Paul Sherry Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram

by Keri DeVrieze

Chrysler Group LLC has received nine awards in Consumer Guide Automotiveâ??s 2012 list of â??Best Buysâ?? and â??Recommended Picks.â??

Six Chrysler Group vehicles received Consumer Guideâ??s prestigious â??Best Buysâ?? for the 2012 model year, while three models grabbed â??Recommended Picksâ?? in the 2012 list.

Chrysler Group vehicles that received Consumer Guide â??Best Buysâ?? for the 2012 model year are:

Chrysler: 300, Town & Country
Dodge: Charger, Grand Caravan, and Journey
Ram: 1500

Models that received â??Recommended Picksâ?? by Consumer Guide for the 2012 model year are:

Jeep: Grand Cherokee
Dodge: Durango
FIAT: 500

â??We are honored and thrilled to have nine vehicles named as â??Best Buysâ?? or â??Recommended Picksâ?? by Consumer Guide Automotive,â?? said Reid Bigland, President and CEO â?? Dodge Brand and Head of U.S. Sales. â??Chrysler Group launched an unprecedented 16 all-new or substantially-refreshed vehicles in 2010 and 2011, models that continue to resonate with both consumers and objective, third parties like Consumer Guide.â??

Consumer Guideâ??s annual list, designed to make car buying easier for consumers, represents the best overall values in 18 vehicle categories. This yearâ??s list showcases 106 vehicles from the hundreds of cars, SUVs, minivans, and trucks tested.

A â??Best Buyâ?? rating signifies that a vehicle is ranked at the top of its class and is strongly approved by the editors. â??Best Buyâ?? vehicles represent the finest balance of attributes and price within their classes, and they are the best choices for most consumers. Consumer Guideâ??s â??Recommended Picksâ?? feature vehicles that, though not ranked at the very top of their category, are still worth strong consideration by consumers for their unique combination of attributes and value.

Source Chrysler Group LLC

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203513604577140440852581080.html

By JEFF BENNETT

Auto makers capped 2011 with a strong December and forecast the recovery in U.S. sales would intensify as long as a stabilizing economy and improved U.S. job gains continue to encourage shoppers.

Detroit auto makers reported increases in vehicle sales for December, with Chrysler Group LLC posting a 37% rise, Ford Motor Co. citing a 10% gain and General Motors Co. reporting a 4.6% increase. For the full year, Chrysler's sales rose 26%, Ford's 11% and GM's 13%.

All told, auto makers sold 1…

By: Mike Spinelli

A tuned Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 that can get from 0-60 in 3.1 seconds? Indeed, it's a Texas thing. It's the 800-hp HPE800 Twin Turbo Jeep by Hennessey Performance. The price is oilman-rich too: It starts at $235,000.

The latest ? and rarest (they're only making 24 of them) ? of HPE's tuned Jeeps gets a punched-out 6.4-liter Hemi V8 displacing seven liters (426 cubic inches), and fitted with twin-turbo induction. The specs bear out the work's effectiveness: 805 hp and 823 lb-ft. Hennessey says the HPE800 SRT8 can also do the quarter-mile in 10.9 sec. @ 130 mph. Yes. That thing's hotter than a two-dollar pistol at a 24-hour shootout.

But it's not just the powerplant, it's all the supporting stuff too: upgraded transmission and torque converter, 15.1 inch Brembo brakes front and rear, lowered suspension, lighter-than-stock alloys, carbon fiber front splitter and a custom leather interior with de rigeur Alcantara steering wheel.

Head muckity muck John Hennessey says the HPE800 Jeep is for the discerning captain of industry or second-world tycoon: "This vehicle is designed for the performance minded driver who lives in Aspen or Moscow and wants to be the fastest in all weather conditions."

FWD:
As the holidays approach, the giant Asian factories are kicking into high gear to provide Americans with monstrous piles of cheaply produced goods -- merchandise that has been produced at the expense of American labor.  This year will be different.  This year Americans will give the gift of genuine concern for other Americans.  There is no longer an excuse that, at gift giving time, nothing can be found that is produced by American hands.  Yes there is!
 
It's time to think outside the box, people.  Who says a gift needs to fit in a shirt box, wrapped in Chinese produced wrapping paper? Everyone -- yes EVERYONE gets their hair cut.  How about gift certificates from your local American hair salon or barber?
 
Gym membership? It's appropriate for all ages who are thinking about some health improvement.
 
Who wouldn't appreciate getting their car detailed? Small, American owned detail shops and car washes would love to sell you a gift certificate or a book of gift certificates.
 
Are you one of those extravagant givers who think nothing of plunking down the Benjamines on a Chinese made flat-screen? Perhaps that grateful gift receiver would like his driveway sealed, or lawn mowed for the summer, or driveway plowed all winter, or games at the local golf course.
 
There are a bazillion owner-run restaurants -- all offering gift certificates.  And, if your intended isn't the fancy eatery sort, what about a half dozen breakfasts at the local breakfast joint.  Remember, folks this isn't about big National chains -- this is about supporting your home town Americans with their financial lives on the line to keep their doors open.
 
How many people couldn't use an oil change for their car, truck or motorcycle, done at a shop run by the American working guy?
 
Thinking about a heartfelt gift for mom? Mom would LOVE the services of a local cleaning lady for a day.
 
My computer could use a tune-up, and I KNOW I can find some young guy who is struggling to get his repair business up and running.
 
OK, you were looking for something more personal.  Local crafts people spin their own wool and knit them into scarves.  They make jewelry, and pottery and beautiful wooden boxes.
 
Plan your holiday outings at local, owner operated restaurants and leave your server a nice tip.  And, how about going out to see a play or ballet at your hometown theatre.

Musicians need love too, so find a venue showcasing local bands.
 
Honestly, people, do you REALLY need to buy another ten thousand Chinese lights for the house? When you buy a five dollar string of light, about fifty cents stays in the community.  If you have those kinds of bucks to burn, leave the mailman, trash guy or babysitter a nice BIG tip.
 
You see, Christmas is no longer about draining American pockets so that China can build another glittering city.  Christmas is now about caring about US, encouraging American small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams.  And, when we care about other Americans, we care about our communities, and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn't imagine.  THIS is the new American Christmas tradition.  Forward this to everyone on your mailing list -- post it to discussion groups -- throw up a post on Craigslist in the Rants and Raves section in your city -- send it to the editor of your local paper and radio stations, and TV news departments.  This is a revolution of caring about each other, and isn't that what Christmas is about?

Wall Street Journal:

Congested cities are fast becoming test tubes for scientists studying the impact of traffic fumes on the brain.

As roadways choke on traffic, researchers suspect that the tailpipe exhaust from cars and trucks especially tiny carbon particles already implicated in heart disease, cancer and respiratory ailments may also injure brain cells and synapses key to learning and memory.

New public-health studies and laboratory experiments suggest that, at every stage of life, traffic fumes exact a measurable toll on mental capacity, intelligence and emotional stability. "There are more and more scientists trying to find whether and why exposure to traffic exhaust can damage the human brain," says medical epidemiologist Jiu-Chiuan Chen at the University of Southern California who is analyzing the effects of traffic pollution on the brain health of 7,500 women in 22 states. "The human data are very new."

So far, the evidence is largely circumstantial but worrisome, researchers say. And no one is certain yet of the consequences for brain biology or behavior. "There is real cause for concern," says neurochemist Annette Kirshner at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. "But we ought to proceed with caution."

To be sure, cars and trucks today generate one-tenth the pollution of a vehicle in 1970. Still, more people are on the road and they are stuck in traffic more often. Drivers traveling the 10-worst U.S. traffic corridors annually spend an average of 140 hours, or about the time spent in the office in a month, idling in traffic, a new analysis reported.

This article provides some pretty modern and creative ways to try and keep animals off the road or at least alert drivers when an animal may be close.  Investigations of dangerous crossings for animals, done by state officials, have shown specific spots in which overpasses or underpasses may be used to limit collisions with animals.  Also infrared sensors may be used to alert drivers of animals nearby on roadsides.

I was most amazed with the different states legislature regarding what citizens can do with their road kill.  Some states allow you to take anything you hit, while some make you give the road kill to charity in order to eat.  And in Illinois you can only keep your hit road kill if you are not delinquent on your child support payments.

Further down in the article they provide a recipe, yes a recipe, for how to prepare a venison meal if you happen to hit one.  No thanks for me.

I had absolutely zero idea that road kill got some much attention and even laws made about how to claim your road kill.  Learn something new every day.

The Detroit News
General Motor Co. reported flat vehicle sales in October - up just 2 percent from the same month last year - while crosstown rival Chrysler Group LLC saw a 27 percent spike in sales.

For Detroit-based GM, retail sales were up 3 percent and accounted for 77 percent of all sales, the carmaker said Tuesday morning in a news release.

"Chevrolet led the way for GM in October, driven by the continued success of the Cruze and Equinox," said Don Johnson, vice president, U.S. Sales Operations, in a statement. "Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC have all performed well this year, which has set the stage for our transition to a higher mix of 2012 model-year vehicles. Combined with the launches of several new fuel-efficient cars, including the Chevrolet Sonic and Buick LaCrosse eAssist, we are very well positioned going forward."

GM sold 186,895 vehicles in October and Chevrolet did the all of the heavy lifting for the month, selling 131,804 units. The largest brand for GM saw sales increase of 6 percent compared to last October. All of GM's other brands reported sales drops: Buick sales dropped 7 percent, Cadillac sales fell 11.9 percent, and GMC sales fell off 4.6 percent.

However, GM pointed out that all four brands have had marked sales increases for the calendar year.

Meanwhile, Chrysler's vehicle sales jumped 27 percent in October, the 19th consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains, the Auburn Hill automaker reported earlier Tuesday morning.

The company sold 114,512 vehicles during the month, its best October in sales since 2007, Chrysler said. The sales spike was driven by retail sales, up 40 percent from the same month last year, the company said.

"In what is turning out to be a strong new vehicle sales industry we continued to outperform," said Reid Bigland, president and CEO - Dodge Brand and head of U.S. Sales. "For October, our retail sales increased 40 percent year-over-year with sales of the Chrysler 300 more than doubling and Jeep Compass sales increasing nearly fivefold. The month of October also marked our 19th-consecutive month of year-over-year sales gains."

Ford Motor Co. October sales figures are expected to be released around noon today and other automakers also will report sales later in the day.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20111101/AUTO01/111010502/GM-sales-flat--Chrysler-spikes-27-#ixzz1cTCTJdTA

Within this article you see compiled reviews on how reliability is viewed for many all the cars brand with the highs and lows distinguished.  Consumer Reports, who is active in almost every industry, does a very complete look at the car industry for the past years models.  I would wonder how "reliability" is measured.  Is it in terms of repairs or maintenance needed? Or is it a personal feeling of how dependable the car is?  If the rating is an opinion, I think the overall brand image before/during/after the purchase has a lot to do with how the car is measured.  The article does mention part of the rating comes from readers "reported problems" with the cars, but that seems pretty vague.

How important is this rating?
Reliability is an obvious point in the car buying decision, but how much would this type of ranking sway you?  I would say that a very high reliability rating would help me get over the indecision I had about a car purchase but not necessarily convince me to start looking at a car I was not in the first place.  Then again, a low rating in reliability would raise a lot of red flags and would make it very difficult for me to convince myself to buy that car and take that chance.  So I guess how car manufacturers may look at this type of rating is being content with being average or better, or a big wakeup call that this car is not looking good to the public.

Why a company makes a turnaround?
Unfortunately I sometimes think that a company (whether it be cars or anything else) may try and get away with cutting corners and losing quality in an effort to cut costs.  And this may have been happening before when car companies could sell anything they wanted because of the name on the car and the brand they have built.  But post-recession I think the car companies that got burned with these efforts have accepted their mistakes and now focus more on quality.  The article talks about how Chrysler was able to move Jeep up to 13th overall, making it the highest ranked Detroit made car.  But then again, Ford dropped ten spots to number 20 with its poor reviews given recently by their owners.  Companies make mistakes just like the rest of us, but it's up to them to respond with a better effort or give up and move aside.

Automakers seem to have missed the news that the nation was still suffering from a recession last month, as new-car sales continued to swell, with some brands posting record numbers. Concurrently, incentives on some vehicles are becoming slimmer and in many cases nonexistent, particularly among smaller and more fuel-efficient models that continue to be in demand among fuel-price-sensitive shoppers.

This month weâ??re seeing the first real round of model-year 2012 sales incentives, particularly on larger cars and SUVs that have fallen off many consumersâ?? shopping lists. Even better bargains can be found on closeout 2011 models that sit like ticking time bombs on dealer lots racking up financing costs while current model-year rides usurp their positions on showroom floors. As an example, the richest incentive we could find this month was a $10,000 additional dealer discount on the limited production 2011 BMW Alpina B7, which is the ultimate expression of the full-size 7 Series luxury sedan at a whopping $128,900.

Normally we wouldnâ??t necessarily recommend choosing one of what are now last yearâ??s models to save an extra thousand dollars or two, especially since they would be subject to an additional yearâ??s depreciation. But residual/used-car values have skyrocketed in recent years, which flatten out the depreciation curve considerably and make these year-end closeouts better deals. According to Kelley Blue Book, given a shrinking supply of used models in recent years from slow new-car sales and other factors, the average price of a pre-owned vehicle has risen from $15,000 in 2008 to more than $23,000 in 2011, which amounts to an increase of 15.8 percent per year.

With incentives tending to be the richest on larger and more practically minded vehicles this month, and with football season in full swing, weâ??re focusing on models that are not only offering the deepest discounts but also happen to be best suited for tailgating. These include models featuring direct-to-consumer cash rebates, discounted financing promotions and so-called marketing-support incentives, which we call additional dealer discounts. Typically favored by luxury automakers, the latter are cash allowances given to dealers to lower the prices on select models without seeming to cheapen the brand by offering cash rebates. The only catch is that a dealer may or may not automatically pass them on without some hard-nosed negotiations.

And just to prove that you can park a suitable tailgating vehicle thatâ??s small enough to leave enough room in the allotted slot for a table and chairs, we include the diminutive and fuel-efficient Suzuki SX4 Crossover hatchback.

Read on for the 6 new car deals that can help make even a losing season enjoyable.

The Fine Print: Additional incentives may apply, such as those often offered to recent college graduates and members of the military and/or owners or lessees trading in same-brand or competing models. Offers may vary by region and are subject to subsequent modification or termination by the manufacturer; cited financing rates are typically open only to qualified buyers with top credit ratings and may vary based on eligibility. And no matter how great a rebate deal you may be offered, keep in mind that the final transaction price is always open to negotiation. We expect dealer discounts on any of these vehicles will be substantial for hard-nosed hagglers.

http://autos.yahoo.com/news/best-new-car-deals-for-october.html

*Bold design of award-winning Chrysler 300 inspires owners to create videos showcasing their customized vehicles *Louisville, Ky., woman wins contest and trip to Los Angeles to have her vehicle displayed at Los Angeles International Auto Show in November

Auburn Hills, Mich. â?? In addition to marking the return of the "Great American Car" when it was first introduced, and earning the distinction of being the most-awarded new car in automotive history*, the Chrysler 300 also proved to be a canvas for owners to express their passion and style through customization.

To capture and share this creativity, the Chrysler brand encouraged owners to "Spin it Your Way" by creating and uploading a short video to the Chrysler 300 YouTube channel. Each video showed how owners brought out their individuality by customizing their Chrysler 300.

The public voted for their favorite video and Lisa Marie Varon of Louisville, Ky., was named the "Spin it Your Way" contest winner, earning a trip for two to Los Angeles to see her customized Chrysler 300 displayed at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in November 2008. Varon's video shows the transformation of her 2006 Chrysler 300C into her fun and aggressive "Black Widow." The vehicle is customized with 24-inch rims, air suspension, indoor/outdoor lighting kits, 7-inch visor and headrest video screens, Lambeau doors and a whole lot more.

"We have found from our owners like Lisa that the Chrysler 300 is not just a sedan, it's a passion, an expression of emotion captured in bold design that empowers and engages them to show their individuality," said Ralph Gilles, Vice President â?? Jeep® Truck and Advance Interior Design, Chrysler LLC and lead designer of the 300. "â??Spin it Your Way' was an interactive opportunity for owners to show how they put their own signature on the Chrysler 300 and to share their creativity with a wide audience."

More than 317,000 people visited the Chrysler 300 channel where they watched the owner-testimonial videos nearly 1.7 million times and voted on the top 25 entries from passionate Chrysler 300 owners nationwide.

About Contest

Chrysler launched the "Spin it Your Way" contest on Jan. 1 at www.youtube.com/chrysler300. Consumers were encouraged to upload videos of their customized Chrysler 300 by Feb. 14 --not exceeding 2 minutes in length â?? and provide information including the make, model and year of the vehicle plus an explanation of how their vehicle was customized. The YouTube community voted for their favorite video from Feb.15-March 6. Public online voting plus scoring by Chrysler judges â?? based on the criteria of originality/creativity, feasibility/functionality and the entrant's demonstration of passion captured in their customized vehicle â?? determined the grand prize winner.

About Chrysler 300

Loaded with premium features, stunning Chrysler design, fuel-saving Multi-displacement System technology and abundant standard safety features, the 2008 Chrysler 300 makes everything else on the road seem ordinary. The dramatic exterior design of the award-winning Chrysler 300, along with sophisticated interior amenities and technologies, establish a new large-car formula not easily copied. Learn more about the Chrysler 300 at www.chrysler.com.

• Based on automotive awards won within initial year of model introduction.