Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Chrysler

GM, Ford, and Chrysler Post Solid Gains This Year

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 17:38:09 +0000

The three Detroit automaker companies have announced strong sales in the past year, especially due to increased consumption in December. GM posted a 4.5% gain in December, which gave them a 13% rise in sales for the year. Ford posted the best December sales in five years, which led to an 11% sales gain for the year. Chrysler posted the largest gain as December sales rose 37% and full year sales rose 26%. If these increases in market share hold up against Toyota, then it would be the first time since 1988 that all three Detroit companies posted market share gains at the same time. [CNN]

GM Saves Car From Thieves And It Was A Chrysler!

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:50:07 +0000

General Motors subsidiary OnStar has helped find about 58,000 stolen GM vehicles so far, but this past week they helped save a Chrysler 300. The standalone OnStar FMV system went for sale for non-GM cars this past year. Jean Franklin of Gresham, Oregon bought a 2006 Chrysler 300 on December 16th. Her car was stolen two days after. She reported the theft to the police and the OnStar device was activated shortly after. About an hour later, the thief was caught. [Jalopnik]

Beats By Dr. Dre Being Added To Chrysler Cars [VIDEOS]

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:33:07 +0000

Chrysler Group and Beats By Dr. Dre has announced a new partnership that brings a studio quality experience into cars for the first time. Beats by Dr. Dre will be rolled into the 2012 Chrysler 300S to start. Beats by Dr. Dre founders Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine had worked closely with the engineering team at Chrysler to design the audio system that contains 10 speakers.

“Our partnership with the Chrysler Group will set the bar for the way music should be heard in cars,” stated Jimmy Iovine, who is also the Chairman of Interscope Geffen-A&M Records. “Beats By Dr. Dre has always been about restoring the emotional music connection between an artist and the listener, and Chrysler vehicles beginning with the Chrysler 300S will let drivers hear music the way the artists intended, replicating the feel and the sound that artists and producers work so hard to achieve.”

Chrysler Stops Sales Of Imported From Toledo T-Shirts Too

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 00:01:07 +0000

Chrysler has stopped a dealership in Monroe, Michigan from selling “Imported from Toledo” T-shirts. Chrysler recently stopped a company called Pure Detroit from selling an “Imported from Detroit” T-shirt over trademark infringement. The Monroe Dodge Superstore in Monroe, Michigan is down the road from Toledo, Ohio. The dealership in Monroe wanted to find a way to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Jeep. The first Willys-Overland Jeep was built in 1941 at the company’s plant in Toledo, Ohio. The proceeds from the t-shirt sales were going to go to local charities too. “We appreciate the enthusiasm and support of our dealers, but we do not want to dilute the Chrysler Brand’s ‘Imported from Detroit’ tagline,” stated Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese. [TTAC]

How A Single Tweet From Scott Bartosiewicz Costed Chrysler As A Client [UPDATED]

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 18:31:02 +0000

Earlier this month, Chrysler fired their social media firm New Media Strategies because a tweet was sent out on behalf of the company that said “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f**king [edited] drive.” This tweet was accidentally sent out by 28-year old Ferndale, Michigan resident Scott Bartosiewicz, who used TweetDeck as his default Twitter client.

TweetDeck has the ability to manage multiple Twitter accounts at once and Scott intended on sending the aforementioned tweet from his personal account instead of Chrysler’s account. Chrysler decided not to renew their contract with New Media Strategies as a result.

Bartosiewicz went to Detroit Catholic Central High School and Michigan State University for undergraduate studies. After that, he worked for D.O.C. Bartosiewicz got a job at New Media this past August and was sitting in traffic on highway I-696 when he sent out the tweet.

Bartosiewicz wasn’t the only one that was fired over a tweet recently. Celebrity actor Gilbert Gottfried was fired by AFLAC for writing insensitive tweets about the earthquake and tsunami that happened in Japan.

UPDATED: My source from the original article was incorrect. I have made some changes in this article based on a message I received from New Media Strategies.

Chrysler Suing Pure Detroit Clothing Company For “Imported From Detroit” Trademark

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:50:12 +0000

Automotive company Chrysler is suing clothing company Pure Detroit for using the trademark “Imported from Detroit” on apparel sold in their stores. The lawsuit filed by Chrysler names Pure Detroit, Kevin Borsay, and Shawn Santo.

In the complaint filed by Chrysler, it says that Borsay and Santo have sold a large number of T-shirts with the trademarked slogan on it. As a matter of fact, the shirts have been Pure Detroit’s best ever selling product.

“They both copied Chrysler’s tag line exactly and used it on some of the very goods for which Chrysler had filed a trademark application, clothing. Falsely promoting themselves as an ‘exclusive’ provider, and promoting their products by touting ‘the tag line that is making headlines across America,’” said the company as quoted by the Detroit Free Press.

The first time Chrysler used the tag line was when they aired a commercial during this past year’s Super Bowl. In the commercial, rapper Eminem was driving in a 2011 Chrysler 200. You can see the ad below:

Chrysler Fires Social Media Company New Media Strategies After Explicit Tweet

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:56:09 +0000

@ChryslerAutos has fired New Media Strategies, their social media representative company, for sending out an explicit tweet. “I find it ironic that Detroit is known as the #motorcity and yet no one here knows how to f**king [edited] drive,” said a tweet from the ChryslerAutos account on accident. That tweet has been deleted. The New Media Strategies employee intended to send the tweet from her own account.

“So why were we so sensitive? That commercial featuring the Chrysler 200, Eminem and the City of Detroit wasn’t just an act of salesmanship. This company is committed to promoting Detroit and its hard-working people. The reaction to that commercial, the catchphrase ‘imported from Detroit,’ and the overall positive messages it sent has been volcanic,” said Chrysler Manager of Electronic Communications Ed Garsten. “Indeed, as an automaker that went through the roughest of times just two years ago, we appreciate the challenges Detroit faces in reclaiming its place as a vibrant, world-class city. Inside Detroit, citizens are becoming even more proud of their town, and outside the region, perception of Detroit is rapidly improving.”

“Chrysler Group LLC will not renew its contract with New Media Strategies (NMS) for the remainder of 2011. NMS has agreed to support us with an orderly transition until a new agency has been named. We thank them for the work they have provided to us and wish them the best as they move forward,” said the company in a statement.

[BusinessReviewUSA]

Ford Fan Made Ad Could Be A Good Response To Chrysler-Eminem [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 02:59:26 +0000

In the clip above, you will see a video made by Motofinity. This Ford-inspired video could be a pretty good response to the Chrysler-Eminem commercial that aired during the Super Bowl (see video below). The Chrylser-Eminem ad was viewed over 6 million times on YouTube and received a lot of hype during and after the Super Bowl. A lot of people from Michigan wrote the ad tagline (“Imported from Detroit” ) in their tweets and Facebook statuses after watching the Chrysler ad.

[Jalopnik]

Chrysler Is Planning To Invest $843 Million In Its Kokomo, Indiana Plant

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:56:27 +0000

Chrysler Group LLC has announced plans to invest $843 million in their Kokomo, Indiana transmission plant. This is Chrysler’s second major investment in their Indiana plants. Chrysler spent $343 million to make eight-speed automatic transmission rear-wheel drive vehicles.

These new transmission investments are through a partnership with the ZF Group in Friedrichshafen, Germany. “For years, Kokomo has been at the center of our powertrain strategy and the potential of an additional investment reaffirms that position,” stated Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

The Indiana Transmission Plant makes rear-drive transmissions for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Jeep Liberty, the Dodge Dakota, and the Dodge Ram.

[Detroit News]

Thirteen Chrysler Employees Fired For Drinking and Smoking Weed During Lunch Break [VIDEO]

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:02:45 +0000

Fox News broke a story about 15 Chrysler employees that used their lunch break to drink alcohol and smoke marijuana. All 15 employees were identified and suspend without pay. About 13 employees at the Jefferson North Plant employees in Detroit have been fired for violating the Company Standards of Conduct. The two remaining employees will receive one month layoff without pay.

“As is evidenced by the swift action taken in this matter, it should be clear that Chrysler Group will not tolerate such behavior and will continue to evaluate its protocols to ensure that something like this does not happen again,” Chrysler said in a statement.

Chrysler said that they have a comprehensive quality system for all vehicles that they build and they do not allow a single person’s error to result in a quality problem.

[egmCarTech]