Original Dodge Viper Concept shows up in new Chrysler video

Jeff Sabatini — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:59:00 EST

Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Coupe, Performance, Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Chrysler, Dodge, Design/Style

Got 13 minutes to spare? Of course you do - it's a Friday. Then we've got just the way to burn them.

Chrysler has posted three new SRT Viper videos, the first being a nice seven-minute documentary about Viper history, from its origins to the present.

We're happy to see the automaker make no attempts to distort the truth here, wisely including period footage of both Carroll Shelby and Bob Lutz, despite the fact that those two automotive legends currently work for its most bitter rivals, Ford and General Motors, respectively. The inclusion of a clip from the Viper TV series, however, was perhaps a less inspired choice. We'd have left that on the cutting room floor in favor of more racing footage, like maybe something from Le Mans.

The second video is three minutes of Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT Brand and Motorsports at Chrysler. Gilles walks us around a static Viper, explaining some of the details in the design that might escape a casual observer - and help the new Viper hit 206 miles per hour.

The final video goes inside Conner Avenue Assembly in Detroit where Chrysler builds the Viper. So maybe Chrysler employees like Shelly Brown Alore, the operations manager at the plant, aren't quite the celebrity that Gilles is, but then again, we're exactly the type of car nerds that actually find this stuff interesting.

Scroll down to watch the videos.

Continue reading Original Dodge Viper Concept shows up in new Chrysler video

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Chrysler hiring 1,100 new workers to build diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee

John Neff — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:01:00 EST

Filed under: Performance, Plants/Manufacturing, Crossover, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Diesel

Last April, we received word straight from CEO Sergio Marchionne's mouth that Fiat's 3.0L V6 turbo-diesel engine would find its way to America under the hood of a Jeep Grand Cherokee by the end of 2013. That a diesel-powered Grand Cherokee would return to Jeep's lineup was great news for fans of the last version, but workers in the city of Detroit should be even more excited, as Chrysler has just announced it will add a third shift and hire 1,100 new workers at its Jefferson North Assembly Plant to help build it. Jefferson North currently employs 2,890 people and is responsible for production of the Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango.

Throw another 150 new workers on the pile too for Chrysler's Connor Avenue Assembly Plant, also located within the confines of Detroit proper. Last month Chrysler announced that it would reopen the original home of Viper assembly to build the new snake, and its needs 150 workers to do it. Today's announcement just reaffirms those plans and brings the total number of Chrysler's new Detroit hires this year to 1,250.

Continue reading Chrysler hiring 1,100 new workers to build diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee

Chrysler hiring 1,100 new workers to build diesel Jeep Grand Cherokee originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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