The Chrysler Group has been the strongest automaker doing business in America with a currently endless chain of year over year gains each month. This means that in the month being discussed, the company sold more vehicles than they did in the same month the previous year. In May 2013, the good times for the people under the Pentastar continued as every single current vehicle in the Dodge and Ram lineup showed positive year over year growth. In fact, the only vehicle currently being produced among all of the Chrysler Group brands to NOT show positive growth last month was the Chrysler 300. Literally every other vehicle being built today sent out more units in May 2013 than they did in May 2012 and that is a great sign of how well things are going for the whole Chrysler Group.
Within the Dodge brand, the only vehicles on the list to show a decline in sales were the Caliber and the Nitro – both of which are way out of production. The Durango was the top dog with a jump of 24% followed by the Charger with an increase of 23%. Next, the Journey and Challenger tied with 15% each while the Caravan lineup saw things improve by 4% and the Avenger increased by roughly 1%. Overall, Dodge grew by 23% over the same month last year.
Over in the Ram Truck brand, the Ram pickup and Ram C/V both saw significant gains with the Ram family increasing by 22% while the Caravan based Ram Cargo Van jumped by a whopping 218%. The Dakota (again, out of production) showed negative growth but that barely had any impact on the overall growth of the Ram brand of 24%.
Outside of the Dodge and Ram brands, Jeep grew by just 1% but much of that is due to the discontinuation of the popular Liberty. Fiat grew by 1% and due to the surprising drop in 300 sales, the luxury arm of the Chrysler Group saw overall sales decline by 2% even though the 200 and the Town & Country both posted positive growth.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
