Mopar Rocks the 2011 New York International Auto Show

If you’re reading this before May 1, 2011, you still have an opportunity to attend the New York International Auto Show at the Javits Center. Held on the west side of Midtown in New York City, this is one of three major American shows that attracts automotive insiders from around the world.

We liken this to a marriage between Harley-Davidson and Vespa. Not everything is a good idea, fellas...

I attended the Press Day event on Wednesday the 20th to deliver you the news on the performance offerings from Auburn Hills, Michigan.

As you’re probably very familiar by now, Fiat has a large financial interest in the Chrysler  Corporation – it is what it is. While no one is going to confuse Fiat with anything Mopar, there are interesting competencies that the companies will share.

The Cincoquento (or “500”) is starting to trickle into the streets of America, and I guarantee you that they’ll be coming out with cars more interesting than this.

Chrysler was sorely lacking in strong small car product in America, and this will fit the bill just fine. Combine whimsy, retro, and a proven track record (the 500 has been available in Europe for a few years already), and I think Chrysler has a great opportunity to bring more people into the Mopar fold.


The Dodge Challenger has already brought people into the Mopar fold. As the first of the new ponycars (if it could be called that), Chrysler has marginally been refining it where it’s a great-looking coupe could be the successor of the Chargers of yore.

But they make a Charger today, so what gives? I imagine some are gritting their teeth right now, but the Charger is a four-door sedan with a penchant for giving scowls and showing its derrière to other cars.

It’s been successful playing the role of a four-door Challenger, and its 2012 redesign has toned down the criticism of some of the styling while exploiting everything that was good about the Charger.

Just like last year’s limited Challenger Mopar Edition, there will be a Mopar ’11 for the Charger. Rolling on 20-inch “Black Envy” wheels with Mopar center caps and powered by the 5.7-liter HEMI putting out 370 horsepower, Chrysler claims it’ll pull low 5-second 0-60 times.

In another shade of black is this Furious Five Charger. Obviously based on the car in Vin Diesel’s movie of the same name, it’s just a basic R/T with a fancy (or lack thereof) paint job. If you like, you can enter the sweepstakes to win a Charger just like that!

And what about the Big Kahuna of Chargers, the SRT-8? Here it is in all its redesigned glory: 6.4-liter HEMI with 80 more horsepower than the outgoing model, an all-new intake manifold and high-lift camshaft with cam phasing to enhance low-end torque, standard paddle-shifters, adaptive damping suspension, and new, split five-spoke, 20-inch lightweight forged and polished aluminum wheels, among others.

Not-quite-stock Avenger R/T

The mini-Charger, the Avenger R/T, made its debut in New York but was overshadowed by some of the other Mopar excitement. By now you should know the Avenger has been re-enginerred to be several notches above rental car material – a big pat on the back to the Chrysler folks for that.

But the R/T introduces suspension changes and 283 horsepower from a 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine that’s paired with a six-speed automatic transmission.

The changes result “in a spirited, performance sedan driving experience,” according to Dodge. Exterior changes include a body-colored grille, black headlight surrounds, and 18-inch painted aluminum wheels.

Over at the Jeep camp (literally and figuratively), the Grand Cherokee SRT-8 was introduced to a rousing claim of 0-to-60 in 4.8 seconds. It’s able to do that because it’s powered by the same motor as the Charger SRT-8 mentioned above.

Drivers can choose among four performance settings: Track, Sport, Auto, Snow and Tow. On-demand Quadritrak 4WD can transfer up to 100% of torque to one rear wheel – that’s 465 horses to one wheel!

Excited? Not sure? Let me leave you with this image from the show. During that time, Chrysler had just experienced some mighty highs and then some lows (with more to come for 1961-62). A few years later we were Maxies, HEMIs, and even more fun come 1968 with the Road Runner. Chrysler’s not down for the count by any means because they’ve yet to be knocked out.

This 1960 Plymouth is a real, honest-to-goodness municipal car

About the author

Diego Rosenberg

Diego is an automotive historian with experience working in Detroit as well as the classic car hobby. He is a published automotive writer in print and online and has a network of like-minded aficionados to depend on for information that's not in the public domain.
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