The all-new 2012 Jeep® Grand Cherokee SRT8® and the new 2012 Dodge Charger earned Winding Road’s “Best Car of the Year Awards,” an annual honor that recognizes the best driver’s vehicles in the market.

“SRT and Dodge are two brands that stand to make 2012 a banner year for driving enthusiasts,” said Seyth Miersma, Editor-In-Chief – Winding Road. “The 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 manages to be one of the most brutally fast and easy-to-live-with super-SUVs we’ve ever tested. Meanwhile, the 2012 Dodge Charger offers more in terms of style, performance, and space than most of the vanilla-flavored competition could dream of. With completely different form factors, price points and audiences, the commonality between these two Best Cars is the way in which they can make their drivers grin.”

Winner of “Best Utility Award,” the all-new 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8® offers a unique blend of head-turning SRT performance with legendary Jeep capability and utility, luxury and refinement, and innovative advanced technologies. It’s the most powerful Jeep vehicle ever with all-new 6.4-liter HEMI® V-8 that delivers 470 horsepower and 465 lb.-ft. of torque.

Earning the “Best Everyman Sedan Award,” the 2012 Dodge Charger delivers world-class levels of quietness and handling performance, state-of-the-art technologies and premium materials once limited to elite European sport sedans.

Source: ChryslerGroupLLC.com

Source: Nissan News

For all of 2011, Chrysler sales were up 26% from 2010, at 1,369,114. Below, we’ve listed a few highlights:

Dodge Durango: Back after a two-year hiatus, it was welcomed back with open arms. Its 51,697 SUVs sold was the driving force in Dodge brand’s 18% growth in 2011.

Jeep® Grand Cherokee: In its first full calendar year as a redesign (the 2011-model year version was introduced in May 2010), the most-awarded SUV ever was Chrysler’s #2 seller for 2011 (127,744 sold, up 51%), with December being its best month of the year with 17,346 sold, a 36% jump over 12/2010.

SRT Brand: Where high-performance meets high-luxury. After a relatively quiet few years, SRT was reborn as a stand-alone brand in the summer. The Dodge Challenger SRT8 was joined by Chrysler 300 SRT8, Dodge Charger SRT8 and Grand Cherokee SRT8. The SRT family will grow again with the 2013 SRT Viper later this year.

Jeep Wrangler: When you think Jeep, you usually picture a Wrangler. Sales of the Toledo, Ohio-made icon surged during the last half of 2011 to the point Wrangler challenged Grand Cherokee for the Jeep lead. After another strong month in December (11,415 in sales, up 39%), Wrangler finished the year with 122,460 sold. Good for a 30% increase from 2010.

Ram Pickup: Durable, reliable, hard-working workhorse of the company, Ram pickup trucks are consistently Chrysler Group’s #1 selling vehicle. In December, Ram pickup had its best month since March 2008 with 26,013 sold; up 12% from 12/2010. For the year, sales were up 23% to 244,763 trucks sold — making it the #7 selling vehicle for the year.

And the #1 reason Chrysler Group had a great year….the nearly 1.4 million people in the U.S. who put their faith in Chrysler and purchased a new vehicle. The company, our dealers and supply chain would be non-existent without your support and confidence in us. Thank you for a great 2011.

Source: Chrysler Group LLC

This spot features the Nissan Frontier traveling down a large snow covered mountain like a snowboarder. This fantastical commercial focuses on the Frontier’s Pro-4X Off-Road capability.

Once again, the spot appropriately concludes with the line “Innovation for Doers, Innovation for All.”

The 2012 Nissan Frontier builds on the 2011 model, which was named the 2011 Mid-Sized Truck of the Year, winner of 11 TORC Odd-Road Podiums, Edmunds.com’s Top Recommended Compact Truck and received the highest rating for IIHS front, side and roof strength evaluations. The 2012 Nissan Frontier has already been named one of the Top 10 cars with Best Resale Value, according to Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com

Source: Nissan News

Senior VP for Engineering Scott Kunselman said the IIHS ratings for the 11 vehicles “underscores our commitment to engineering safety and security across all vehicle segments.”

Among the latest safety innovations that are standard or available on many models is SafetyTec, which includes ParkSense rear park assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path detection.

The 11 vehicles with IIHS Top Safety Picks:

Chrysler
• Town & Country (right)
• 300
• 200 (only 4-door models)

Dodge
• Grand Caravan
• Durango
• Charger
• Journey — named a Top Safety Pick for the fourth straight year
• Avenger — named a Top Safety Pick for the fourth straight year

Jeep®
• Grand Cherokee
• Patriot (with optional side torso airbags)

Fiat
• 500 (made after July 2011)

Of note for our Chrysler T&C and Dodge Grand Caravan minivans is that each received strength-to-weight ratio ratings of 4.51, which was among the highest of the minivans tested and above the IIHS requirement of 4.0. The U.S. government’s minimum requirement is 1.5.

Stop by the Pomoco dealership of your choice to check out the IIHS Top Safety picks for yourself.

Source: Chrysler Group LLC

Leading companies see a competitive advantage in pursuing energy management and sustainability strategies. Many reasons drive these efforts, including support for the bottom line, protection against energy risks and a desire to position a company’s operations and practices to stand behind energy-efficient product offerings.

The Nissan Americas team recently took steps to share its best practices in the area of energy management and sustainability, and to learn from colleagues, during the first-ever Nissan Americas Energy and Sustainability summit in Franklin, Tenn., from Dec. 13 to 15.

The Americas Energy and Sustainability Summit was an opportunity to share details of Nissan’s U.S. ENERGY STAR tools and program knowledge across the Americas region and among the international partners in attendance.

With events like this first Energy and Sustainability Summit, the vision for a zero-emission society in the future looks very bright.

Source: NissanNews.com

According to the 2011 AutoTrader.com Shopper Frame of Mind study, 71 percent of respondents purchased a car based on need rather than want. The staff at AutoTrader.com provided a list of 12 new and near-new vehicles under $30,000 that can meet various consumer needs while giving them many of the luxuries they want. Then, it fielded a new survey of more than 300 site visitors in November to find out what autos on the list they were attracted to — and why.

Under the heading of “New Baby in the Family,” here’s what the editors had to say about the Journey:

“Growing families need more room and family-friendly features such as good handling, entertainment features and fuel economy. With this in mind, AutoTrader.com experts recommended the new 2012 Dodge Journey.”

Source: ChryslerGroupLLC

Every year, Men’s Journal recognizes top products in the market that they consider to be innovative and “game-changing” for the adventurer and thrill-seeker. Their “Top Gear” product lists include everything from sports equipment and apparel to technology and culinary tools. What has never been included on their awards list before though, were vehicles, until now.

In the first year ever recognizing vehicles on their “Top Gear” awards list, Men’s Journal Magazine has chosen the Fiat 500 to accompany the Gear of the Year recipients, noting the vehicle for its segment-exclusive Italian styling, efficient city-friendly proportions, innovative technologies and attainable price.

Stop by Pomoco Fiat of Newport News for a test drive, and find out what puts Fiat at the top of the list.

Source: Chrysler Group LLC

A lot of innovation and excitement went in to making the Nissan Juke-R.

The goal was to maintain as much of the Juke’s interior styling as possible while making it extreme enough for the race track. Juke’s dashboard and center console have been carefully merged with GT-R’s controls, but carpets and roof liner are still fitted throughout the inside.

Outside, the Juke-R’s matt black paint scheme is vinyl-wrapped and painted, to make sure it’s protected from stone chips.

Now it’s ready to hit the track and claim the title as the fastest crossover in the world.

Stop by Pomoco Nissan, to take the Nissan Juke for a test drive.

Source: Nissan News

The 2012 Dodge Charger received the All-Star award from Automobile Magazine. In the clip below, we hear and see more.

“We were impressed at how much more refined the 2012 Charger is from its previous generation,” said Jean Jennings, President and Editor-In-Chief of Automobile Magazine. “The interior is sophisticated, the exterior design is striking, and it is thrilling to drive. The Charger definitely earned its place on this very exclusive All-Star list.”

The new 2012 Dodge Charger is now the first domestic sport sedan to feature a state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission – delivering a best-in-class 31 miles per gallon (mpg) highway.

“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award. The Automobile Magazine All-Star selection is validation for how we have transformed the Dodge Charger into the no-compromise class leader in driving dynamics and fuel economy,” said Reid Bigland, President and CEO – Dodge Brand. “Combined with a sophisticated 292 horsepower Pentastar V6, the Charger’s new eight-speed transmission helps deliver mid-size fuel economy in a full-size sedan, wrapped in an iconic design that separates Charger from any other four-door on the market.”

This state-of-the-art eight-speed automatic transmission is available on rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive Dodge Charger SE, SXT and SXT Plus models equipped with the award-winning 3.6-liter Pentastar V-6 engine. Combined, these Dodge Charger models deliver 292 horsepower along with improved performance and class-leading fuel efficiency with respect to:

• Best-in-class highway fuel economy (31 mpg highway)
• Best-in-class V-6 AWD fuel economy (18 mpg city and 27 mpg highway)
• Best-in-class combined fuel economy (23 mpg with RWD, 21 mpg with AWD)
• Unsurpassed city fuel economy (19 mpg city RWD, 18 mpg AWD)
• Overall unsurpassed fuel economy in its class (19 mpg city and 31 mpg highway with RWD)

Designed for hard-core enthusiasts who crave even more performance, the 2012 Dodge Charger R/T models feature the legendary HEMI® V-8 engine with four-cylinder mode Fuel Saver technology, 370 horsepower and 0-to-60 mph in under 6 seconds. And with its performance-tuned suspension, larger performance disc brakes and standard Uconnect Touch 8.4-inch media center, the Dodge Charger R/T is designed for the customer who demands V-8 power, rail-like handling and state-of-the-art technology.

Crafted in world-class materials, including a standard aluminum bezel that creates the center of focus on the driver’s cockpit, Charger’s passengers are surrounded with comfort, craftsmanship and style.

The 2012 Dodge Charger features more than 65 safety and security features, and was named an IIHS Top Safety Pick.

Source: Chrysler Group LLC