Dodge Charger Experience

[DodgeInfoCenter]

Hello there guys,
It's me again from the Dodge Info Center. I was just wondering, how many of you guys have had a chance to check out the Unleash Your Freak sweepstakes on the Dodge website? I also wanted to inform you guys of a contest that Dodge is currently running. It's called the HEMI Guy contest and it is geared to any of you Dodge freaks who would like a chance to appear in your very own Dodge commercial! Again without having to buy a thing!

Check it out...

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 22

Wanna be a 'HEMI(R) Star'? Dodge Announces National Talent Search for New HEMI Guy Who Will Co-Star in Ad Campaign to Launch the New 2006 Dodge Ram 1500
* Deadline for entries is Oct. 8, 2005
* New HEMI Character to Co-star in National Television Campaign for the
New 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup Truck

Dodge brand today announced "HEMI Star," a national talent search for a new "HEMI Guy or Gal" to co-star in a national advertising campaign that will launch the new 2006 Dodge Ram 1500 Pickup Truck.
"With a take rate of 60% for Dodge Ram 1500, HEMI has become a brand within our brands," said Steven Landry, Vice President, Dodge. "Our commercials and this engine continue to resonate with consumers."
The talent search officially kicks off with print advertising on
September 26 and will feature Jon Reep, HEMI Guy No. 1 -- best known for his famous, "That thing got a HEMI?" line. Reep's picture will be placed next to a cutout white space where his ex-side-kick once stood that reads, "YOU ARE
HERE."
Two versions of the ad will run in national and local publications and promote open casting calls throughout the country at various events. For a list of audition locations, information on the competition, and where audition tapes can be mailed, visit http://dodge.com/hemistar , which launches on Friday, September 30. All entries must be postmarked by Oct. 8, 2005.
Print advertisements will be followed by a 30-second television spot where only HEMI Guy No. 1 appears. Titled "Carrier," the ad breaks in mid-October and is the launch spot for the new 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. The commercial lets consumers know what happened to HEMI Guy No. 2, whose signature line was
"Sweeet."
"We are looking for a co-star that has a real passion for Dodge, Dodge trucks and HEMI engines," said Landry.
"Carrier" will air as candidates for the new HEMI Star are narrowed down through voting on http://dodge.com/hemistar . In late October, HEMI Star finalists will be posted on the HEMI Star Web site where consumers will have
the opportunity to vote, narrowing the candidates down to two. In early
November, the top two candidates will be posted on the site and an event where
HEMI Guy No. 1 will choose his own new co-star will follow. Details of the event will be announced at later date.
Two additional 30-seconds television spots will be created for the launch of the new vehicle and feature the new HEMI Star character.
The original HEMI Guys appeared in their first commercial, "Muscle," (10/02) to launch the 2003 Ram Heavy Duty Pickup. Since then, five additional commercials featuring the two HEMI loving characters have aired: "Beef Jerky"
(01/03), "Revenge" (02/03), "HEMI To Go" (10/03), "Convoy (10/04), and
"Wishful Thinking" (12/04).
Advertising that has included the HEMI Guys has achieved some of the highest scores across all advertising categories tested by Millward Brown, a
market research consultancy that has copy tested more than 34,000 ads worldwide and had done advertising related research for 70 of the Top 100 US advertisers.

* Awareness Index or the ability to get notices and break through the clutter
"HEMI to Go" Top 1% ever tested
"Muscle" Top 5% ever tested
"Convoy" Top 8% ever tested
"Wishful Thinking" Top 8% ever tested

* Persuasion Score or the ability to build consideration
"HEMI" Top 5% ever tested
"Muscle" Top 12% ever tested
"Wishful Thinking" Top 15% ever tested

The HEMI and the tag lines "Hey, that thing got a HEMI?" and "Sweeet" have also worked their way into pop culture appearing in syndicated cartoons, as clues for crossword puzzles and on licensed goods.

About Dodge Brand
As one of America's best-known brands, Dodge creates exceptional driving experiences with bold, powerful, street smart and do more vehicles, including the Dodge Viper SRT10, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Ram, Dodge Caravan, and the Dodge Charger. From performance to commercial vehicles, Dodge cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans offer affordable performance.
With a U.S. market share of approximately seven percent, Dodge is the fifth-largest nameplate in the United States. In 2004, Dodge sold more than
1.4 million vehicles worldwide. Dodge continues to lead the minivan market segment with a 20 percent U.S. market share and maintains an 18 percent share
of the highly competitive truck market.
For more information on Dodge and its products, visit www.dodge.com

Regards,

Miguel M.
Marketing Representative
Dodge Information Center
1-800-4A-DODGE/ 1-800-423-6343
www.dodge.com
[email protected]

[Prius]

everybody spam now!

spam, spam spam spam spam.


but I got a question, what made you abondon the Pentastar logo, and limit it to repairbills and the glass of teh cars?

[Esperante]

i hate to say this, but taz said that advertising is spamming yet you did it twice more

As much as he is spamming he is indulging us in some very pertenant information, and it's not the type of spamming in which we get 'direk rim from China! go to http://wdahkdghkjad.cah...' It's actually kind of nice to have someone who knows the car inside out to be telling us about it.

[henk4]

Dear Miguel,

your latest contribution came very close to being spam, and it is even more annoying because you did not take the trouble to reply to comments made by somebody who actually drove a Charger, because that was what you wanted to find out in this thread. I suggest you replace your last post with something serious otherwise I am afraid your contributions will no longer be tolerated.

[DodgeInfoCenter]

Apologies on the behalf of Miguel. We are rather new at this so we are learning as we go. My name is Dan and I’m filling in for Miguel while he’s on vacation.

Your concerns with the Charger SE are surely noted, large sedans and SUV’s feel underpowered in the lowest trim class. This holds true for the industry in general, the SE is still a good car as long as your realistic. For 23K we feel its a good buy for consumers looking for a safe dependable vehicle.

The Charger is certainly no feather weight either, the vehicle alone weights in at a hefty 3800lbs. Add in a few passengers and luggage and the 250hp 3.5L V6 really has to work to get the vehicle to move. It could be the reason so many chargers have been sold with the Hemi power plant (70%).

The Hemi provides a really good performance boost without many drawbacks. In these days of "pain at the pumps" the V6 bests the V8 by small 2mpg margin all thanks to MDS. (V6 = 19city / 27hw, V8 = 17city / 25hw).

The 300 and Charger exist on the same platform; many components are interchangeable between models including drive train components. It’s possible that the Mercedes Turbo Diesels may have a place under the hoods of the DCX vehicle family, but at this point we haven’t received word. Unfortunately, Diesel Engines in North America still retain the dirty, noisy, polluting stigma attached to the diesels of the past.

Although in time, high(er) fuel prices may change the minds of many.

Once again id like to apologize, if I missed anyone’s questions please feel free to post them again, PM me or email us directly.

Cheers,

Dan
Marketing Representative, Dodge Information Center
1-800-4A-DODGE (1-800-423-6343)
[email protected]

[DodgeInfoCenter]

Well guys,

For those of you interested in winning an all-new 2006 Dodge Charger SRT-8 through the Unleash Your Freak contest on the Dodge website, this is just a reminder that the final time to enter to win is tomorrow, October 18, 2005 at exactly 1pm ET . This - fifth - entry period begins at 1:00pm ET and ends at 2:00pm ET. Just remember, that if you don't win the Charger, you can still enter the Hemistar contest for your chance to star in one of Dodge's new ad campaigns for the Dodge Ram! All you need to do to win is prove, in one minute, that you have the HEMI-ability to be the new HEMI Guy/Gal #2! See the above link for full rules & eligibility.

Good luck to all who participate!

Take care,
Dan
Marketing Representative, Dodge Information Center
1-800-4A-DODGE (1-800-423-6343)
[email protected]

[Prius]

no offense, but I have a funny feeling that the Charger will be a flop, heres why, you said that the Charger is aimed at middle aged to the older market, but the advertising makes it seem like it is aimed at the youth market, and if it is, the price is too high for the youth to afford. Also, many fans who would want the Charger, were put off by it's 4 doors, as they preferred a coupe (which will happen with the Challenger) and also, fuel mileage, since Gas is about to hit $3 a gallon, a car gets the late teens in fuel mileage will not be very popular as many people were wanting fuel efficient cars, even if it is a used Baretta. But I feel the the 300 C will be a roaring success because it fits into Chrysler's lineup with it's mini Rolls Royce styling, while the Charger stands out like a sore thumb.


EDIT: fixed grammer

[henk4]

Apologies on the behalf of Miguel. We are rather new at this so we are learning as we go. My name is Dan and I’m filling in for Miguel while he’s on vacation.
The 300 and Charger exist on the same platform; many components are interchangeable between models including drive train components. It’s possible that the Mercedes Turbo Diesels may have a place under the hoods of the DCX vehicle family, but at this point we haven’t received word. Unfortunately, Diesel Engines in North America still retain the dirty, noisy, polluting stigma attached to the diesels of the past.

Although in time, high(er) fuel prices may change the minds of many.

Hi Dan, thanks for jumping in for Miguel, I have to admit that I got a bit annoyed for receiving no real response.
When at the Frankfurt motorshow I found an interesting piece of information regarding the Mercedes 320CDi (Available in the USA I think for 50,000 US$ or twice the price of the Charger) which has the same engine that is now fitted into the 300CD in Europe. I have posted the info, but it is german. However what it boils down to is that 3 standard cars did 100,000 miles in 30 days with an average speed of almost 225 kph on the Laredo oval. A couple of days later the same cars covered 1000 miles between Laredo and Tallahassee using less than 5 liter of fuel per km. (47 mpg).
What the sign does not say is of course how fuel was consumed during the record drive, and also not what the average speed was over the 1000 miles, but you can see that the potential for diesel engine (with particulate filters of course) is there.

If you search the web for Mercedes Diesel and Laredo you will be able to find the full story in English.

[nota]

no offence, but I have a funny feeling that the Charger will be a flop, heres why, you said that the Charger is aimed at middle aged to the older market, but the advertising makes it seem like it is aimed at teh outh market, and if it is, the price is too high for the youth to afford.

Ah but you've forgotten one of the maxims within automotive marketing ..

it's easy to sell a young man's car to older men, but not the other way around

[DodgeInfoCenter]

Hi Dan, thanks for jumping in for Miguel, I have to admit that I got a bit annoyed for receiving no real response.

Thanks for the replies guys, and thank you all for participating!

And remember, you still have the opportunity to enter the Hemistar contest. If you are interested, check out the link!

Henk4,
My sincere apologies for not responding to your comments regarding the 2006 Dodge Charger, I was carrying out an assigned task and unfortunately overlooked your comments. I'm looking forward to communicating with you in the future.

Regards,

Miguel M.
Marketing Representative
Dodge Information Center
1-800-4-ADODGE/1-800-423-6343
www.Dodge.com
[email protected]

[henk4]

you must be embarrassed to make the same post twice

[DodgeInfoCenter]

you must be embarrassed to make the same post twice

That's hysterical. So much for the edit function. But you get my drift.
As an aside, do you happen to have more questions/comments regarding the Charger, the contest(s), etc..? I'd be glad to help out.

Talk to you soon,

Miguel M.

[clutch-monkey]

will they be sold in RHD in Australia?

[DodgeInfoCenter]

Hi Dan, thanks for jumping in for Miguel, I have to admit that I got a bit annoyed for receiving no real response.
When at the Frankfurt motorshow I found an interesting piece of information regarding the Mercedes 320CDi (Available in the USA I think for 50,000 US$ or twice the price of the Charger) which has the same engine that is now fitted into the 300CD in Europe. I have posted the info, but it is german. However what it boils down to is that 3 standard cars did 100,000 miles in 30 days with an average speed of almost 225 kph on the Laredo oval. A couple of days later the same cars covered 1000 miles between Laredo and Tallahassee using less than 5 liter of fuel per km. (47 mpg).
What the sign does not say is of course how fuel was consumed during the record drive, and also not what the average speed was over the 1000 miles, but you can see that the potential for diesel engine (with particulate filters of course) is there.

If you search the web for Mercedes Diesel and Laredo you will be able to find the full story in English.

Hello henk4,

I have read that article on our media site previously, for all those who cannot read German here is a similar version here:
http://www.germancarfans.com/news.cf...ercedes/1.html

Like I said before, the current problem plaguing diesel engines is the United States is the stigma associated with them. Unfortunately the majority of people still regard Diesel engines as loud and dirty despite the engineering advancements which have been made them anything but. With the newest generation of particulate filters, the 320CDI engines pass even the world’s strictest Californian CARB regulations.

Unfortunately at this time, we don’t have any information regarding the availability of the Diesel engines in any of the LX vehicles for the 2006 model year. Personally I see a large market for diesel technology. Our partnership with Mercedes Benz gives us the technology to develop fuel efficient, low emission power plants for our next generation of vehicles. With rising North American gas prices and our effort to lower oil consumption, consumers will hopefully open to diesels the way Europe has for decades.

will they be sold in RHD in Australia?

In regards to the Australian availability of DaimlerChrysler vehicles, you would have to contact the DiamlerChrysler International assistance center. From our offices, we only have information pertaining to USA vehicle pricing, equipment and availability.

If you wish to contact them you can do so in the following ways

Phone: 1-248-512-7730 - voice mail message, one day business day reply
Website: www.international.chrysler.com

Thanks for your comments.

Dan
Marketing Representative, Dodge Information Center
[email protected]
1-800-4A-DODGE (1-800-423-6343)

[henk4]

Like I said before, the current problem plaguing diesel engines is the United States is the stigma associated with them. Unfortunately the majority of people still regard Diesel engines as loud and dirty despite the engineering advancements which have been made them anything but. With the newest generation of particulate filters, the 320CDI engines pass even the world’s strictest Californian CARB regulations.

Catch 22 again, if you don't present the new things to the people, they will always keep their prejudice. May be you should start to bring over the Chrysler 300 Diesel.