs to help move as many Dart variants as possible.
Team Pentastar is looking for part-time hourly and full-time temporary workers to fill those roles. We're guessing the United Auto Workers union isn't all that pleased with the choice of temp workers, but we're betting that most job-seekers will be happy to fill out an app anyway. Chrysler was considering moving the Belvidere facility to three shifts, but the automaker reportedly decided to stick with two very busy shifts, at least for now.
Wherever you find General Motors and Ford going at it, Chrysler is seldom very far behind. Except in Australia. The Land Down Under has its own unique touring car championship in the form of its popular V8 Supercars series, but the only contestants these days are Ford (with its FPV Falcon) and GM subsidiary Holden (with its HSV Commodore). That, however, could change in the near future.
Word on the Aussie street is that Chrysler Group Australia is entertaining the possibility of jumping into the popular series, likely with a vehicle based (however loosely) on the 300. Because V8 Supercars teams - which budget around $10 million to run two cars for the season - are by regulation independent of any manufacturer, Chrysler would need to woo a few away from their current Ford or Holden partners, but several have reportedly approached the Pentastar automaker about the possibility.
The addition of a third manufacturer to challenge Ford and Holden would mirror a similar move made this season by BMW to challenge Audi and Mercedes-Benz (which was also rumored to be considering a V8 Supercars entry) in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM). Chrysler previously supplied the V8 Supercars series with the first-gen 300C SRT8, which serves as the pace car for several years.
According to Australia's The Age, SRT brand CEO Ralph Gilles reportedly likes the idea, but stopped short of committing to any impending program. The prospect, however, could be made more feasible by a new, more cost-effective "Car of the Future" being implemented in V8 Supercars, much as the "Car of Tomorrow" was in NASCAR and the "Next-Generation Touring Car" was in the British Touring Car Championship. Another plus is the expansion of the series outside of Australia to locations like India, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa and - most crucially - the United States as a support race for the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix Formula One race in Austin, Texas.
UPDATE:Not surprisingly, President Obama's former daily driver failed to sell on eBay Motors with a starting bid of $1 million. The owner reportedly wants to list the car again closer to the presidential election this fall, and may lower the price as well as give some of the proceeds to charity.
History has yet to voice its opinion on the legacy of President Barack Obama, but one enterprising eBay seller is already looking to cash in on one very big piece of Obama memorabilia. A 2005 Chrysler 300C that allegedly belonged to the Commander In Chief (back when he was an Illinois senator) has hit eBay Motors.
As you may recall, Obama sent the big V8 sedan packing in favor of a Ford Escape Hybrid when he began his campaign for the presidency. The 300C currently has 20,800 miles. Obama is said to have put 19,000 of those on the clock himself between 2004 and 2007. With so few miles and a healthy 5.7-liter V8 under the hood, this is likely the nicest 300C you'll ever lay eyes on, but the buyer wants a pretty penny for the machine.
Right now, the vehicle has a starting bid of $1 million. Not surprisingly, even though the seller says he's got the paperwork to prove the vehicle's provenance, no one has stepped up with the coin. As of the time of writing, the auction has less than a day left on the clock. Head over to eBay Motors to have a look at the auction for yourself.
Don't cry for the Dodge Avenger just yet. According to USA Today, Chrysler is set to introduce new midsized sedans to replace both the Chrysler 200 and the much-maligned Dodge Avenger. The vehicles will be built on a version of the same platform that underpins the 2013 Dodge Dart. That news runs contrary to word that the Avenger is headed to the great scrap pile in the sky after the current generation runs its course. Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne is looking to shore up the company's small car efforts and spread the cost of platform development across as many models as possible.
Marchionne also made mention of introducing a new hybrid hatchback under the Chrysler 100 nameplate, though details are scarce at the moment.
USA Today reports the same platform may be used for the next-generation Jeep Liberty and Compass, which are slated to debut sometime in 2013. Marchionne says both vehicles will be trail-rated and capable of standing up to the kind of abuse Jeep buyers demand. Even so, the CEO says the vehicles will have their "origins in the architecture of a sports car."
Speaking of sports cars, Marchionne also made it clear Alfa Romeo is still coming to the States, though the Italian brand's strategy has shifted somewhat. The models headed to the U.S. market will be lightweight and powered by a turbocharged 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine offering 300 horsepower. Certainly sounds good to us.
2008 was one crazy, almost surreal year. It was the year when the economy took a nosedive, and the U.S. auto industry nearly ceased to exist. One of the last major decisions former President Bush made before he left office was to give Chrysler and General Motors a combined $17.4 billion to keep their doors open.
That money held over the two automakers for a few months, but The Detroit News reports that the Bush administration almost took a different tack. The New Yorker published a 57-page economic memo that was written by economist Larry Summers to President Elect Obama. The memo claims that President Bush was noodling an earlier bankruptcy for the automakers, backed by up to $100 billion in government financing.
By instead forwarding GM and Chrysler a bridge loan, Bush (pictured here with former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli) effectively prolonged the inevitable and pushed the tough decision on to the next administration. But that could have been the best possible action to take - Summers was reportedly of the opinion that pushing the automakers through bankruptcy too early could have severely damaged the entire U.S. auto industry - not just at Chrysler and GM.
In the end, Chrysler entered bankruptcy in April, followed by GM in June. Chrysler no longer owes the federal government any money, though Uncle Sam still owns 26.5 percent of The General. As a result of the Bush administration's choices, the Obama administration is the one that gets the blame and credit (depending on your political viewpoint) for shepherding the two automakers through bankruptcy.
Ford has announced that it will give both bonuses and merit-based raises to the company's salaried workers in the United States and Canada for the first time since 2008, according to Reuters. On average, the manufacturer will offer a 2.7 percent salary increase based on individual performance. The company stopped offering the bonuses after the financial crisis of 2009 sent automotive sales into a plunge. Ford paid neither bonuses nor merit raises that year, but offered merit raises in 2010. In 2011, the company's workers received bonuses only.
Of course, this decision has sent all eyes toward General Motors and Chrysler and their plans for their own workers. According to The Detroit News, both GM and Chrysler have said raises and bonuses will be determined by their own performance, not their rival's actions. GM has announced the company will make a final decision after it analyzes its financial results for 2011. Chrysler, meanwhile, intends to announce its fourth-quarter 2011 results on February 1, after which it will determine whether its workers will be eligible for their yearly awards.
To the average driver, the term "horsepower" has, for all intents and purposes, no meaning whatsoever. Not surprising, really, as there isn't any single established explanation, at least not a good one, as to how today's piston-powered engines became so intertwined with the output of a horse. Think, for a moment: Can you really quantify how much power 200 horses produce? Regardless, and though not all engines have been measured with the same methods of certification, enthusiasts of the four-wheeled kind have well over a century of automobiles and their attendant horsepower ratings with which to occupy themselves.
The Ford Model T, way back in 1908, offered up 20 horsepower. The original air-cooled Volkswagen Beetle was rated at 50 horses or less, depending on the year and displacement. Fast-forward to 1955, when Chevrolet's newly introduced small-block V8 made an impressive 162 hp, and then to the release in 1964 of the Pontiac GTO and its 348-horsepower Tri-Power engine. We'll shimmy right past the lamentable 1970s and '80s (in 1975, it was possible to buy a Chevrolet Corvette with as few as 165 horses) because, more recently, there's been a very welcome power resurgence.
Our Editor-in-Chief's beloved 1991 Ford Taurus SHO is fitted with a Yamaha 3.0-liter V6 that was factory rated at 220 horsepower, and a few short years later, the 1994 Chevrolet Impala SS offered up a 260-horsepower V8. We bring up the SHO and Impala because they are four-door sedans, meaning horsepower need not be dismissed by the average man who must pile in his spouse and 2.5 children.
And now we have the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8. Lurking behind its blacked-out grille is a 6.4-liter Hemi V8 engine that ripples the pavement with 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. To put that figure into perspective, its more ponies than such high-horse heavy hitters as the latest Chevrolet Camaro SS and Ford Mustang GT. In fact, it's 40 horsepower more than the 2012 Corvette. Giddyup.
Certainly, there's more to the 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8 than its honker of a V8. But let's not kid ourselves - if the SRT8 is on your shopping list, it's 6.4-liter V8 is what put it there.
Hyundai CEO John Krafcik has confirmed that the Korean automaker will supply Chrysler with transmissions for its new Dodge Dart, according to Car and Driver. While the two automakers may seem like odd dance partners, the tie-up makes plenty of sense. Both companies use engines born out of the now-defunct Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance with Mitsubishi. As a result, 2.0- and 2.4-liter four-cylinder engines found in the Dart share more than a few strands of DNA with the same displacement engines found under the hood of vehicles like the Hyundai Sonata. Needless to say, it shouldn't take too much effort to get the Hyundai gearbox and Chrysler engines to play nice.
We say "shouldn't" because according to Car and Driver, the American manufacturer is reportedly having issues getting the transmission properly calibrated to obtain the lofty fuel economy numbers necessary to satiate the powers that be in Washington. Chrysler hasn't confirmed the move as of yet, and Hyundai is keeping its lips sealed on which transmissions are headed to the Dart line. Even so, if Chrysler's engineers are struggling over calibration, chances are it's a six-speed automatic.
So... what about those lofty 40 miles per gallon claims claims Chrysler was bandying about at the Detroit Auto Show? C/D hypothesizes that figure may be reliant on a specific engine and transmission combination, be it turbocharged 1.4-liter turbo four-cylinder and a dual-clutch gearbox or a 2.0 and a six-speed manual. Curiouser and curiouser.
2013 Porsche Boxster, Detroit Show Editors' Choice, Chrysler/Fiat looking for a third, Nissan NY debut, VW beats Toyota
Episode #265 of the Autoblog Podcast is here with Chris, Dan, Zach and Chris Paukert this week. Topics include the 2013 Porsche Boxster, a discussion of the Editors' Picks from the Detroit Auto Show, a possible third partner for Chrysler and Fiat, a mystery debut in New York for Nissan, and Volkswagen beating Toyota in sales for 2011. Your questions and comments power the end of the 'cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We've embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
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When Fiat pronounced that it was planning to sell 50,000 Fiat 500 models in 2011, we were more than a little skeptical. And now that 2011 is in the rear view mirror, it seems CEO Sergio Marchionne is ready to admit that the sales target was not very realistic.
CNN Money reports that the charismatic Fiat/Chrysler boss is now calling the 50,000 number "incredibly naive," adding that the goal was to best Mini Cooper's 2010 sales total of 45,644. Fiat only managed to sell 19,769 Cinquecento models for the year.
Given that Mini has been in the U.S. for a decade and the marque already has an established dealer body and marketing presence - as well as an entire range of products - critics have said that clear that Fiat's 50,000-unit first-year goal was ambitious to a fault. Marchionne went on to add "we set ourselves up for a fall," but the chief executive insists that the future of Fiat in the U.S. is still very strong.
Even though sales of the 500 came nowhere near 50,000 units, Marchionne says that the Mexico plant that builds the A-segment ride is still profitable. That's because the plant also builds models for South America and China. Marchionne is reportedly hoping to sell between 25,000 and 30,000 copies of the 500 in the U.S. in 2012. While the 500 will likely be the only Fiat-branded model available in U.S. showrooms in 2012, the lineup is at least set to expand with models like the $22,000high-performance 500 Abarth.
We record Episode #265 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #265
