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Jeep® Wrangler celebrates 70th anniversary Celebrating its 70th birthday this year, the Jeep® Wrangler completes its modern rejuvenation, Scripps Howard News Service said. The 2011 line received new interiors and other tweaks; 2012 brings a new engine linked to a new five-speed auto-matic transmission or a six-speed manual gearbox, and the combination transforms the Wrangler in a way the styling enhance-ments never could, Scripps Howard News Service said in a review. Wrangler is one of the most proficient off-road vehicles on the planet - there are few places it cannot go, the news service said. Chrysler's 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine delivers improved fuel economy and runs more quietly than its predecessor, and it makes the Wrangler way quicker, the article said. Jeep engineers have improved the ride by installing new engine and transmission mounts, better insulation and an under-hood en-gine cover, the Scripps Howard review said. The entire package be-comes apparent as soon as you take the new Wrangler out on the highway, the review said. The four-door hardtop Unlimited was admi-rably quiet on the road, expanding the Wrangler horizons into a vehi-cle that can capably perform off-road and also function as a commut-er and family vacation hauler, Scripps Howard said. The Unlimited tracked cleanly down the road and had good steering feel, the review said

The Detroit automakers are finally done one-upping each other in this year's Michigan State Police vehicle evalua-tions, with the 2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit V-8 laying down some heady numbers on the test track, Autoblog�s Aaron Richardson wrote.
�The Charger emerged with the fastest lap time ever record-ed in the Michigan State Police test's history, at 1:33.7,� Rich-ardson said. �That, boys and girls, is something else. The Chevrolet Caprice PPV may have the best top speed and braking, but the Charger has shown it has the chops to slice up the twisties as well.�
Kurt Ernst of the website Au-tomotive Addicts said: �For the record, it�s always a bad idea to run from the police. . . Your odds of outrunning a police cruiser just got a bit smaller, too, since the 2012 Dodge Charger Pursuit V-8 has set a new police car lap record at Grattan Raceway in Michigan State Police testing.�
The 2012 Dodge Charger has upgraded many features to enhance the vehicleâ��s perfor-mance, the website Automotive Discovery reported. Among the improvements are a 5.7-liter HEMI�® V-8 engine with 100,000-mile spark plugs and optional 3.06 rear-axle ratio for increased acceleration, the sto-ry said.

A stirring gospel version of Eminemâ??s â??Lose Yourself,â?? per-formed by the Selected of God choir, is now available on iTunes, according to the Detroit Free Press.
The Selected of God choir was first featured in the Chrys-ler brand Super Bowl commer-cial "Born of Fire," AutoEvolu-tion.com noted.
Mediapost.com reported Eminem's "Eight Mile Style" label will donate all publishing proceeds from the song â??available on iTunes for 99 cents â?? to three local Detroit charities, as part of the "Imported from Detroit Project."
In an interview with the Free Press, Olivier Francois, Chief Creative Officer for Fiat and Chrysler, said, â??It started as more than a campaign â?? a vision of being part of the comeback story of Detroit, to-gether with Chryslerâ??s come-back story. From the start, there was the idea of doing something generous for Detroit. It became a kind of movement.â??
Organizations that stand to benefit are the Abayomi Com-munity Development Corp., a family services group; the Yunion youth mentoring pro-gram; and the Robert S. Shu-maker Foundation, which awards scholarships, Autoblog said.
The Free Press said the initi-ative is part of an important next phase for â??Imported From Detroit,â?? which is rolling out a new slogan: â??Never Give Up. Always Give Back.â??

Chrysler Group reported sales up 20%, a 16th month of year-over-year sales gains, led by a 46% gain in Jeep sales compared with last July. Total group sales were 112,026.

Jeep was the crown jewel, with a record month for Wrangler (14,355 sold, up 43%) and gains by all five Jeep brand models. Drive On continues to be amazed by gains for the redone all-new 2011 Jeep Compass, up 240% for the least Jeep-like Jeep. The new Grand Cherokee was up 76%.

Redone and renamed Chrysler 200 mid-size sedan was up 111% over sales of the former Sebring last July. The supply-constrained new 300 sedan was up 6%.

The new Fiat 500 launch also continues to progress, with July sales of 3,038, up 68% from June. Sales since the spring launch are now 7,982.

"In a market that remains tougher than a cheap steak, we were able to produce our highest retail sales in more than three years," said a statement from Reid Bigland, head of U.S. sales, as well as CEO of the Dodge brand. "I think that statistic is the ultimate testament to the progress we have made with our product in the areas of fuel economy, quality and design."

Notable for still-truck-heavy Chrysler Group:

It said the Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge brands each posted year-over-year sales gains in July and that car sales increased 28%, while trucks gained 18%.

The Dodge brand posted a 9% gain, with the aging Caliber leading with a 14% gain, while the new Charger was off 11%.

The group's redone minivan sales continued to be weak, with Chrysler Town & Country down 20% and the Dodge Caravan off 16%.

The Pentastar engine has helped reignite the Chrysler lineup. In addition to being named one of the 10 best engines by the experts at Wardâ??s Automotive, the Pentastar engine has helped numerous Chrysler Group vehicles yield more power and better fuel economy. The development of the engine has even led to 268 new jobs in Michigan.

â??We want to thank the city of Trenton for approving our tax abatement request and their continued support,â?? said Brian Harlow, the Chrysler Groupâ??s vice president and head of Powertrain Manufacturing. â??As Chrysler Group moves to replace seven V6 engines with the new Pentastar V6, it has become necessary to add capacity on core components in order to meet the production demands of this new engine.

Continue reading about Pentastar engine development on Chrysler in the News.

Cool Summer Fun in the South
Georgia hosts exciting and family-friendly summer events.

While temperatures are soaring, the outdoor entertainment in Georgia this summer couldnâ??t be cooler. Whether youâ??re at the beach, in the city or somewhere in between, get your share of fun in the sun at a concert, festival or another summertime celebration.

 

For the movie buff, nothing compares with a big screen under the vast nighttime sky. Atlantaâ??s Candler Park is the site of Screen on the Green featuring How to Train Your Dragon (Rated PG) on July 23, 2011 and Tangled (Rated PG) on August 20, 2011. The events are free and are held in front of the community pool. For more information, visit www.friendsofcandlerpark.org/screenonthegreen.html.

 

In nearby Buford, Mall of Georgia hosts Movies Under the Stars, Saturdays through July 30, 2011. Catch Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (Rated G) on July 16, The Sandlot (Rated PG) on July 23 and Yogi Bear on July 30. The free evenings begin with live musical entertainment, followed by the movies starting at dusk. For directions and more information, go to www.mallofgeorgia.com, then click â??View and Print Allâ?? in the â??News and Events at Mall of Georgiaâ?? box.      

     

While youâ??re in the area, get into the unique brand of fun and excitement youâ??ll find at Road Atlanta, a 750-acre motorsports park. Voted one of Americaâ??s â??best road coursesâ?? by Car and Driver magazine, the northeast Georgia facility hosts races, driving schools and motorsports testing. On July 16 and 17, 2011, the course is the site of â??All-Girl Turn 7,â?? a fundraiser to benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Race info is available at www.atlantascca.org; additional details about the track and programs at Road Atlanta are available at www.roadatlanta.com.

 

In historic Savannah, the riverfront buzzes with activity the first Saturday of each month. Artists and craftsmen display their wares during the street festival, which attracts thousands of visitors throughout the summer. Hundreds of years ago, this was home to warehouses and other businesses central to the cotton trade; today, River Street is a vibrant destination for shopping, dining and strolling the cobblestone streets. First Saturday on the River will be held Saturday, August 6, 2011, and admission is free. Details are available at www.riverstreetsavannah.com.

 

Just off the coast, on Jekyll Island, a different kind of historyâ??28 years of music and danceâ??will be celebrated during the Jekyll Island Beach Music Festival, August 11 through 13, 2011. The weekend gets underway Thursday and Friday evenings with ticketed events at the Jekyll Island Convention Campus, but the highlight is the afternoon-long free concert on the beach, Saturday August 13, 2011, at Great Dunes Park. Get a complete schedule of entertainment, as well as information on tickets and lodging, at www.jekyllisland.com.

 

Whether you prefer sunshine or stargazing, Georgia has an outdoor outing thatâ??s perfect for you this summer. Better get them while theyâ??re hot!

Air Conditioning Maintenance for the Summer Months Catching small problems early is the key to a cool car.

The green flag is about to drop on the first ever Mopar MoVenture road rally, as ten two-person teams pilot a wide range of 2012/2011 Chrysler Group LLC vehicles over the course of 2,000 miles in seven days.

Chrysler has reengineered the 300, a key ingredient in what Men's Journal describes as the automaker's "reinvention."
Men's Journal notes the 300 is burdened with delivering a much-needed smash hit for the company and Culture Map says that new products like the 300 indicate that "Chrysler's renaissance is the comeback we've been waiting for."
FamilyCarGuide.com says the redesigned 2011 Chrysler 300 is more "mature" and that it has been…

The new 2011 Jeep® Com-pass compact SUV is "quieter, more comfortable, nicer look-ing, and generally just better to drive than the vehicle it replac-es," declares Brandon Turkus, in a Winding Road review.
That makes the Compass "a win in our book," Turkus, Wind-ing Road's Test Fleet Manager, wrote in the recent review.
Jeep has gotten a number of things right with the new Com-pass, from the Grand Cherokee-inspired front fascia to the ad-dition of…