2008 Dodge Nitro Giveaway Contest Rules

THE FOLLOWING RULES APPLY TO THE 2008 DODGE NITRO AUTO SHOW GIVEAWAY CONTEST AT THE CLEVELAND AUTO SHOW, FEBRUARY 23 – MARCH 2, 2008. FAILURE TO MEET ALL REQUIREMENTS MAY DISQUALIFY FINALISTS/WINNER FROM PRIZE. PLEASE READ ALL RULES.

1.NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING.

2.Void where prohibited. Open only to legal residents of the United States and District of Columbia, Void in Puerto Rico and all other U.S. territories and wherever prohibited by law. Contestants may register by filling out an entry blank at the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association contest booth at the Auto Show at the I-X Center, February 23 – March 2, 2008, (no guarantee of entry acceptance after 4:00 PM, Sunday, March 2, 2008) or by mailing a postcard containing name, address, telephone number and age to 2008 Dodge Nitro Giveaway C/O Cleveland Auto Show, 10100 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, Ohio 44141. Entry blanks void if received outside authorized channels. All entries must be handwritten; no mechanically copied entries accepted. Deadline for receipt of mail-in entry is February 29, 2008. Only one entry per person per day. All entries become property of Sponsors and will not be returned. Sponsor not responsible for lost, late, illegible, misdirected, damaged or postage-due mail.

3.Contestants MUST BE AT LEAST 21 YEARS OF AGE TO ENTER AND BE A LICENSED MOTOR VEHICLE DRIVER WITH PROOF OF ADEQUATE LIABILITY INSURANCE.

4.The grand prize is a 2008 Dodge Nitro (vehicle subject to change). No cash award will be given in place of the prize. Delivery of actual grand prize vehicle will be determined based upon production by Dodge. Actual delivery date is unknown at this time. Vehicle on display at Auto Show in contest area may not be the actual vehicle awarded. Winners are responsible for all taxes, title, license and registration fees. The retail value of the grand prize is approximately $30,000.00.

5.Starting February 23, 2008 and ending on March 2, 2008, one (1) winner per day will be randomly drawn from daily entries received to qualify as a finalist. Further, one (1) additional finalist will be chosen for the Dodge Nitro Giveaway by WEWS Channel 5 in the following manner: beginning Friday, February 22, 2008 and continuing Monday February 25, Tuesday February 26, Wednesday February 27 and Thursday February 28, WEWS will take the 5th caller after the designated cue to call in during the 6pm newscast. The 5th caller will win a four-pack of tickets to the Auto Show and be entered into a random drawing to become a finalist for a chance to win the Dodge Nitro. All finalists will be notified and it is their responsibility to be at the Auto Show at appropriate time on Sunday, March 2, 2008 for the final contest random drawing to award the grand prize to one of the ten (10) finalists. There will be one grand prize (Dodge Nitro) winner. Finalists are not required to purchase an auto show admission ticket for final contest drawing. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received.

6.In the event of the winner’s failure to qualify or claim the grand prize within 30 days of being notified the vehicle is ready for delivery, an alternative winner will be drawn from those who qualified as finalists. Should that winner fail to claim the prize within 30 days of being notified, no prize will be awarded. In no event will Sponsors award more prizes than listed in these Official Rules.

7.Employees of Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company d/b/a WEWS-TV, their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising and promotion agencies, suppliers and the immediate family members and/or those living in the same household of each (collectively, “Sponsor”) are not eligible. Employees of the Auto Show, Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers’ Association, or any of its affiliated companies, employees of any new or used motor vehicle dealership, automobile manufacturer, their advertising agencies and their immediate families are ineligible to win.

8.Winner acknowledges that the Auto Show shall have the right to use winner’s name, likeness and voice in promoting that he/she is the winner, in both print and broadcast. The grand-prize winner must sign a standard release form providing the Auto Show with their address, telephone number and social security number and a W-9 tax form. Winners will be required to sign and return to the Sponsors an affidavit of eligibility and liability and publicity release within 48 hours of notification. If any prize notification is undeliverable, or in the event of non-compliance with any of these requirements, the prize will be forfeited, and an alternate winner will be selected at random from the remaining eligible entries. All taxes and all other expenses, costs or fees associated with the acceptance and/or use of the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner; winner will be expected to provide tax ID #. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash or other merchandise and is nontransferable. The Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a similar prize of equal or greater value at its sole discretion.

9.Cleveland Auto Show is the sole judge of all matters pertaining to this contest and reserves the right to change the rules and/or discontinue the contest at any time without notice. All decisions by the Cleveland Auto Show are final.

10.All entrants waive any and all claims of liability against all sponsors, agents, affiliates, parent companies and their employees along with any other acting on behalf, for damages, injuries or other losses which relate directly or indirectly to the 2008 Cleveland Auto Show Dodge Nitro Giveaway.

11.For the name of the grand prize winner, please write to the 2008 Dodge Nitro Giveaway c/o Cleveland Auto Show, 10100 Brecksville, OH 44141 by May 2, 2008. 12.Sponsor: Cleveland Auto Show. 10100 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, Ohio 44141. Scripps Howard Broadcasting Company d/b/a WEWS-TV, 3001 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44115

Dodge Viper Competition Coupes

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Chrysler Financial Hosts 2008 F&I Conference

By: PR Newswire

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Chrysler Financial hosted its fifth annual Finance and Insurance (F&I) Conference February 11-15. The conference titled "Educate and Accelerate" is a knowledge-based business conference designed to showcase tools, tips, processes and ideas for practical use in the finance and insurance departments of Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge dealerships. The conference, held in Las Vegas, provided F&I Managers with ideas for increasing profit for the F&I office.

"The conference brought together experts in a variety of auto finance related disciplines -- from seasoned Chrysler Financial professionals to automotive industry leaders," said Mark Manzo, Vice President - Sales and Marketing for Chrysler Financial. "One of our strengths at Chrysler Financial is our commitment to F&I training and providing access to our dedicated dealer consultants," he added.

F&I breakout sessions included the customer F&I experience, structuring the deal, leasing, menu selling, legal matters and power in partnerships. There was also a business expo highlighting Chrysler Financial business support tools like lead generation, e-Finance, insurance and credit card loyalty.

"I could talk all day about what I got out of the CF-Connect session I participated in," said Sam Bass, Business Manager, Farris Motors in Rocky Mount, N.C. "CF-Connect is like a one-stop shop, with all the tools I need available from one screen."

The conference was the ideal location for the new launch of the CF-Connect link through the Chrysler DealerConnect portal. This Web-based interface provides Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge customer information for pre-sale, point-of- sale and post sale information. Some of the special new features include the option to generate customer lists for prospecting. The tool also provides real time customer information like current payment, maturity date, line of business, payment range and current vehicle model and a free OFAC check.

"When I left the conference and returned to the dealership, I met with our General Sales Manager to show him some of the new reporting capability in CF- Connect -- his eyes lit up and he immediately set up a meeting to spread the word to our sales staff," said Neville Flintoft, Finance Director, Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge in Phoenix, Ariz.

Chrysler mum on number of workers taking buyout offers

By Alex Gary and The Associated Press

Chrysler LLC doesn’t plan to announce the number of workers taking its latest buyout offers for several more weeks, even though the company is planning to eliminate a shift in Belvidere by March 7, a company spokeswoman said today.

As of Monday, hourly workers at 11 of Chrysler’s U.S. facilities had been scheduled to decide on the offers, which include a $70,000 incentive payment to retirement-eligible workers or $100,000 to workers who agree to leave without future pension or health benefits.

Four assembly sites — Toledo North in Toledo, Ohio; St. Louis North and South in Fenton, Mo.; Jefferson North in Detroit, and Belvidere, where the Dodge Caliber, Jeep Patriot and Jeep Compass are assembled, had January deadlines to make decisions. Seven additional plants in Michigan had a Monday deadline.

Chrysler spokeswoman Michelle Tinson said workers at other plants are still considering the buyouts. Workers at five plants in Indiana and Wisconsin have until Feb. 25 to make a decision, while workers at an assembly plant in Newark, Del., which is scheduled to close next year, have until March 10. Buyout deals are still being negotiated for Chrysler’s Mopar parts unit, Tinson said.

The buyouts, and how many took them, are a hot topic in Belvidere because of the shift elimination, which will cut the plant’s work force from about 3,600 back to 2,500.

About 600 employees at the plant are working on temporary contracts with no seniority and will be the first to be eliminated. Another 500 workers transferred in from other operations. Some of those workers lost their seniority by transferring and would be the next to go. Workers in both these groups are hoping enough of the more-tenured employees took the buyouts to save their jobs.

Chrysler, which is in the midst of a restructuring after a majority stake in the automaker was sold last summer to private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, announced in November it planned to cut up to 12,000 jobs, including 8,000 to 10,000 hourly and 2,000 salaried jobs.

The cuts came in addition to 13,000 layoffs Chrysler announced in February 2007, including 11,000 hourly and 2,000 salaried workers. About 6,400 hourly workers had left the company under that program as of June, but additional retirement packages could still be rolled out under that program, which was scheduled to run through 2009.

Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. announced similar buyout programs for tens of thousands of hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers union.

Changes are coming - - Dodge Viper halo vehicle

PM - Dodge Viper will end up in the hands of the after market coach builders.

IL Insider: Roush on Track To Launch "Third Brand"

LIVONIA, Michigan — Inside Line has confirmed that Roush — the premier tuner of such Ford staples as the F-150 and Mustang, is set to launch what it calls a "third brand" for consumers in late 2008.

"The whole point is to continue the evolution of Roush," said John G. Clark, communications and motorsports manager for Roush Performance Products, the tuning arm of the company. "It potentially could include foreign brands."

When asked if that meant Toyota and Honda, Clark replied, "well, they are foreign brands, aren't they?"

Clark would not put a price tag on the development costs of what he calls the "third brand," nor would he say what it would be called. "It probably will be a totally different brand name," he said, "(that has) nothing to do with Roush." The tuner's business is currently separated into two brands: Roush Industries, which includes a manufacturing operation that makes parts for such products as the Dodge Caliber SRT4, and Roush Performance Products, which produces such vehicles as the P51 Mustang.

Clark said the third brand will initially begin providing "powertrain parts for cars and trucks." The need for an expansion beyond Roush's core Ford business may be seen as a critical business decision. Despite the fact that Roush Performance enjoyed a record year in 2007 — building more than 2,000 custom vehicles for 475 authorized Ford dealers — sales of its customized F-150 are "very slow for us right now," said Clark. Last year, Roush sold just 100 of its "Nitemare" trucks, a customized 445-horsepower F-150 Flareside priced at around $45,000. "When gas hit $3 a gallon, truck sales really stopped," he said. "The performance truck market has slowed."

"We understand in order to continue our sales trend, we need to look beyond Ford," Clark said.

The news of the third Roush brand was revealed during Inside Line's rare look on Monday inside the sprawling Roush operation here. Clark used the visit to put to rest rumors that Roush is busy at work customizing the new Dodge Challenger. Recently, some Web sites displayed pictures of the Challenger in a Roush parking lot. "As of right now, we have no plans to do (Chevrolet) Camaro, Challenger or (Chevrolet) Silverado, despite what is on the Internet," Clark said. "We built a Roush Silverado as an engineering exercise, but we do not plan to go into production (with it)."

Roush disclosed a number of intriguing business developments to Inside Line, from its first foray into the movie business to its continuing move into alternative-fuel vehicles. Also, the day marked an important milestone at Roush, as Jack Roush Jr., son of the founder, began his first full day at the company. Speaking to Inside Line, Jack Roush Jr. would not specify what his title is, but described his new role as something akin to "a fly on the wall." But clearly, the succession plan is in place.

The Roush Mustang will make its debut in the upcoming movie Run. Roush is also launching a Roush Propane F-150 designed for fleet use only. The Propane F-150 comes with either a 20-gallon or 60-gallon fuel tank. "The advantage is that propane is a cleaner fuel and it offers fleets a 50-cent-per-gallon tax credit," Clark noted. He said the truck uses Ford's 5.4-liter V8. The company is also developing a small fleet of electric vehicles and plans to extend its alt-fuel efforts to diesel trucks. Clark said Roush likely will develop components for diesel trucks, such as cold-air kits. "We have a lot of people asking for a lot of different things from us," he said.

In another development, Roush for the first time is delving deeply into its customer base to come up with marketing demographics. The typical customer is a male between the ages of 38 and 52 with an average income between $80,000 and $120,000. The average customer's Roush vehicle is "sort of a toy," Clark says, "not a daily driver." The few women who buy Roush products are "very popular amongst the men who don't own one," he says.

What this means to you: Mighty Roush gets ready to take a giant step outside of its core Ford business. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent

This Day in Auto History:

2.20.1907 The Biddle-Murray Manufacturing Company of Oak Park, IL closes its doors after three years of limited automobile production 2.20.1934 Racer Robert William “Bobby” Unser is born in Albuquerque, NM 2.20.1953 Dean Alvin Walters, Technical Service Manager for Willys Motors Inc. and an employee of the company since 1909, dies at age 63 2.20.1959 Racer Scott Everts Brayton is born in Coldwater, MI 2.20.1993 Ferruccio Lamborghini dies in Perugia, Italy at age 76

Source: Automobile History Day By Day, by Douglas A. Wick