Chrysler's PT keeps cruising

Exerpts from Scott Burgess / The Detroit News

Chrysler had announced earlier this year that it would be discontinued this summer, but Chrysler Group chief spokesman Gualberto Ranieri confirmed Monday that Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne, who also is CEO of Fiat SpA, said the company will keep building the PT Cruiser.

Jim Hall, an auto analyst at 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, said continuing the PT Cruiser makes sense.
Analysts said the decision to keep building it was a good one.
"The PT Cruiser is a car that is selling even without marketing," Hall said.

The car will likely stay in production through 2011, Hall said, until Fiat vehicles are ready for production in North America.

The change of heart came after Chrysler entered bankruptcy and emerged in a partnership with Fiat, the Italian automaker that has management control of the company.

Do you remember...

Tomy Turnin' Turbo Dashboard
By The Auto Insider, Friday, June 26, 2009
Remember the days without Playstation, without Forza Motorsport 3, without actual driving? As kids, we had only one thing to simulate the amazing feeling of driving a car: the Tomy Turnin' Turbo Dashboard.
Sold by Takara Tomy in 1983, the Turnin' Turbo Dashboard table-top driving simulator provided hours of entertainment for our feeble little childish minds and was limited only by our parent's not-so-generous stock of D cell batteries. Although the driving simulation was the exact same every single time, it's a true testament to how such a simple toy can enthrall a child's mind for hours upon hours upon über-entertaining hours.http://bit.ly/1atGUq

Jeep History: Military Jeeps To Jeep JK Wrangler - An American Automotive Icon

The History Of The Jeep, Revisted

By Kevin McNulty for Peterson 4Wheel & Off-Road

Photography by Kevin McNulty

No other vehicle has served our country so well or carried the pride and history like the Jeep has. The tough little utilitarian vehicle was born in a time of world strife at the request of the U.S. Army 70 years ago. It has since served man and soldier as savior, workhorse, and recreational adventure vehicle for an incalculable amount of off-road enthusiasts.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, "America could not have won World War II without it." As an integral part of our military, countless stories have been told about the Willys MB hauling wounded soldiers to the rear for care and transporting troops and ammunition to the frontline, not to mention acting as small fast attack vehicles. After its faithful service to the country, the postwar Jeep exploded in popularity with adventurers looking to explore the backroads and wild lands of America. The nimble and capable four-wheel vehicle, proven in battle, was the perfect trail machine.

The Jeep CJ was one of the most influential recreational vehicles of all time. The CJ was produced in many variations, with different models, styles, and limited-edition packages. The famous civilians CJs were produced from 1945 to 1985, starting with the CJ-2A and ending with the CJ-8 Scrambler.

Some of our fathers and grandfathers remember their stint in the armed forces with the Jeep fondly. Those no longer with us would likely be astounded at the evolution of the original '40 American Bantam design, which has morphed into the Wrangler JK of today. Initially the Jeep was designed as a dependable bare-bones all-terrain vehicle, and through a number of company owners the Jeep brand saw a number of models ranging from spartan CJs to utility trucks and luxury SUVs.

Read the rest of the story here: http://bit.ly/RFaBl

Summer Travel: Teens Use High-Tech Tools to Document Family Road Trip

From MotherProof
Jun 22 2009 by Kristin Varela

Have your kids outgrown following your family road trip’s progress with a map and cute stickers? If so, they’ve probably also outgrown any idea that they’re derived from your lame DNA? Ahh, the teen years. From planning to documenting the trip, here are a few 21st century ways to keep teens involved in your family road trip.

Navigation systems: Before your trip begins, let your teen loose with a Garmin or other navigation system. They can even pick out a few stops along the way (the double-headed rattlesnake and five-legged cow exhibits might have some funky side-show appeal). They also might teach you a few things that you weren’t even aware your nav system could do such as leaving electronic breadcrumbs along your route.

MySpace or Facebook: Many teens can access their social networking profile updates via cell phone. They can keep their friends in the loop about interesting places they’ve seen. Also, teens can use their profiles as a gripe platform — “OMG my mom is drving me so crzy!” — so you don’t have to hear it.

Twitter: Teens with cell phones can also update their Twitter accounts remotely. They can use 140-character “tweets” to keep friends, classmates and other Twitter followers in the know on their trip. Check out this travel tweet from RandGirl, “The Statue of Liberty is 151-ft and has a 35-ft waistline, and you thought you needed to go on a diet?” Teen Tiffany Eckhart tweets, “Trying to drink coffee while we drive down I10…Impossible! This road never seems to change.” While some teen tweets might seem pointless to you, it’s a quick way for teens to keep an electronic travel journal that they’ll be able to revisit later to remember quirky things about the trip.

Digital video cameras and YouTube: Savvy teens raised in the electronic age can be charged with documenting the car trip with the family video camera (some digital point-and-shoot cameras now allow you to record short videos, too). Once you get home, video and photo snippets can be edited together to come up with a creative road trip video, in-car music video or road trip parody. Use this as an opportunity for your teen to show off her creativity. They can then upload their video for friends to view on YouTube, and you can plan a viewing party for the family.

One Week to Deal!

Chrysler has just announced the "1 Week to Deal" promotion! Good until the end of the month, you can save even more on:

2009 Dodge Avengers

2009 Chrysler Sebrings

2009 Jeep Patriots

2009 Jeep Compass

2009 Dodge Nitros

2009 Jeep Commanders

So, now more than ever, is your chance to get a great car at a great deal! Come on down and talk to us or check out our website at www.caseberemotor.com to find the perfect vehicle for you!

Top 10 Fuel-Saving Tips

Ten ways you can squeeze the most mileage out of every gallon of gas you purchase.
By Chuck Tannert of MSN Autos

Last summer, gasoline prices surged to record highs, causing Americans to stay at home and rethink their love affair with the automobile. Jump ahead a year: Fuel prices are down nearly 40 percent and the Automobile Association of America's travel and auto group is forecasting that trips by automobile will increase by 2.7 percent over last year, up from 26.3 million travelers to 27 million.

While only time will ultimately tell if Americans are truly ready to head out on the highway in search of adventure and whatever comes our way (gotta love Steppenwolf), one thing is certain: The desire to hit the road and low gas prices have not curbed our desire to use less fuel. The federal Energy Information Administration recently announced that over the four weeks that ended May 22, U.S. demand for gasoline averaged about 9.2 million barrels a day, an increase of only 0.4 percent from the same period last year, when gas prices were through the roof. And now that gas prices are back on the rise (since May 25, the national average retail price of gasoline has risen nearly 20 cents per gallon to $2.63), we don't expect consumer demand to change any time soon.
To help, here are 10 tips you can use to squeeze the most mileage out of every penny spent at the pump. Some involve proper maintenance of your vehicle, but most require a change in behavior. All will help ease the burden on your wallet. Read all about it here: http://bit.ly/13gsoO

Nascar Ticket Winners - Congratulations!

Congratulations to Rex Miller and Ashley Taylor for winning the ticktes to the LifeLock400 Nascar race! It was quite an exciting time. You can check out what happened here: www.nascar.com

Galpin Auto Sports Teams with USAF to Build Custom 2009 Dodge Challenger 'Vapor'

By Matt Rigney
Challenger Blog
The United States Air Force and Galpin Auto Sports teamed up to build a custom one-of-a-kind 2009 Dodge Challenger dubbed 'Vapor'. The Challenger is 1 of 2 cars built along with a X-1 Mustang for the 2009 Super Car Tour, a tour that will travel cross country as part of a mobile marketing effort to educate young people on the mechanical and technical career opportunities available within the Air Force.
The Challenger 'Vapor' features some pretty kick butt stuff like biometric access (fingerprint) to open the vertical doors, custom stealth body kit utilizing a Classic Design Concepts wide body kit with jet-like enhancements and car fiber trim pieces. Other goodies featured on this one-of-a-kind vehicle include one-off carbon fiber wheels, custom stealth exhaust mode so the vehicle can run silent or run loud , shaker hood, radar-absorbing paint, proximity sensors and a 360-degree camera capable of up to a 1/4 mile range.For more pictures and the rest of the story click here: http://bit.ly/sI1yt

75th Anniversary and Customer Appreciation Event!

WE'RE BUILDING A NEW CAR COMPANY AND SHOWING YOU OUR APPRECIATION
You are invited to attend our 75th Anniversary and Appreciation Event June 10th, 11th and 12th from 8am to 8pm.

Join us and take advantage of special offers on our exciting line-up of vehicles. Plus, enter for a chance to win a new 2009 Chrysler, Jeep® or Dodge vehicle or a trip for four to Orlando, Florida!* Our vehicles are backed by our best-in-the-business Lifetime Powertrain Limited Warranty.† And unlike the Appreciation Event, it will last a lifetime. Save the date and save big with special deals. It’s our way of saying thank you for all your loyalty and support.
Casebere Motor Sales 05768 State Route 15 North Bryan , OH 435068882 (419) 636-4594

Join Us!

*No Purchase Necessary. Sweepstakes begins at 12:00:01 AM EDT on 6/8/09 and ends at 11:59:59 PM EDT on 6/15/09. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia, age 18 or older and who possess a valid driver’s license at the time of entry. Void where prohibited by law. See Official Rules at www.appreciationeventsweeps.com or at participating Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep Dealerships for details. †No deductible. See dealer for a copy of limited warranty details. Non-Transferable. Not available on SRT®, diesel vehicles, Sprinter, Ram Chassis Cab, Hybrid System components (including transmission), and certain fleet vehicles. Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and SRT are trademarks of Chrysler LLC.

2009 DUB Show Detroit - Dodge Charger SpongeBob Squarepants Edition

The SpongeBob Dodge Charger at the 2009 DUB Show Detroit was one of the true standouts. Arandas Tire had some pretty cool rides but this got top billing. You should have seen the crowd around this thing. And they were cool about it, leaving the door unlocked with people climbing in and out. We’ve seen some SpongeBob SquarePants edition cars before but they usually just consisted of painting half the car baby blue and the other half yellow. Sometimes even a funky airbush figure or two… But nothing approaching the theme execution that these guys pulled off.
posted by CarCorner.com check out the rest of the story and more photos here:

http://bit.ly/3w1Dr