Mopar opening Custom Shop at Cobo

Thu, 09 Jan 2014

While other automakers have been streamlining their brand portfolio, the Chrysler Group has shown no such signs. It's got the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands, plus Fiat, and it recently broke out its SRT and Ram nameplates into their own brands. And you can bet each will have its own presence at the Detroit Auto Show this year. But don't forget Mopar. The company's performance parts division is getting its own display at Cobo this year, and it'll be the largest in the brand's history.

The Mopar Custom Shop is poised to take up 5,500 square-feet of Cobo floor space, further expanding on last year's Mopar Garage. If the image above offers any indication, the show stand will include a Dodge Challenger, SRT Viper, Fiat 500L, Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Cherokee, Ram 3500 and what looks like (but isn't identified in the press release below as) a Chrysler 200 (which may be replaced by a 2014 model), all augmented with Mopar parts and accessories.

Visitors will also be able to use pre-programmed iPads to configure Chrysler Group vehicles with a wide range of accessories – a portfolio that grows by 1,500 new parts every year and tops over 100 add-ons for every new vehicle Chrysler launches.

Mopar Custom Shop Featured at North American International Auto Show
Largest Mopar Exhibit to Date with 5,500 Square Foot Display to Include Augmented Reality Customization Application

• Mopar Custom Shop featured at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit as part of Mopar's expanded 5,500-square-foot display
• Mopar Custom Shop offers consumers the choice of customizing their Chrysler Group vehicle prior to delivery
• Mopar Custom Shop provides factory installation, Monroney original warranty and inclusion in financing packages
• Mopar Custom Shop display at NAIAS will feature a number of tablets preprogrammed with an augmented reality application to give consumers a virtual look at customizing a Ram 1500 truck
• Every North American Chrysler Group facility is outfitted with a Mopar Custom Shop ready to personalize any vehicle sold in the United States

Mopar will present its largest exhibit to date at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit, Mich., Jan. 13–26, with an expanded 5,500 square foot display area to highlight the addition of Mopar Custom Shop to the Mopar Garage.

"At this year's show, we are proud to feature our new Mopar Custom Shop's ability to give consumers the opportunity to personalize their new vehicle during the purchase process for a 'your vehicle, your way' experience with their Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep®, Ram, Fiat dealership," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO - Mopar, Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand. "This is a great addition to the Mopar Garage, which we introduced last year as a display to give consumers a look at how to customize their current vehicles with an incredible selection of aftermarket quality Mopar parts and accessories."

Mopar's catalogue of parts and accessories has been growing rapidly and is adding nearly 1,500 new items annually. As a result of seeing consumers modify and enjoy making their vehicle unique, Mopar has, on average, more than 100 different parts or accessories available for each new car Chrysler Group launches. Now with the availability of the Mopar Custom Shop, consumers can determine how they'd like to personalize their ride before they take delivery of their new vehicle.

"Consumers may want to add high-performance tires, electronic tracking systems, our in-vehicle wireless charging, racing stripes, bed-liners or any number of quality Mopar performance parts and accessories, and now with the Mopar Custom Shop they can have everything factory installed and ready to drive home just the way they want it," said Gorlier.

Among the benefits of using the Mopar Custom Shop to create their own unique vehicle package is the confidence that customers will have knowing that the Mopar quality parts and accessories chosen for the personalization have been factory installed. A vehicle going through the Mopar Custom Shop also is covered by the original warranty and included in the Monroney label, giving the consumer the added advantage of having their customization included in the financing package.

The Mopar Custom Shop display at NAIAS will feature examples of Mopar-customized vehicles including the Mopar '14 Dodge Challenger, SRT Viper, Fiat 500L Thalassa, Jeep Wrangler Recon, Jeep Cherokee Trail Carver and Ram 3500 Dually CASE Work Truck.

As part of the Mopar Custom Shop experience at NAIAS, visitors will have the opportunity to use one of the pre-programmed iPad tablets provided at the display to experiment with an example of a customization application. The new mobile app example at the NAIAS uses augmented reality to display what a Ram truck would look like with added factory installed Mopar parts and accessories.

As one of most customized vehicle in Chrysler Group's fleet, the Ram truck is the perfect first candidate for the use with the augmented reality app to demonstrate all the Mopar personalization options and combinations available.

Triggered by pointing a preprogrammed iPad tablet at a Ram brand logo displayed on the desk within the Mopar Custom Shop area, the user will then be able to follow the prompts on the screen for customization options that are digitally superimposed on the vehicle to show what the finished product would look like with the chosen modifications.

"We are excited to use this technology and see how a consumer might engage with it," said Tricia Hecker, Director of Marketing - Mopar. "We look forward to seeing how they use this to add personalized touches to their vehicles in the future."

Every North American Chrysler Group facility is outfitted with a Mopar Custom Shop, ready to personalize most vehicles sold in the United States and enabling dealers to help their customers order a new vehicle the way they want it prior to taking delivery.

Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC's service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes 280,000 parts and accessories. With the creation of the industrial alliance between Chrysler Group and FIAT SpA, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar's global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories that are distributed in more than 130 markets. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group brands as well as FIAT brands.

Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler Group and FIAT vehicles – a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.

Mopar-first Features
Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:
• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with customers
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format. First to offer complete vehicle-information kits in Spanish
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Wireless charging: first to introduce in-vehicle wireless charging for portable devices
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• wiAdvisor: first to provide factory-connected tablet technology in the service lane for instant vehicle diagnosis
• wiTech: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging offthe- shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car

More than 75 Years of Mopar
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words Motor and PARts) was trademarked for antifreeze product in 1937. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s – the musclecar era. The former 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. The brand has expanded to include technical service and customer support.

By Noah Joseph