Thu, 09/27/2012 - 07:46
   jeep
Chrysler Group LLC will display more than 20 Moparized Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat and SRT vehicles at this year's SEMA Show in Las Vegas.
   

Chrysler Group LLC has released sketches of select Moparized vehicles that are headed for the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, October 30–November 2, 2012.

“At Mopar, we always look forward to the SEMA season,” said Pietro Gorlier, president and CEO of Mopar—Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand. “The Show is an opportunity for us to inspire owners to customize their vehicles, and it’s the perfect place to showcase our vast portfolio of quality-tested performance parts and accessories.”

The company will display more than 20 Moparized Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat and SRT vehicles at the Show.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Mopar brand.

Mopar-First Features

According to Mopar, it has introduced numerous industry-first features including:

  • Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications—a new channel of communication with consumers.
  • Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format and 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 a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends the owner a text when the vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters.
  • 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cid V-10 drag-race package car. 
  • Brand-specific customer care telephone lines: first to offer Sunday service hours for customers.
  • WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network.
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:28
  international
Don't miss the International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show.
   
Exhibitors: register now for the always well-attended International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Stop by and enjoy a beverage and conversation with international retailers, distributors and importers from more than 130 countries at the ninth-annual event taking place Wednesday, October 31, from 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Top international media from key overseas markets will also be in attendance. Registration is complimentary, but required. Register now while space remains.
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:28
  international
Don't miss the International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show.
   
Exhibitors: register now for the always well-attended International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Stop by and enjoy a beverage and conversation with international retailers, distributors and importers from more than 130 countries at the ninth-annual event taking place Wednesday, October 31, from 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Top international media from key overseas markets will also be in attendance. Registration is complimentary, but required. Register now while space remains.
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:28
  international
Don't miss the International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show.
   
Exhibitors: register now for the always well-attended International Happy Hour during the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Stop by and enjoy a beverage and conversation with international retailers, distributors and importers from more than 130 countries at the ninth-annual event taking place Wednesday, October 31, from 5:00 p.m.–7:00 p.m. Top international media from key overseas markets will also be in attendance. Registration is complimentary, but required. Register now while space remains.
Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:18
   middle east
Register now for the 2013 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, being held in Dubai, UAE, March 13–16, 2013.
   

Buyers from throughout the region, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, have identified a growing list of products they are seeking. Middle East buyers have expressed an interest in suspension kits, tonneau covers, superchargers, turbochargers, exhausts, air intakes, wheels, tires, fender flares and lights.

 Register now for the 2013 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, being held in Dubai, UAE, March 13–16, 2013.

Qualified U.S. companies can be immediately approved for a $1,000 U.S. government grant to help defray the costs.

 For more information, contact lindas@sema.org.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 17:18
   middle east
Register now for the 2013 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, being held in Dubai, UAE, March 13–16, 2013.
   

Buyers from throughout the region, including United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, have identified a growing list of products they are seeking. Middle East buyers have expressed an interest in suspension kits, tonneau covers, superchargers, turbochargers, exhausts, air intakes, wheels, tires, fender flares and lights.

 Register now for the 2013 SEMA Middle East Business Development Conference, being held in Dubai, UAE, March 13–16, 2013.

Qualified U.S. companies can be immediately approved for a $1,000 U.S. government grant to help defray the costs.

 For more information, contact lindas@sema.org.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 16:33
   busch
  busch

   busch
For the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge, NASCAR's Kyle Busch is remaking a ’12 Toyota Camry SE into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation.
   

Kyle Busch—whose 104 career wins across all three of its top series make him one of NASCAR’s top drivers in terms of diversity—is now hoping to head to the winner’s circle in a different kind of race: the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Busch—one of four racing stand-outs pitted against each other in the vehicle-modification build competition—is diving into a ’12 Toyota Camry SE and remaking it into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry, named after Busch’s nickname on the racing circuit, “Rowdy.”

Fans will determine by online voting which of the four modified Toyota vehicles will win the challenge, along with $50,000 to the winning driver’s charity of choice.

The Rowdy Edition Camry is all about style and substance. “Our approach to the build is to make a car with the stance, attitude and handling of a road-race car while retaining the functionality of a production Camry,” said Busch.

The modifications are being carried out at Detroit Speed & Engineering in Mooresville, North Carolina, under Busch’s supervision. “They make all of the body lines perfect and are really precise about looks,” Busch said, “so for me it was a no-brainer to come here” for the transformation.

Among the body modifications that the Camry will undergo to achieve the proper “Rowdy” image are a hand-formed custom wide-body kit, custom front and rear belly pans, DSE-designed and fabricated front air splitter and rear air diffuser and a custom dual exhaust system.

Since the official “Rowdy” colors are black, red and white, those colors predominate on the exterior and inside, where black and red leather Lexus IS-F bucket seats are being installed to complete the look.

The Rowdy Edition Camry will premiere publicly—along with its competitors in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge—October 30, in the Toyota display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Although the vehicle is not yet finished and the deadline for completion is looming, Busch is already pleased with what he sees. “This looks like something we should run at Daytona and Talladega,” he said. “The finished piece is going to look pretty good.”    

It needs to look good to compete with the other contestants in the challenge—fellow NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and his ultra-high-tech “Tekked-Out” Prius, NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria and her “Tundra Prerunner” desert racer and NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown, who is modifying a Sequoia for maximum speed.

All are competing for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and a $50,000 check from Toyota to the driver’s chosen charity. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation, whose mission is to empower young men and women by fostering life experiences and helping them achieve their goals.

A 28-episode online reality series has been developed around the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Fans can catch up with Busch and his team in Episode 5. New episodes are uploaded regularly at www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com.

Voting will open October 20 and continue through October 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day on Facebook, where they can also enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing “Dream Trip,” which will be given away to one lucky fan.

The final vehicle builds will be unveiled during Toyota’s press conference at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, October 30. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference and see the winner announced in real-time.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 16:33
   busch
  busch

   busch
For the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge, NASCAR's Kyle Busch is remaking a ’12 Toyota Camry SE into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation.
   

Kyle Busch—whose 104 career wins across all three of its top series make him one of NASCAR’s top drivers in terms of diversity—is now hoping to head to the winner’s circle in a different kind of race: the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Busch—one of four racing stand-outs pitted against each other in the vehicle-modification build competition—is diving into a ’12 Toyota Camry SE and remaking it into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry, named after Busch’s nickname on the racing circuit, “Rowdy.”

Fans will determine by online voting which of the four modified Toyota vehicles will win the challenge, along with $50,000 to the winning driver’s charity of choice.

The Rowdy Edition Camry is all about style and substance. “Our approach to the build is to make a car with the stance, attitude and handling of a road-race car while retaining the functionality of a production Camry,” said Busch.

The modifications are being carried out at Detroit Speed & Engineering in Mooresville, North Carolina, under Busch’s supervision. “They make all of the body lines perfect and are really precise about looks,” Busch said, “so for me it was a no-brainer to come here” for the transformation.

Among the body modifications that the Camry will undergo to achieve the proper “Rowdy” image are a hand-formed custom wide-body kit, custom front and rear belly pans, DSE-designed and fabricated front air splitter and rear air diffuser and a custom dual exhaust system.

Since the official “Rowdy” colors are black, red and white, those colors predominate on the exterior and inside, where black and red leather Lexus IS-F bucket seats are being installed to complete the look.

The Rowdy Edition Camry will premiere publicly—along with its competitors in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge—October 30, in the Toyota display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Although the vehicle is not yet finished and the deadline for completion is looming, Busch is already pleased with what he sees. “This looks like something we should run at Daytona and Talladega,” he said. “The finished piece is going to look pretty good.”    

It needs to look good to compete with the other contestants in the challenge—fellow NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and his ultra-high-tech “Tekked-Out” Prius, NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria and her “Tundra Prerunner” desert racer and NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown, who is modifying a Sequoia for maximum speed.

All are competing for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and a $50,000 check from Toyota to the driver’s chosen charity. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation, whose mission is to empower young men and women by fostering life experiences and helping them achieve their goals.

A 28-episode online reality series has been developed around the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Fans can catch up with Busch and his team in Episode 5. New episodes are uploaded regularly at www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com.

Voting will open October 20 and continue through October 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day on Facebook, where they can also enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing “Dream Trip,” which will be given away to one lucky fan.

The final vehicle builds will be unveiled during Toyota’s press conference at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, October 30. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference and see the winner announced in real-time.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 16:33
   busch
  busch

   busch
For the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge, NASCAR's Kyle Busch is remaking a ’12 Toyota Camry SE into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation.
   

Kyle Busch—whose 104 career wins across all three of its top series make him one of NASCAR’s top drivers in terms of diversity—is now hoping to head to the winner’s circle in a different kind of race: the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Busch—one of four racing stand-outs pitted against each other in the vehicle-modification build competition—is diving into a ’12 Toyota Camry SE and remaking it into the “Rowdy Edition” Camry, named after Busch’s nickname on the racing circuit, “Rowdy.”

Fans will determine by online voting which of the four modified Toyota vehicles will win the challenge, along with $50,000 to the winning driver’s charity of choice.

The Rowdy Edition Camry is all about style and substance. “Our approach to the build is to make a car with the stance, attitude and handling of a road-race car while retaining the functionality of a production Camry,” said Busch.

The modifications are being carried out at Detroit Speed & Engineering in Mooresville, North Carolina, under Busch’s supervision. “They make all of the body lines perfect and are really precise about looks,” Busch said, “so for me it was a no-brainer to come here” for the transformation.

Among the body modifications that the Camry will undergo to achieve the proper “Rowdy” image are a hand-formed custom wide-body kit, custom front and rear belly pans, DSE-designed and fabricated front air splitter and rear air diffuser and a custom dual exhaust system.

Since the official “Rowdy” colors are black, red and white, those colors predominate on the exterior and inside, where black and red leather Lexus IS-F bucket seats are being installed to complete the look.

The Rowdy Edition Camry will premiere publicly—along with its competitors in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge—October 30, in the Toyota display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Although the vehicle is not yet finished and the deadline for completion is looming, Busch is already pleased with what he sees. “This looks like something we should run at Daytona and Talladega,” he said. “The finished piece is going to look pretty good.”    

It needs to look good to compete with the other contestants in the challenge—fellow NASCAR driver Clint Bowyer and his ultra-high-tech “Tekked-Out” Prius, NHRA Funny Car driver Alexis DeJoria and her “Tundra Prerunner” desert racer and NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown, who is modifying a Sequoia for maximum speed.

All are competing for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and a $50,000 check from Toyota to the driver’s chosen charity. A win by Busch will benefit the Kyle Busch Foundation, whose mission is to empower young men and women by fostering life experiences and helping them achieve their goals.

A 28-episode online reality series has been developed around the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Fans can catch up with Busch and his team in Episode 5. New episodes are uploaded regularly at www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com.

Voting will open October 20 and continue through October 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day on Facebook, where they can also enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing “Dream Trip,” which will be given away to one lucky fan.

The final vehicle builds will be unveiled during Toyota’s press conference at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, October 30. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference and see the winner announced in real-time.

Thu, 09/20/2012 - 15:30
   alexis
   alexis
   alexis
For the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge, the NHRA's Alexis DeJoria is taking a stock Toyota Tundra full-size pickup and turning it into a fully race-ready desert racer she’s christened the “Tundra Prerunner.” The truck will debut October 30, at the 2012 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. A win by DeJoria will benefit Safety Harbor Kids.

Alexis DeJoria—one of only two women ever to win an NHRA Alcohol Funny Car race—is now the only woman in a different kind of competitive event—the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. DeJoria—one of four famous drivers aiming to win the vehicle-modification build competition—is taking a stock Toyota Tundra full-size pickup and turning it into a fully race-ready desert racer she’s christened the “Tundra Prerunner.”

Fans will determine by online voting which of the four modified Toyota vehicles will win the challenge, along with $50,000 to the winning driver’s charity of choice.

“We’re going to take a stock truck and make it cooler in every way,” said project lead Andy Peterson of Racer Engineering in San Jacinto, California, where the Tundra is being transformed under DeJoria’s supervision. “We’re going to make it go faster, bigger, louder.”

Racer Engineering is fabricating long A-arms, trailing arms and shocks to achieve 20 in. of wheel travel in front and 24 in. in the rear—enough to tackle virtually any navigable stretch of desert race territory.

DeJoria’s Tundra Prerunner will make its public debut—along with its rivals in the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge—October 30, in the Toyota display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

“I think this is going to be the baddest vehicle at SEMA,” said DeJoria, who drives the Tequila Patrón Toyota Camry Funny Car for Kalitta Motorsports. Patrón Spirits Co. is owned by DeJoria’s father, John Paul DeJoria, who co-founded the John Paul Mitchell Systems line of professional hair-care products.

DeJoria drag raced successfully in the NHRA Super Gas, Super Comp and Top Alcohol Funny Car series before joining the Toyota team in late 2011. And her project Tundra “is going to be fully caged front to rear, with big tires and wheels—we’re trying to make a statement,” according to Dale Dondel, owner of Racer Engineering.

Meanwhile, DeJoria’s competitors are trying to make statements of their own—NASCAR drivers Clint Bowyer and Kyle Busch, with their “Tekked-Out” Prius and “Rowdy”-edition Camry, respectively, along with the NHRA Top Fuel points leader Antron Brown and his built-for-speed Sequoia.

Each is competing for the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge title and a $50,000 check from Toyota to the driver’s chosen charity. A win by DeJoria will benefit Safety Harbor Kids, whose purpose is to enrich the lives of orphans, foster and homeless children through education.

A 28-episode online reality series has been developed around the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge. Fans can see the progress DeJoria’s team has made in Episode 4. New episodes are uploaded regularly at www.ToyotaRacingDreamBuild.com.

Voting will open October 20 and will continue through October 29. Fans will be able to vote once per day on Facebook, where they can also enter to win prizes, including a Toyota Racing “Dream Trip,” which will be given away to one lucky fan.

The final vehicle builds will be unveiled during a press conference in the Toyota display at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, October 30. Fans will be able to tune in live to watch the entire press conference and see the winner announced in real-time.