Mopar® to Rev Up Woodward Dream Cruise

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Mopar® will make its presence felt at the world's largest one-day celebration of classic-car culture, the 16th annual Woodward Dream Cruise on Saturday, Aug. 21. More than one million expected visitors will have the chance to check out Mopar vehicles and performance parts at the corner of 13 Mile and Woodward in Royal Oak, Mich.

"The Woodward Dream Cruise is the perfect place to showcase our Mopar brand," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC. "During this event, Woodward Avenue is over-flowing with enthusiasts and we want to show every single one of them what's new at Mopar."

The Mopar '10 Challenger, a "Mopar modified" 2010 Challenger R/T and the first-ever special-edition Mopar version of a Chrysler Group vehicle, is one of many Mopar rides set to join the more than 40,000 vehicles expected to pack the Dream Cruise. The Mopar Direct Connection Test Lab vehicle, used to demonstrate Mopar performance parts, will also be on display.

Other Mopar vehicles to appear are The General, a "Moparized" Jeep® Wrangler created by the Mopar off-road engineering team that made its debut earlier this year at the Moab Jeep Safari, and a 2010 Ram Laramie Crew 4 x 4 trimmed in a variety of Mopar parts and accessories. Visitors may also get an up-close look at Mopar parts and engines on exhibit and talk directly with Mopar engineers.

In addition, Mopar will feature Ramchargers Tom Coddington, Dave Rockwell, Dick Jones, Peter McNicholl and John Wehrly at the Mopar Direct Connection Trailer at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The famed Mopar-powered drag racing legends will take part in an autograph and meet-and-greet session with fans. Enthusiasts who want to test their own racing skills may do so at the Direct Connection rig. Fans may take the wheel of a video-game version of a Mopar HEMI®-powered NHRA Funny Car and also try their hand in the Mopar sprint car simulator.

Mopar Authentic Performance Gear will be on sale at the Mopar Rolling Speedshop. Mopar hats, t-shirts, hoodies, diecasts and much more will be available for Mopar fans to purchase.

For more information on the 16th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise, visit http://www.woodwarddreamcruise.com.

Mopar-First Features

Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers 
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• FLO TV: first to offer live, mobile television 
• WiFi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot 
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About the Mopar Brand

Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles—a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

More than 70 Years of Mopar

When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s—the muscle-car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth "package cars" equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of "special parts" for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

SOURCE Chrysler Group LLC