Chrysler Brand & Vehicle Timeline

Pivotal Chrysler moments, by the Decade -

http://www.chryslerhistory.com/ does a fabulous job presenting the whole story.

I was curious how Chrysler became Chrysler - Dodge - Jeep - Ram, so I've included the information that answers that question and I sprinkled in make and model information to keep it interesting.

To get a good look at the makes Chrysler is still manufacturing today, go to our new inventory page.

1900s - Dodge Brothers Company is founded

1920s -Walter P. Chrysler founds The

Chrysler Corporation; Chrysler buys Dodge; Plymouth is introduced; Desoto introduced

1930s - Mopar is launched

1950s -Chrysler introduces the Hemi

1960s -The Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Dart, Plymouth Barracuda and Dodge Charger are released; Desoto is discontinued

1970s -Lee Iaccoca becomes CEO, Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager (the first mini-vans) are introduced; Dodge Challenger is released;Jeep Cherokee is introduced

1980s - Chrysler acquires Jeep with the purchase of American Motors Corporation; Ram name first used for Dodge trucks

1990s - Iaccoca retires, Daimler-Benz buys Chrysler changing the name to Daimler Chrysler; Jeep Grand Cherokee and Jeep Wrangler are released, Chrysler Town & Country (mini-van) is released


2000s – Fiat and Chrysler create global alliance; Concorde is redesigned and released as Chrysler 300; Dodge SRT4, Dodge Charger, Dodge Journey and Dodge Avenger are introduced; Dodge Challenger is re-released; Jeep Compass, Jeep Patriot, and Jeep Liberty are introduced; Plymouth's last model year

2010s – Sebring is redesigned and renamed Chrysler 200; Ram trucks separate from Dodge and Dodge designs new branding; Dodge redesigns the Dodge Dart

To get a closer look at the makes Chrysler is still manufacturing today, go to our newinventory page.

Vehicle Maintenance

I ♥ my

 

 Do you know how often you should get an oil change? What if you use synthetic oil? How often should you replace your windshield wipers? Click below for a printable sheet you can keep in your car to remind you of your next service. Every car (and driver) is different, but this sheet will give you a good idea of how often you should service your vehicle, after all, it gets you where ever you need to go, right? A car is the 2nd most expensive investment most people make in their lives, so take good care of it :-) and it will last a very long time.

These guys know what they are doing. Many of them have worked at the Golling's Arena Service Center for 20 years or more. They are certified technicians and patient problem solvers. They will treat your car like their own.

The attachment is just a guide. If you have have particular questions definitely give us a call at 937-276-5056.If you see that we are missing any services, we will certainly add them, if you leave a comment.

Click here for your printable maintenance schedule

*We were having technical difficulties, but we figured it out and now it works.

Our Internet/Business Center

A few weeks ago weeks ago, our fearless leader decided to renovate a room for our Internet team. We had to tear out a wall, paint, and put down carpet. These pictures show the progression into our new Internet/Business Center, where we will be answering emails, creating blog posts, updating social media, contacting customers for service, and otherwise make Golling's the best place in town to buy a new or used car!

The room was pretty dirty after ripping down the wall.

Van-Con Construction was here through out the day working on the renovations. It started to look better after about the first week. It took awhile to decide what color carpet we wanted.   I'm not sure what they did to balance the floor, but it's impressively flat now.

One the carpet was installed, we were able to  get our desks in place.

 

Then they added the

(Dodge) Ram to the back wall...sweet, huh?

The huge white board will be where were display our activity. (I need one of those for my kids!)

Kay and Stefan say, "Hi!" Stop by Golling's Arena and see us! Thank you, Van-Con!

 

 

            

Dodge Viper

We had a Dodge Viper in for service last week (although we do not sell them we do service them).  I took this photo, then Tim Miller, our Service Manager, gave me a disc full of photos from the Dodge Viper Club!

Golling's Arena is an official sponsor of the Viper Club of Ohio. The cars pictured were on display at a charity event.

The Dodge Viper has been in production since 1991. It was created as a "concept car" in 1988, but picked up enough interest to be taken seriously. All Vipers are equipped with a V10 engine and manual transmission. The Viper's top speed is over 160 mph. It has large tires for taking tight corners.

The first design hit 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and 100 mph in less than 9.4 seconds. The fourth generation, in 2012 improved on this by reaching 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and 100 mph in 7.6 seconds.

I like the gray one...

So, how much is a Viper? I found a 2006 Dodge Viper for $63,000. There were some 2010 models for sale for around $66,000. Dan Kirk, our General Manager at Gollings, said the 2013 Dodge Viper will be "$125,000, pretty well equipped."

Dodge is only making 1500 Dodge Vipers for 2013. Dealers must have a "High Performance" agreement to sell them, so make sure you ask good questions.

Memoires of a Mopar Parts Advisor

David Bryant started his career at Arena Dodge in 1989. His official title back then was Delivery Driver. He made $4.40/hour. Many of his parts delivery clients back then, are his clients today. It was common for him to deliver Mopar parts to Grismer Tire, Labosky Automotive and Carl's Body Shop. Dave went to Trotwood Madison High School and graduated two years after our Parts Manager, Tom Fulk. They've known each other for more than 35 years. In 1994 he was promoted to Freight Clerk for Harmon Cadillac.(See, Larry Harmon owned several dealerships back in the 80s: Harmon Cadillac, Harmon's Arena Dodge, Harmon Lincoln - Mercury and Harmon Honda.) This new position was a promotion for Dave. His first vehicle was a 1971 Pontiac T37. He purchased his first Dodge in 1974...the Dodge Dart. He has fond memories of Larry Harmon, who treated his employees like extended family. In 1996 he was again promoted and moved back to Arena Dodge as a Parts Advisor.

Dave has some very cool memories from working in the automobile industry: In the Mid-80's Chrysler released the Reliant (or K-Car) to appeal to a larger group of people and to make transportation more affordable. This created a revolution and saved Chrysler from Bankrupcy. Then in the 90's came the mini-van. The perfect combination of features for an American Family. Dave also remembers when everything was processed on paper. He came into the industry when the "squak box" was the main form of communication between the parts staff and the mechanics.

Each mechanic had his/her own device that would send a signal to the parts department. Sometimes there would be several requests at one time. When part was needed it had to be ordered manually. Now the online database is updated each time a part is needed and will order parts automatically based on current demand. The system is called Automatic Replenishing Stock Order. Many other system are now run with computers. Dave remembers when cars become computerized. It changed how the driver could manipulate the vehicle, "it's hard to get a car to spin out anymore. You have to turn all that off."

They used to use microfiche to organize parts, now every part (wiper blades, oil filters, name plates, door handles, brakes, etc.) is in the database. There are over 50,000 parts and 200,000 part numbers in the system. When certain Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge or Ram cars/trucks discontinue Dave can get similar parts by ordering based on the body style of the vehicle, i.e. the Dodge Magnum, the Chrysler 300 and the Dodge Charger are all LX body style. Chrysler created the virtual assembly line back before the turn of the centry, which enabled the building cars virtually way before they started building them physically. This reduced recall issues and made the physical assembly line much more accurate and fast. Diamler was very interested in this technology...hence the merger.

 

So back to Dayton. The "Arena" theme of the dealership came from the location across the street from Hara Arena. Back in the day, Dave went to Journey, Van Halen, ZZ Top, Stix, Alice Cooper, Jethro Tull, Aerosmith, The Dooby Brothers...he kept going but I couldn't write that fast! Hara is definitely a nostalgic place in Dayton, built by the Wompler Brothers and still being operated by their families.

 

A big thank you to Dave for taking time to chat about his time at Golling's! His story was fascinating. I didn't realize how many changes the car industry had seen in the past 20 years. From computerized motors to reduced prices. Many strides have been made. What's in the future? More hybrids, more electric motors, higher mpg!

 

Golling's Sponsors Moss Creek - Trotwood Chamber of Commerce Golf Scramble

I'm not much of a golfer...ok, I've never played golf, but I had a great time monitoring hole 17 during the Trotwood Chamber of Commerce annual Golf Scramble last Saturday. We sponsor this hole every year. If a player in the scramble gets a hole-in-one at this hole, he/she would have received (this year) a 2013 Dodge Dart, a Kindle Fire, and a $500 Visa Gift Card (and, of course, bragging rights). As of Saturday, September 15, 2012, in the history of Moss Creek Golf Course, no one had every gotten a hole-in-one on hole #17. I don't know what has happened since then, but no one got a hole-in-one on that day. (Good for me, because I drove the Dart there and would have had to hitch a ride home.)

The Golling's Arena Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Golf Team tied for 1st! This is Dan, our fearless leader!

 

To win the contest, each player had to tee off from the 165 yard mark. Many of the players had their own portable GPS devices that were usually about 3 yards off from our own calculation. Women could shoot from 150 yards. The hole itself had an intimidating body of water directly in front of it. Kind of odd b/c what really mattered was that could it the ball 150-165 yards in one shot...whether or not the water was there really didn't make a difference (its not like you got two strokes).

One thing I noticed that day is that golf team members are very encouraging among each other. Everyone seemed to have a great time, whether they had played for 30 years or 3 weeks. Many of teams gave us permission to add their photos to our blog. 

The Scramble took about 4 hours. The teams were scattered through out the course so that no one was waiting around. 

I also took at very unofficial poll and asked all the participants if they'd every had a hole-in-one and how long they played golf. The results were interesting.  

Out of 41 people polled, they had about 843 total years of recreational golf experience. The average number of years was 20.56 years. The least experience was zero years. The most experience was 51 years. 6 (14.63%) had one hole-in-one in all their years of playing. None of them had more than one. Those that had a hole-in-one had played 40 years, 27 years, 18 years, 16 years, 15 years and 15 years. They all knew exactly what course and hole they were on when they shot their hole-in-one.

A big thanks goes out to Moss Creek for sponsoring the event and all the golfers for making out so early on a chilly September Saturday morning! We'll be there next year!

 

 

 

What's for lunch at work?

Have you ever wondered what everyone else does for lunch? Do you ever spy on the guy/gal next to you and see what's in the brown bag? Do you think about the cost of eating out everyday? At Golling's we have about 50 employees. Next week we are polling everyone at the office to see what they do for lunch. The outcome should be appetizing :) Come back for photos, tips, and stats!

A week later: First I'd like to thank everyone who agreed to participate in the survey and who followed through all week. I didn't anticipate that some people wouldn't want to share what they eat for lunch. Some people said they were too busy to write it down. Some people even said they didn't eat at work at all. Research shows that eating a healthy meal improves energy and brainpower, so anyone out there who skips a meal, please reconsider. This article, at Livestrong.com has a lot of info: why eat lunch.

When do we eat at Golling's Arena Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram?
20% of all lunches in the survey were eaten before the noon hour (I get hungry around 11:30am)
20% of lunches were eaten during the noon hour
39% of lunches were eaten after the noon hour (we have many employees who work until 7 or 8pm)
20% of the lunches didn't happen at all...WHAT...no lunch?

How do we get what we eat?
59% of lunches were packed
20% were bought
2% were paid for by the company
8% of lunches were eaten at home
10% were none of the above...no lunch at all

Lunch for one of the participants was a Mountain Dew...a can a day out of a 12-pack is .25 cents. This was by far our cheapest lunch...healthiest? NOT so Much!

How are they prepared? 
65% of lunches were cold
6% of lunches were cold and hot
18% of lunches were hot
10% were none of the above

51% of all lunches in the survey were healthy
39% of all lunches were not healthy
10% of all lunches were somewhat healthy (or had both healthy and no healthy items in them)

Duane is an independent Advocare representative. He is dedicated to a healthy life style and loves the energy and brainpower he gets from Advocare.  

20% of all lunches included a meal supplement drink
59% of all surveyed lunches include drinking water
10% of lunches included pop (ok, some people might not have divulged that info)
39% of all lunches in the survey included a healthy snack like an energy or granola bar either during lunch or before or after
57% of lunch days surveyed didn't include a snack during the day (I need a snack myself...) We have free popcorn in the office so its easy to grab a snack here!

Gary, One of Golling's Sales team members eats fruit every day. He says since he made the change he has more energy and brain power. (He definitely looks happy!)

Stop back for more fun blog posts! Be looking for the Golf Outings photos and Hole-In-One stats!

Go Golllings!