Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Yark Automotive Group gives largest donation in partnership history to Make-A-Wish

Yark Automotive Group gives largest donation in partnership 
history to Make-A-Wish

TOLEDO, OH-  Yark Automotive Group will donate its largest check yet to the Make-A-Wish Foundation NW Ohio Region.

On January 26th at 9am in the Yark Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram Showroom on the Central Avenue Strip, Doug Kearns, Yark Automotive Group Vice President, will present a check for $19,335.00 to Eric Slough, the Executive Director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

As part of an annual event, Yark Automotive Group donates a portion of every vehicle sold and serviced in the month of December to the Make A Wish Foundation.  This year’s donation is the largest amount presented by Yark since the partnership began 8 years ago and represents a grand total given in excess of $130,000.  This donation will help grant approximately 4 wishes to children with life threatening medical conditions in our region.

“It is such a honor to be able to make such a difference in a child’s life and we are proud to be partnered with such an amazing organization as Make-A-Wish,” said Kearns, who also sits on the regional MAW Board.  “We have had the pleasure of having Make-A-Wish family recipients involved in our efforts here at the dealership to show the importance of Make-A-Wish.  It is truly a special organization.”

Yark hosted the Halko Family at its Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram dealership promoting the Make-A-Wish Holiday CD for anyone who test drove a car.  Kaylee Halko, an 8 year old girl who suffers from Progeria, was also featured as the voice of Virginia in “Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus” on the Holiday Wishes CD.  Later the same day, Yark Automotive invited the Fineske family, who’s son Jackson is recovering from brain cancer, to speak at their annual Holiday Party about the families Wish and how amazing the experience was for them and for Jackson.  Both families were instrumental in making Yark’s efforts a success.

Yark Automotive Group has partnered with Make-A-Wish as part of its Community Partner Mission.  That mission is ‘to be a good corporate citizen supporting organizations dedicated to uplifting the people and community where we live.’ To learn more, visit Yark’s Community Partnership pages at www.yarkcommunity.com.  Yark Automotive Group is conveniently located at 6019 West Central Avenue, a half-mile east of I-475. Yark Chevrolet is located at 9830 Rt 64 in Whitehouse, Ohio.  Visit Yark online atwww.yarkauto.com.


Founded by Jim Yark in 1981, Yark Automotive Group has grown from 50 employees and less than $20 million in sales to more than 300 employees and annual sales of over $225 million. For the last 17 years, Yark Automotive Group has been the Largest Volume New & Used Vehicle Dealership in Northwest Ohio & Southeast Michigan showcasing 9 vehicle franchises: BMW, Nissan, Subaru, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, & FIAT.  Yark Automotive Group is a Better Business Bureau Torch Award Winner for Marketplace Ethics.

The Yark family is originally from Toledo and both Yark brothers, Jim and John, graduated from local high schools and The Ohio State University. After acquiring the organization in 1981, Jim Yark, Owner & President implemented a detailed business plan and grew the dealership to include its 9 franchises, 6 Pre-Owned vehicle lots, a body shop, a car rental company and the area’s largest retail and wholesale parts department.  Today, the business continues to grow and the family tradition continues with 4 of the Yark children now working in various positions within the company.


Thursday, January 5, 2012


Top 10 Reasons Chrysler Group Had a Great 2011


Chrysler Group and its brands ended 2011 on a high note -- with December seeing our best sales volume of the year: 138,019 vehicles sold, for the 21st straight month of sales growth.

For all of 2011, Chrysler sales were up 26% from 2010, at 1,369,114.

But why?

Why was 2011 such a good year? Well, we may not have all the answers but think a Top 10 list might be a good place to start.

10) CEO Sergio Marchionne's consistent fashion sense, which gets far more media attention than it should, provides a subtle sense of corporate stability.

9) Dodge Durango: Back after a two-year hiatus checking out Europe, working out and hitting the books, it was welcomed back with open arms. Its 51,697 SUVs sold was the driving force in Dodge brand's 18% growth in 2011. Durango is made at our Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit.

8) Jeep® Grand Cherokee: In its first full calendar year as a redesign (the 2011-model year version was introduced in May 2010), the most-awarded SUV ever was our #2 seller for 2011 (127,744 sold, up 51%), with December being its best month of the year with 17,346 sold, a 36% jump over 12/2010. Like the Durango, the Grand Cherokee is made at JNAP.


7) SRT Brand -- where high-performance meets high-luxury. After a relatively quiet few years, SRT was reborn as a stand-alone brand in the summer. With VP of Design Ralph Gilles appointed to lead SRT as president, the Dodge Challenger SRT8 was joined by Chrysler 300 SRT8, Dodge Charger SRT8 and Grand Cherokee SRT8. The SRT family will grow again with the 2013 SRT Viper later this year.

6) Jeep Wrangler: When you think Jeep, you usually picture a Wrangler. Sales of the Toledo, Ohio-made icon surged during the last half of 2011 to the point Wrangler challenged Grand Cherokee for the Jeep lead. After another strong month in December (11,415 in sales, up 39%), Wrangler finished the year with 122,460 sold. Good for a 30% increase from 2010.

5) Ram Pickup: Durable, reliable, hard-working workhorse of the company, Ram pickup trucks are consistently our #1 selling vehicle. In December, Ram pickup had its best month since March 2008 with 26,013 sold; up 12% from 12/2010. For the year, sales were up 23% to 244,763 trucks sold -- making it the #7 selling vehicle for the year.

4) Chrysler 200 / Born of Fire: What a way to start a year!! The two-minute TV spot that debuted in February helped spark a renewed self-confidence in Detroit, started the Imported from Detroit Project, and helped drive sales of the new Chrysler 200 all year long. The 200, made at our Sterling Heights (MI) Assembly Plant, finished 2011 with 87,033 cars sold, far more than the 38,620 Sebrings sold in 2010.

3) Chrysler Group employees, contractors, suppliers and vendors. While Sergio Marchionne leads the way, it takes everyone connected to the company to do their job to the best of their ability to ensure the company founded by Walter P. Chrysler continues to prosper.

2) Chrysler Group dealers: They've faced some tough times just like we have, and have survived. They're out in front, working with and trying to help customers with sales and service. The fate of Chrysler Group and our dealers are intimately intertwined.

And the #1 reason Chrysler Group had a great year....the nearly 1.4 million people in the U.S. who put their faith in us and purchased a new vehicle. The company, our dealers and supply chain would be non-existent without your support and confidence in us.

Thank you.

Images
Top
SRT family (L to R) 2012 Chrysler 300 SRT8, Dodge Charger SRT8, Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

Bottom
2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Arctic

Source:  Chrysler Blog- By Mike Driehorst- 01.05.12

Monday, January 2, 2012

The Detroit Auto Show will showcase Mopar's Chrysler 200 Super S & the Dodge Charger Redline

The 2013 Dodge Dart is a big deal for Chrysler, so it makes sense that the majority of the company's attention at the Detroit Auto Show will be focused around the new C-segment sedan. But since the automaker doesn't want to blow its whole show presence on just one vehicle, its Mopar tuning arm has stepped in to create two new vehicles for show-goers to ogle – the Chrysler 200 Super S and Dodge Charger Redline.

In its stock form, the Chrysler 200 certainly isn't going to win any design awards, but we'll admit it: Based on these pics, the Super S looks good, at least from the front. The Super S Stage One kit adds visual flare in the form of a front chin spoiler, satin chrome fog light trim, satin chrome grille surround and a new mesh grille design. What's more, there are new side sills, black chrome badges and bespoke 18-inch "S" alloy wheels, a trunk lid spoiler, satin chrome rear light bar and a matte black lower diffuser with integrated exhaust openings.

Want some performance to back up that new look? There aren't any real power upgrades for the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 engine, but the Stage Two kit adds a coil-over suspension, cold air intake and cat-back exhaust. Chrysler says Super S packages will be available on 200S models starting sometime later this year.

Moving on up, the Charger Redline shows off three different Mopar tuning kits that will also be available later in 2012. Stage One adds a full-width carbon fiber chin spoiler to the Charger's aggressive front fascia, 20-inch Black Envy wheels, carbon fiber door scoops, a three-piece carbon fiber rear spoiler (pictured, right) and a roof graphic in matte black. We've had a chance to see the Charger Redline in person, and truth be told, we don't find it terribly attractive – especially the tacked-on side vents and spoiler. Though it traces its look to the anything-goes 1970s Mopar models, we'd prefer to just leave the decidedly handsome Charger alone, at least, aesthetically speaking.

The Stage Two and Stage Three performance upgrades, on the other hand, we'll take. Stage Two incorporates a cat-back performance exhaust, a front-tower cross-brace and tower brace caps, along with high-performance Mopar brake linings. But what we really want is Stage Three, which includes a high-output version of the 426 Hemi V8 crate engine – designed for racing use only. In addition to delivering 590 horsepower – 220 more than the standard V8 Charger – the engine weighs 100 pounds less than the standard cast-iron crate version. Too bad this setup isn't approved for use on public roads.



Source:  autoblog