Waldorf Dodge Blog

The Mopar division of Chrysler has, in a way, been one of the automaker’s silent heroes. This brand continues to build standard-spec and aftermarket parts for a range of Chrysler products, and while these optional goodies have always been offered in an a-la-carte fashion, Chrysler is now offering a true Mopar version of the 2010 Dodge Challenger.

Mopar starts with a Challenger R/T, fitted with the 5.7-liter Hemi V8 and adds a hood-venting system, cold-air intake, front strut brace, unique engine cover and a strut-tower brace. Chrysler hasn’t released official numbers, but we’d say that these modifications are good for an additional 10 or 15 horsepower – nothing crazy.

Inside, there’s a Katzkin leather seating package, special gear shifters for either transmission, a custom leather-wrapped steering wheel and – you guessed it – a serialized dash plaque. Only 500 of the Mopar ’10 Challengers will be built, finished in a brilliant black clear coat with a choice of either red, blue or silver accents. (What, no white?) Other exterior changes include things like a black chrome grille surround, black wheels, functional hood vents and hood pins.

The Mopar ’10 Challenger hits dealerships next month, priced from $38,000 with the automatic transmission (including the $750 destination charge). Want a do-it-yourself shifter? Add $1,000 to that price. (Wait, what?) For the full details, give us a call at Waldorf Dodge.

Source [AutoBlog]

Here is some interesting news we stumbled across this afternoon. Keep your fingers crossed that Waldorf Dodge will be one of the dealerships chosen!

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 6 (UPI) — U.S. automaker Chrysler said it had invited its dealerships to bid on rights to sell the Fiat 500 and that only 125 outlets would be approved.

Potentially, 2,300 Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck dealers could bid on the option to sell the small Fiats, which are scheduled to go on sale in the United States in December, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.

In addition to a general investment in the brand, Chrysler is requiring dealerships arrange for showroom space that is separate from their Chrysler brand vehicles, company spokesman Ralph Kisiel said.

The four-cylinder vehicle is scheduled for construction in Toluca, Mexico, using engines made in Dundee, Mich.

The company has said half of the 100,000 Fiat 500s would be sold in the states, while the other half would be targeted for South America.

Source: UPI.com

Wow, what a weekend.  All week last week we prepped the dealership and staff for what we expected to be one of the biggest sales we have ever had here at Waldorf Ford Used Car-Truck Center.  Advertising done…check; cars clean and inspected…check, fence up…check, staff assembled…check.  Phone calls from folks who wanted to pre-register, started coming in on Tuesday and  by closing time Saturday, the day of the sale, we had fielded 561 phone calls!  The staff was a little overwhelmed to say the least. 

http://www.youtube.com/v/JKoR6HyyDuU&hl=en_US&fs=1&

The latest aftermarket company to transform the Dodge Challenger into a high horsepower beast is SpeedFactory who is a leader in modern Mopar supercars.  They have just announced their latest creation, a 600 horsepower six-speed Challenger dubbed the ‘SF600R’ that will be added to already potent lineup of Mopar supercars.

The 500 EV will be developed at the company’s headquarters in Michigan, and it will use a lithium-ion battery. Pricing will be announced closer to launch, but Chrysler says it will competitive with similar electric vehicles. When it arrives, the 500 EV will compete for early adopters with the Mitsubishi iMiev and Nissan Leaf electric cars.

The first vehicle from Chrysler and Fiat’s union, the gasoline-fueled version of the Fiat 500 is scheduled to debut at the end of 2010. Your sales staff at Waldorf Dodge will keep you informed as we start getting closer to these hitting the lot.

In other Chrysler news, the company has been chosen by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive a grant up to $48 million as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Vehicle Electrification program. Chrysler plans to build 140 electric Dodge Ram pickups for a three year test in real-world conditions.

The Ram PHEV powertrain will include a 5.7-liter HEMI V-8, hybrid transmission, and a lithium-ion battery. The vehicle will be able to go up to 20 miles using only electric power. Overall fuel economy is expected to improve more than 65 percent.

Dodge is not new to exploring the potential for a hybrid truck. Dodge had previously built a 2000 Ram Contractor hybrid and later a 2002 Ram 2500 HD diesel-hybrid pickup truck as demonstration vehicles for potential military and commercial applications. A Ram hybrid went into limited production in 2004. And hybrid versions of the HEMI-powered Dodge Durango and Chrysler Aspen SUVs were briefly sold in 2009. Chrysler had recent plans to sell a hybrid Ram, due to difficulty making a business case for the truck, development work was halted.

Source: Consumer Reports

It’s every driver’s nightmare: flashing blue and red lights in your rear-view mirror. Speeding tickets can strike a blow to anyone’s day. While you pull away from the office with the ticket in your hand, you wonder “Is going ten or fifteen miles an hour over the speed limit that big a deal?” Or “How much is my insurance going to go up now?” Here is some information that answer such questions that will surely cross your mind.

[Via: Auto Insurance]

We at Waldorf Dodge spent are usual morning scouring the web looking for interesting stuff to tell you about. Imagine our thrill when we stumbled across this little gem!

Have $110,000 burning a hole in your pocket and want to go racing? Consider the 2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X. Excluding the dedicated GTS/R racecar of the late ’90s, the ACR-X is the most potent Viper built by Chrysler. The special edition model comes with 640 horsepower and can lap Laguna Seca three seconds faster than the shockingly quick Viper ACR that owns the track record for a production car.

If that sounds like your cup of tea, you won’t have to wait long to get one. Chrysler has just announced that production of the ACR-X has already started at its Conner Avenue Assembly Plant and provided a few photos and video of the cars going down the assembly line.

Dodge Motorsports and Mopar have even provided a way to put the cars to good use. The Dodge Viper Cup will run at five racetracks starting this summer, and a contingency program will give owners a chance to earn back some of the purchase price of the car. In total more than $200,000 will be paid out, including $25,000 to the 2010 season champion. Follow the jump the press release from Chrysler and a short video of the ACR-X at the assembly plant.

[Source: AutoBlog]

We at your favorite Maryland Dodge Dealer keep hearing about this thru our various super secret spy channels (read internet) and agree that it would be a great seller. We would rather hear that production is starting up but if we can’t have that yet then we will gladly take any talk that shows it is still on the boards! Come on RAM!

If you can’t wait for this to make it to market then we can still take care of all your hauling needs with the great lineup of Ram trucks. Make sure to check us out on the web, also know has super secret spy headquarters.

Chrysler is dropping more hints about an upcoming unibody pickup that would be positioned below the Dodge Dakota. You may recall that first word of the new small truck came back in November when Fred Diaz, CEO of Chrysler’s newly-created Ram brand, dropped tidbits about the company “considering” a Dakota replacement. We speculated that it could be built on a platform derived from the upcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee/Dodge Durango architecture.

SOURCE [AutoBlog]

If you haven’t gotten a chance to come down to Waldorf Ford to see the new 2010 Ram Heavy Duty, take a look at this video.

http://www.youtube.com/v/s2hLpKM3gMU&hl=en_US&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b

When you are ready, we have them in stock and ready to go!

Chrysler, now led by Sergio Marchionne and the rest of the management crew brought in by Italian automaker Fiat, has big plans in place that will replace just about every single vehicle the American automaker currently offers. Judging from the purported list of new vehicle launches secured by the Mopar fanatics at Allpar, it would seem that new Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles will be hitting the market all through 2010 and well into 2011.

Looking over the list of 2010 production start dates, the first date to get excited about (barring the March 29th Viper production launch, of course – we’re talking about for the mainstream market), is May 10th, which is when the thoroughly recreated Jeep Grand Cherokee will begin rolling down the assembly line. In mid-August, the 2011 Wrangler will make its initial appearance, and we’re really hoping for a new powertrain combination for the venerable off-roader.

Towards the end of 2010, Waldorf Dodge should begin seeing the heavily revised Pentastar minivans along with the new Avenger and Sebring replacements, though the Chrysler midsizer seems likely to get a new moniker to erase memories of the current car. Finally, the three LX-based cars – those being the Challenger, Charger and 300 – will go into production in November, followed closely by the North American 2012 Fiat 500. Keep it together, Chrysler.

Sources: Autoblog and Allpar