Mopar® Celebrates 75th Anniversary

Simple Parts Line Evolved into Global Service, Parts and Customer-care Brand

January 30, 2012 , Auburn Hills, Mich. -  Mopar or no car.

The Mopar® brand will proudly celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2012.

Starting as the name of a single product — anti-freeze — the Mopar brand evolved over 75 years, developing a strong identity that represents authentic parts and accessories, expert service, and convenient car care. Today, Mopar is moving full-speed ahead into the global marketplace and building on its reputation for top quality, trusted service and high performance.

“The Mopar brand has a proud, 75-year heritage,” said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar. “The mission at Mopar today is to fully support all of our brands by providing every single one of our customers with an exceptional after-sales experience. We will do this by continuing to offer cutting-edge technology, innovative products, authentic, quality-tested parts, and high-quality customer service.”

How it Began: MOtor PARts
The Mopar brand was officially trademarked in 1937 at a meeting of the Chrysler Parts Corporation’s Activities Council in Highland Park, Mich. The committee mulled over a list of names for Chrysler’s anti-freeze product and came up with “MoPar,” a contraction of the words MOtor and PARts.

Mopar became a brand name for most Chrysler Corporation parts, and gradually evolved into the name of the parts business itself. The moniker was officially attached to a Chrysler parts organization in the late 1960s, when Chrysler created an aftermarket business unit named the Mopar Division.

Mopar in the 1960s
In the 1960s, the brand took on an expanded meaning with the advent of high-performance “package cars,” based on the 1962 Dodge Dart and Plymouth Belvedere. These specially crafted race vehicles dominated the drag strip, garnering the brand enduring respect from grassroots racers and automotive enthusiasts.

The 1960s also saw the introduction of Max Wedge and HEMI® Super Stock package cars, as well as altered-wheelbase “funny cars.” Racers and enthusiasts began to refer to these exciting new race cars as “Mopars,” and a new car culture began to emerge.

The last package cars of the era appeared in 1968, when Chrysler built a series of Dodge Dart and Plymouth Barracuda HEMI Super Stock cars. The legacy of these race vehicles is carried on today in NHRA competition in the Super Stock/A-HEMI (SS/AH) class in the Mopar HEMI Challenge.

Mopar further served this new market for high-performance by introducing a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers, which was continuously expanded throughout the 1970s and 1980s as the Mopar “Direct Connection” line of parts. The brand’s performance parts business ultimately developed into the Mopar Performance Parts division in 1987, with the aim of enhancing speed and handling in vehicles for both road and racing use.

Mopar Today: A Global Brand Supporting Chrysler Group LLC and Fiat S.p.A
With Chrysler Group LLC’s partnership with Fiat S.p.A, Mopar continues to expand its global footprint. In 2011, Mopar opened operations in Shanghai and Dubai along with Mopar Express Lanes in the Middle East. The brand started showcasing its vast product portfolio at international auto shows including Frankfurt and Bologna. And to support the North American launch of the new Fiat 500, Mopar introduced more than 150 quality-tested accessories.

The evolution of Mopar continues unabated, with a number of milestones and innovations achieved in recent years. In November 2008 Mopar reintroduced the “package car”— the 2009 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak, with the first of the race-ready vehicles delivered to Mopar drag-racing legend “Big Daddy” Don Garlits. Mopar also produced a 2010 version and then ramped up the program with more cylinders and more excitement with the introduction of the 2011 Mopar Challenger V-10 Drag Pak, a 512 cubic-inch monster.

The brand revealed a historic “first” in 2010 with the introduction of the Mopar ’10 Challenger, the first-ever Mopar version of a production Chrysler Group vehicle. The Mopar ’11 Charger followed for the 2011 model year, putting first-ever limited-edition, Mopar-badged production vehicles on the showroom floor.

Over the years, Mopar expanded its service and parts offerings. With the introduction of Mopar Express Lane service, customers now have an option for fast, affordable and dependable routine vehicle service. And with extended customer-service hours on Saturday, needed repairs and service may be scheduled to fit in even the most hectic schedule.

Today, competitive makes are also welcome for Mopar service at Chrysler Group dealers. The brand’s new partnership with Magneti Marelli, announced in April 2011, gives the Chrysler Group dealership network the ability to fully service competitive vehicles. The Italian aftermarket parts supplier is currently supplying Mopar and Chrysler Group dealers with more than 3,000 parts including brakes, shocks, struts, oil filters, air filters, fuel filters and cabin filters for competitive makes.

Through its long history, Mopar has always been on the leading edge of technical advancements, and the brand continues to blaze a trail on the technological front. Recent industry-first features from Mopar include smartphone vehicle-information applications, electronic owner manuals, in-vehicle Wi-Fi, and a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far.

After 75 years, Mopar continues to serve a vital role in the success of Chrysler Group, reflecting the brand’s strength and heritage. The source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram, SRT® and Fiat vehicles, Mopar adds value to every Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A vehicle, with the shared goal of adding value to the company’s brands and satisfying customers.

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 consumers
• Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS): first to market with a new interactive vehicle tracking device that sends owner a text when vehicle is driven too fast or too far based on pre-set parameters
• Wi-Fi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format
• 2011 Mopar Challenger Drag Pak: first to introduce a 500-plus cubic-inch V-10 drag-race package car
• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network

About the 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 Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. partnership, Mopar is extending its global reach, integrating service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Combined with Fiat S.p.A., Mopar’s global portfolio includes more than 500,000 parts and accessories which are distributed in more than 120 countries. Mopar is the source for all genuine parts and accessories for Chrysler Group and Fiat S.p.A. 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 S.p.A.vehicles — a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

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 muscle-car era. The 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.