Chrysler 300 Commercial / Imported from Detroit - "See it Through"

Continuing the line of “Imported From Detroit” commercials is the brand new “See it Through” commercial that will make its national debut this Thursday during the Detroit Lions annual Thanksgiving Day game. You can read the text of the poem “See it Through” by Edgar Guest below the embedded video.



See it through

When you're up against a trouble,
Meet it squarely, face to face;
Lift your chin and set your shoulders,
Plant your feet and take a brace.
When it's vain to try to dodge it,
Do the best that you can do;
You may fail, but you may conquer,
See it through!

Black may be the clouds about you
And your future may seem grim,
But don't let your nerve desert you;
Keep yourself in fighting trim.
If the worst is bound to happen,
Spite of all that you can do,
Running from it will not save you,
See it through!

Even hope may seem but futile,
When with troubles you're beset,
But remember you are facing
Just what other men have met.
You may fail, but fall still fighting;
Don't give up, whate'er you do;
Eyes front, head high to the finish.
See it through!

- Edgar Albert Guest

Eminem Shops for a Car at Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram For Daughter Hailie's 16th Birthday - Ed Dancel

On Sunday, October 9, 2011 at approximately 2:00 pm, Eminem and his daughter Hailie came by Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram to shop for a car. Our dealership is normally closed for business on Sundays but at the request of the famous Detroit native superstar, we opened up for a private ride and drive.

The event was kept secret for obvious reasons. There were only three staff members present; Mike Wigand the sales manager, Brian Mejia the car salesman and Ian Claes the porter.

Supposedly, Eminem is buying his daughter Hailie a car for her 16th birthday and he wanted her to experience a somewhat of a normal car buying experience. According to Wigand, Hailie drove a 300C AWD, a Durango Citadel, Grand Cherokee Overland Summit and she looked at the Mopar Charger. He thinks that she's going to get the 300.


- Ed Dancel is a car sales representative at Southfield Chrysler

Another Dodge Journey Search Winner

After driving and searching for nearly 40-hours since the first video was available, the east coast Dodge Journey was found by Melissa.

Just remember, you can get your very own Dodge Journey at Southfield Chrysler.

- Ed Dancel

2012 Dodge Charger SRT8 Walk Around - Ed Dancel

I was surfing around the web today when I found this very interesting video on YouTube featuring the Charger SRT Chief Engineer David McDonald showing off the new 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8.

During his walk around, he showed off the impressive 6.4-L V8 Engine which has 465 horsepower and 465 foot pounds of torque. Surprisingly, with this much power, this speed demon is also quite fuel economic. McDonald explained that with this engine, they are expecting 15% improvement in city mpg and 25% in highway mpg fuel economy from the previous model.

He then went to show that the car has been lowered a half inch versus the base car. He also then explained that new for 2012 is the adaptive suspension system which can be selected into sport mode at a touch of button. This feature will lock the car down and it'll kick in within a millisecond when activated to provide optimal handling for the car.

For an aggressive appearance they gave this new SRT Charger stylish split 5 spoke wheels, new Goodyear RS-A2 tires that's specifically designed to have better wet handling characteristics, 4 piston Brembo Brakes, aggressive front fascia that's fully blacked out in the center and has a unique SRT rear fascia with chrome dual wall 4 inch exhaust tips.

He says that when you give the car throttle, the exhaust note you'll hear is just pure power all the way through from the engine to the exhaust. It is very stable at high speeds and he's very proud to say that you can drive this car 150 miles per hour with no problem.

McDonald then sat in the driver seat of the car and showed off the new redesigned interior for 2012. This Charger SRT has a unique steering wheel that's flat,aggressive and sporty with paddle shifters. It also has a unique instrument cluster, shifter and dash made of carbon fiber weave and aluminum bezels. The most impressive part of the interior is the 8.4 inch media center that now contain SRT performance pages which is a great way to connect the driver to the road.

Well that's the new 2012 Dodge Charger SRT8. It's one of the best SRT products ever made by Chrysler. I can't wait to put one of my customers into one.



- Ed Dancel is a sales consultant at Southfield Chrysler

31 MPG Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger Thanks to 8 Speed Trans - Eric Loveday

The first eight-speed automatic transmission in a domestically manufactured automobile will debut in both the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger for 2012. The eight-speed slushbox, developed by German transmission specialist ZF and often found packed in luxury vehicles from automakers including Audi, Bentley, BMW, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce, will be mated to Chrysler's 3.6-liter V6 Pentastar engine on select models within the 300 and Charger lineups.

The result, says Chrysler, is a four mile-per-gallon increase that bumps up the highway fuel economy rating to 31 miles per gallon for both the 300 and Charger – up from the 27-mpg rating found on five-speed, auto-equipped 2011 300s and Chargers. City fuel economy for both of the full-size sedans checks in at 19 mpg - an increase of five percent over 2011's five speed slushbox.

Compact and lightweight, the ZF eight-speed fit into the 300 and Charger with no structural changes and, despite the addition of three more gears, the transmission actually weighs only 6.6 pounds more than the five-speed tranny. By adding a dash of German ingenuity, Chrysler has gotten two significantly improved sedans. We'll see what the Italians can add.

Wrangler Finds Its Softer Side - Scott Burgess/The Detroit News

America, along with the rest of the world, has cheapened our icons.

Nowadays, everything is iconic: Robert Redford, a water tower and even a good Coney dog might qualify. The problem with making everything iconic is that then nothing really is. It's like saying every child is special.

But one special vehicle deserving of this trail-rated badge is the 2012 Jeep Wrangler. It defines more than a brand — it defines a country, a way of life. Close your eyes and think of a Jeep and it's the Wrangler crawling slowly up the side of your brain, fording cerebral fluid like it was crossing the Amazon River itself.

And finally, the Wrangler is opening its doors to more than just those wonderfully crazed enthusiasts who always have mud splattered on their sunglasses and dust covering the dash and floor and gear inside of other gear. The Jeep life used to be a dusty one.

Now the Wrangler has made room for everyone else, including the people who don't care for dust.

Jeep put the Wrangler in its transmogrifier and popped out the 2012 version with better gas mileage, more power and a lot more refinement inside and out.

At first glance, the Wrangler's looks haven't changed much. There are still all of those great cues that say you drove to work via the Continental Pass. The big, round headlights, the seven-slotted grille and chunky 18-inch wheel strapped onto the back. There are a few other things enthusiasts know about, such as the exposed door hinges and the trapezoidal shaped fenders that help define the Wrangler.

But something happened during assembly that gives the Wrangler a cleaner look. Jeep attributes some of this to improved manufacturing and a new paint shop. This made it possible to provide a body-colored hardtop for the 2011 regular Wranglers and for 2012 Sahara and Rubicon models.

Inside, an interior overhaul has moved this 4x4 up a few rungs of the sophistication ladder. It's a delicate ascent, as Wrangler still wants to have all of its rugged appeal but still attract people who enjoy some of the finer things in life, such as a well-made dash and comfortable seats.

The interior is comfortable and complete. The softer dash pushes out on a few inches from the nearly straight up windshield, and the redesigned instrument gauges are much more crisp.

Finally complete

Really, the difference is just the way this dash looks and feels over the previous generation. Jeep underwent a small overhaul for the 2011 model year, but critics called it half-baked.

Now, it's finished. The materials feel high-grade, and there's a completeness the previous model lacked.

There are the easy-to-reach USB connections and heated front seats (always been needed on chilly fall days when it's sunny enough to keep the roof down).
(There are two types of roofs, a soft or hardtop, available for the Wrangler. Personally, I like the soft top, which is surprisingly quiet when it's up; it takes a few minutes to lower, once you find all of the zippers involved.)

Jeep also brings it new UConnect system. The voice-activated system will connect your phone via Bluetooth for hands-free phone operation and your music-playing device.

My test vehicle still included the old-generation 6.5-inch color touch screen with chunky buttons down each side, but this system is better than last year. It took only a few minutes to get the speakers mounted on the roll bars and cranking out tunes.

Of course, sitting in the back of the Wrangler remains an uncomfortable experience and just getting back there can be a hassle. (This explains why the four-door Wrangler Unlimited continues to outsell the Wrangler two-door.)

More mileage

There are also convenient features such as the 115-volt outlet in the second row, a feature that every vehicle in the world should have. Jeep also added lockable storage, which comes in handy when the soft top is down and the Wrangler is parked. The Wrangler used to symbolize roughing it, but now, you don't have to sacrifice anything inside the Wrangler.

Driving the Wrangler, there's never a sense of sacrifice. First, it can do everything, if not more, than all of the Wranglers from years gone by. (This Wrangler was introduced in 1987, and the original Jeep Wiley pulled four years of military service before it even became available to the general public.)

Now, the Wrangler has the 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 under its clamshell hood. This engine, the driving force behind Chrysler Group's revival, is smaller, more powerful and all around better than the outgoing 3.8-liter V-6 formally in the Wrangler.

It produces 83 more horsepower (285 horsepower total), 23 pound-feet more torque (260 pound-feet total) and better fuel economy. The new Wrangler can get 17 mpg city and 21 mpg highway.

More mileage

Naturally, when you're going to put an engine into a Jeep, it will require modifications. Jeep engineers improved the intake, giving the Jeep more power, and moved the alternator up, just in case of an Amazon crossing.

Some of that mileage improvement can be attributed to the new five-speed automatic transmission (there's also a German-made six-speed manual available). The manual transmission is extremely smooth, and a few times during my test-drive I forgot to put the Jeep in the fifth or sixth gear because the Wrangler was so responsive. The automatic was equally as responsive, never hunting for a gear.

The suspension, while created for all of that crazy wheel articulation off-road, provides a smooth ride on the highway and county roads. Even the Rubicon model felt comfortable on the road.

And that's the difference between this Jeep and any other Wrangler.

Off the road, it will chew up almost any terrain in front of it. It relishes every opportunity to get dirty. On the road, it feels like a nice SUV with a smooth ride.

And this Wrangler will never call itself iconic. It knows if you have to call yourself that, then you're not. And this Jeep certainly is.

sburgess@detnews.com

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110915/OPINION03/109150341/Wrangler-finds-its-softer-side#ixzz1Y74nNE8X

From a Boring Brick Box With Windows to a State-of-the-Art Showroom - Ed Dancel

Thinking back to when I was first hired in at Southfield Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram in December of 1997, it's amazing to look back and see how many changes we've undergone. Back then we sold Chrysler, Jeep, Plymouth and Eagle brands and our dealership was just a plain old boring brick box with windows.

We've gone through several Corporate mergers...starting with Chrysler to Daimler-Chrysler to Cerberus and now Fiat Chrysler...and in order to adapt to these changes, our dealership had to change...we had to undergo a couple of “Extreme Makeovers”. One was done in 2004 and the latest was finished in March of 2011.

The first renovation started in 2003 included a new entry feature with an impressively dramatic brushed aluminum paneled entry and polished metal accents, two outdoor covered display areas and a 21st century showroom that featured a state-of-the-art furniture and brand display system.

In 2010 we underwent yet another renovation in order to enhance and improve our facility for customer enjoyment and brand recognition. Our latest improvements upgraded customer accessibility and dramatically transformed our present interior and outdoor display areas.

The resulting renovation design includes a new monumental entry feature with a handicap lift, a state-of-the-art expanded showroom with two car elevators on opposite ends of the building, a greeter's desk, interactive information kiosks with touchscreen displays, a cafe style refreshment stand with tall chairs and round tables where customers can sit and chat, a children's play room and a customer lounge with a flat screen TV and soft comfy leather couches. Other changes include new furniture for the sales staff and managers, renovated bathrooms, a new employee break room and a bigger customer lounge in the service department.

So why are we investing in such expensive renovations? Well, with so many customers now researching vehicles and pricing online before they come in, it's harder for us dealers to turn more than slim profits on new vehicle sales. So we are focusing on trying to make serious money on accessories, maintenance and repairs, as well as on used cars.

The goal is to not depend on buyers who, at best, will return years later for another car. Instead, we increasingly want to develop relationships with owners to keep them coming in multiple times a year, whether it is for car maintenance or repairs, to chat with service advisers or just kick tires on the latest new model while grabbing a free cup of coffee. A nicely renovated store with comfortable and inviting surroundings we believe will help tremendously.

So next time you're in the area, come check out our new showroom. You'll see...we've certainly come a long way from just a boring old box with windows.

- Ed Dancel is a sales consultant at Southfield Chrysler 248-354-2950