Each summer, Chrysler Group plants around North American
take a couple weeks off so that they can re-tool the facilities for the
upcoming model year while also allowing the dealerships to sell off existing
models sitting on lots but due to strong sales through the first four months of
2012 – several Chrysler Group plants will stay open through their scheduled
downtime.
First and foremost, the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in
Detroit and the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois will both completely skip
their scheduled two week summer downtime. Jefferson North builds the Dodge Durango and the Jeep Grand Cherokee
while Belvidere currently builds the awesome new Dodge Dart alongside the Jeep
Compass and Jeep Patriot.The strong
sales of the Durango, Grand Cherokee, Patriot and Compass require these two
plants to stay open all summer – bolstered by the start of production of the
new Dart.Also, the Toluca Car Assembly
Plant in Mexico will skip their summer downtime.Toluca produces the Dodge Journey (and the
Fiat Freemont) along with the compact Fiat 500.
Two plants around North America will take one week off
rather than two, as the Sterling Heights Michigan plant and Saltillo Truck
Assembly will each take shorter than expected periods of downtime.Sterling Heights produces the Dodge Avenger
and the Chrysler 200 while Saltillo produces the Ram pickup.
Finally, there are a handful of facilities that will undergo
two week shutdowns during the summer for retooling.This includes Brampton Assembly, Warren
(Michigan) Truck Assembly, Windsor Assembly and Toledo North.Brampton builds the Dodge Charger, Dodge
Challenger and Chrysler 300; Windsor Assembly builds the Chrysler Town &
Country alongside the Dodge Grand Caravan; Warren Truck builds the Ram pickup
and Toledo North builds the Jeep Liberty.
"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.
Each summer, Chrysler Group plants around North American