Auto Sales Strong in March, Led By Small Cars - Detroit (AP)

The auto industry looks set to ride the appeal of smaller cars to its best monthly performance in almost four years.

The consulting firm LMC Automotive predicts U.S. sales of new cars and trucks reached 1.37 million last month, up 6 percent from March of 2011 and the highest number since May of 2008. Industry analysts say sales could run at an annual rate of 14.1 million to 14.5 million vehicles, continuing a strong performance in January and February. Some companies could break sales records.

Chrysler Group said its U.S. sales jumped 34 percent in March on strong sales of Fiat small cars and Chrysler sedans. Ford sales rose 5 percent while General Motors reported a 12 percent increase, led by small and compact cars. Other automakers report later Tuesday.

The factors driving sales early in the year continued last month. Americans who couldn't bear a new car payment during the economic downturn are back on the market. They're leaning toward new compacts and sub-compacts to save on gas, although incentives on trucks are good enough to lure buyers who want something bigger.

For Chrysler, it was the best month for the company in four years, while Ford had its best March performance since 2007. The gains come as consumers grow confident enough in the economic recovery to buy new cars.

Chrysler says Fiat sales hit 3,712, compared to just 500 last March when the car was first on the market. The subcompact Fiat is growing in popularity as new dealerships open and fuel prices rise.

Sales of Chrysler's 200 and 300 sedans each doubled over last March. Both cars have recently been revamped and have better fuel economy than previous models, which is attracting new buyers.

Jeep brand sales rose 36 percent on the strength of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Incentives on trucks also helped sales in March. Chrysler said its Ram pickup sales were up 23 percent over last March. General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. also were expected to report big gains in truck sales.

March also saw more growth in loans to subprime buyers. Jefferies analyst Peter Nesvold wrote in a note to investors that non-prime buyers, or those with less than stellar credit, are coming back into the market after being shut out for several years due to lack of loan availability.

AutoNation, the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., auto retailer, said Tuesday that its sale rose 15 percent in March, mostly on the strength of Detroit brands, which were up 26 percent.

March could be a month of records. It could be the best sales month in the history of Hyundai Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co., and Volkswagen, said Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence for auto buying site TrueCar.com. He also expects Detroit's three car companies, plus Honda and Toyota to post big monthly numbers.

With the nationwide average for gas approaching $4, small cars remain the catalyst for sales. Compact and subcompact models combined are expected to account for 23 percent of retail sales for March, according to LMC. Compacts include cars such as the Toyota Corolla and Chevrolet Cruze, while subcompacts include the Honda Fit and Ford Fiesta.




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Chrysler to Extend 'Halftime in America' Ad Campaign - Detroit Free Press

Halftime isn't over for Chrysler, despite the political flak it took for its Super Bowl commercial with Clint Eastwood.

The company said today that it has decided to turn the "It's Halftime in America" commercial that ran during the Super Bowl in February into a series of commercials for its four brands -- Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

According to the company, each ad has its own theme and dives deeper into the essence of each brand.

The commercials will begin airing tonight on national television.

"As you watch, you will see familiar scenes from the Super Bowl spot that weave their way in each of these commercials, all of which were scripted and filmed at the same time," Olivier François, Chrysler's chief marketing officer, said in a blog on Chrysler's media site.

Eastwood, however, is not among those faces. The people in the commercials are also actors, but Chrysler said the commercials are inspired by true stories.

Each spot was created by Chrysler and its Portland, Ore.-based advertising agency, Wieden+Kennedy.

In February, Republican politicians and conservative pundits criticized Chrysler and Eastwood for a message that they thought endorsed President Barack Obama and the federal government's rescue of the automotive industry.

"I thought that the Republicans' reaction to this was -- was unnecessary and out of place," Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said in a "60 Minutes" segment last Sunday.

Last May, Chrysler repaid all loans made to it by the Obama administration six years before required. The only U.S. aid Chrysler has not repaid is what it received from the Bush administration.

The four new commercials tell stories about people overcoming life's obstacles.

Separately, Ram released a teaser photo of a chrome grille on its Facebook page in advance of the New York International Auto Show. Every day through next Wednesday, Ram plans to reveal a new photo on its site under the title "A Giant Awaits."

By Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com




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Dodge Enters Rally Car Racing with Dart - Detroit Free Press

Dodge and SRT Motorsports is getting into rally car racing with its new Dodge Dart and a one of the sport’s biggest stars: Travis Pastrana.

The 2013 Dodge Dart will participate in the 2012 Global RallyCross Championship Series with Pastrana — a four-time Rally America Champion and 17-time X Games Gold Medalist — behind the wheel.

The new Dodge Dart Rally Car will make its official public debut at the New York International Auto Show next month.

The car will be powered by a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder, 16-valve turbo-charged engine with 600-plus horsepower engine with 550 pound feet of torque.

“At Dodge, racing is an integral part of our heritage and embodies our competitive spirit,” Reid Bigland, president and CEO of the Dodge brand said in a statement.

Pastrana, 28, is a stunt performer and a proven winner in freestyle motocross and rally car racing and has competed in NASCAR.

“To be able to partner with Dodge to field my own program this year is a dream come true,” Pastrana said in a statement. “The new Dodge Dart offers the perfect platform for rally cross, and I look forward to putting it on the podium all season long.”

The Global RallyCross Championship combines circuit racing, off-road racing and rally competition into one race. The sport debuted in the US at X Games 16 in Los Angeles in 2010.

“Travis is a living example of what action sports activities are all about,” Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Street and Racing Technology Brand and Motorsports said in a statement.

The production version of the Dodge Dart compact car debuts this spring. The Dart will be the first Chrysler group car to be built on a Fiat platform. Fiat, Chrysler’s majority owner, gained a controlling stake in Chrysler in 2009.

By Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com






Visit the Happy Car Salesman, Ed Dancel at Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. 248-354-2950

Chrysler Unveils Six New Jeep Concept Vehicles

This Jeep J-12 concept is one of six new concepts Chrysler Group LLC unveiled Tuesday, March 27, 2012. The new concepts will be on display at the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, which begins March 31. Developed in conjunction with Chrysler's Mopar aftermarket parts division, the J-12 bears a strong resemblance to the Jeep Gladiator pickups of the 1960s

The Grand Cherokee Trailhawk concept wraps 18-inch Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor off-road tires around painted 5-spoke alloy Mineral Gray wheels, combining aggressive off-road performance with quiet highway manners. Modified Mopar rock rails -- engineered to fully protect the lower body from rugged rocky terrain -- are included and add to the functional off-road capability. The Trailhawk sports a color theme of stone white, mineral gray and red, including Jeep logos on wheel center caps. A red trim line outlines a matte black hood applique that is utilized to reduce glare.

The Mighty FC Concept is a rugged work truck based on the Forward Control Jeep trucks of the 1950s and 1960s. Designers started with a 2012 Wrangler Rubicon, repositioned the cabin over and ahead of the front axle, lengthened the wheelbase, and added a custom built drop-side cargo box. The Mighty FC's bed measures more than eight feet in length. Mopar's new Portal Axle set improves off-road function by offering the greatest amount of ground clearance without requiring excessive suspension lift. The tires are a massive 40 inches.

A new Mopar 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 engine conversion kit -- available this summer -- will transform a 2012 Wrangler into this Jeep Wrangler Apache from Mopar, producing approximately 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels. Other modifications on the Jeep Wrangler Apache include Mopar Pro 60 5.13 front and rear axles, high-clearance flat fenders, rock rails, Katzkin leather seats and a Mopar branded interior.

The Jeep Wrangler Traildozer is a collaboration between Jeep Design and the American Expedition Vehicles (AEV) engineering team. The team took a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and added a 470 horsepower 6.4-liter HEMI V-8 engine mated to a Getrag 238 six-speed manual transmission. The Traildozer has an AEV Dualsport RS 3.5-inch suspension lift. For severe off-road body protection, Mopar premium front and rear bumpers and rear corner guards were added.

Mopar offers more than 250 accessories for the 2012 Jeep Wrangler, and built a vehicle for Moab that showcases many of them: a two-inch performance lift kit, 35-inch Goodyear Wrangler tires mounted on Classic five-hole wheels, front and rear off-road bumpers, a Warn 9.5ti XP winch, Mopar rock rails, Kicker dash 6.5-inch two-way speakers and more. Some prototype Mopar accessories debuting on this Wrangler are a locking center console box, a rear cargo cubby cover, new windshield-mounted LED lamps, a new hard-top headliner and an "Add-A-Trunk" partition that creates secure storage space in the cargo area.



Visit the Happy Car Salesman, Ed Dancel at Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. 248-354-2950

Sporty New Dodge Dart Coming in May - The Detroit News

Chrysler Group LLC has announced pricing for the new 2013 Dodge Dart. The sporty compact will start at $15,995 and is expected to arrive in dealer showrooms in May.

The Dart is a critical car for the Auburn Hills automaker — the first real fruit of its marriage to Italy's Fiat SpA . It is being built at Chrysler's factory in Belividere, Ill., and is aimed squarely at the heart of one of the most competitive segments of the market. Chrysler also has announced that a souped-up, 600-horsepower version of the vehicle will compete in this year's 2012 Global RallyCross Championship Series.





Visit the Happy Car Salesman, Ed Dancel at Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram. 248-354-2950

Sergio Marchionne: Resurrecting Chrysler

The fear among Chrysler employees that the company’s isn’t going to survive is gone, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne tells "60 Minutes" in a story that aired on the influential television newsmagazine tonight.

“I remember when I came here, in 2009, there's not a thing worse for a leader than to see fear in people's faces,” Marchionne tells reporter Steve Kroft according to a transcript provided to the Free Press. “It's been a long, rocky road; but the fear has gone.”

Kroft interviewed Marchionne in Auburn Hills and Turin, Italy, and traveled to Chrysler's Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant in February to see Marchionne announce 1,800 new jobs for the plant.

The "60 Minutes" story recounts how close Chrysler was to collapse in 2009 before Marchionne negotiated a controlling stake for Italian automaker Fiat.

It also took a look at the hectic, workaholic schedule kept by Marchionne -- who flies back and forth between Italy and Auburn Hills to manage the two automakers -- and touches on the Republican reaction to the Super Bowl commercial featuring Clint Eastwood.

In Italy, Marchionne is required by the government to travel in bullet-proof cars and is always surrounded by state security, according to Kroft. And to manage Fiat, Fiat Industrial and Chrysler, Marchionne carries five phones. Typically, Marchionne goes to bed at 10 p.m. and wakes up 3:30 a.m. so he can discuss business in Italy as the day is ending there.

In February, Chrysler’s “It’s Halftime in America,” Super Bowl commercial was criticized by some Republicans who thought Eastwood was endorsing U.S. President Barack Obama and the federal assistance provided to the U.S. auto industry.

“I thought that the Republicans' reactions to this was-- was unnecessary and out of place,” Marchionne tells Kroft.

But the larger theme of the "60 Minutes" story was Chrysler’s improbable turnaround. In 2011, Chrysler earned a profit of $183 million -- its first since 2005. Now, Chrysler is gaining market share in the U.S. and Fiat is struggleing. Fiat would have lost money last year without Chrysler's improving performance and profits.

Marchionne’s biggest concern today?

“That we're gonna slip on execution, we're gonna get something wrong, big,” Marchionne tells 60 Minutes.

“Can you afford that?” Kroft asks.

“One car, yes….twelve months ago, it would have been a-- it would have been a disaster.”

By Brent Snavely Detroit Free Press Business Writer


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Marchionne Interview To Air on '60 Minutes' - The Detroit News

Just three years ago, auto executives didn't want to touch struggling Detroit automaker Chrysler "with a 10-foot pole," current Chrysler and Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne told "60 Minutes" reporter Steve Kroft for a segment airing Sunday.

Marchionne will explain how he managed to turn the once bankrupt auto company around. He also shares how he used a $6 billion federal bailout to resurrect Chrysler when many of its employees feared for their jobs.

"I remember, when I came here, in 2009, there's not a thing worse for a leader than to see fear in people's faces," he told Kroft. "All these things are long shots. … If it was that easy, then everybody would do it."

So far, Marchionne has upgraded 16 Chrysler models and added the Dodge Dart, which gets 40 miles per gallon and starts at less than $16,000. The company has also repaid its loans to the U.S. Treasury.

Sunday's "60 Minutes," which airs at 7 p.m. on CBS, also features a visit to an assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., where Chrysler produces the Dodge Dart and Marchionne recently announced a plan to hire about 1,800 workers.

"I think the world of American workers," Marchionne told Kroft. "What happened here at Chrysler would have been impossible without the commitment that they've shown, absolutely impossible."



BY JOSH KATZENSTEIN jkatzenstein@detnews.com



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