As part of their “Imported from Detroit” campaign, Chrysler hosted an event at Detroit Mercantile Co. to showcase their 2013 special edition vehicles. Designers mingled with folks from other Detroit-grown businesses to gauge their response. A crew from Autoweek was there to catch the cars and the reactions they inspired on film.
“Every time we introduce new vehicles in the market, we want to test ourselves and see what they think of it,” said Saad Chehab, Chrysler’s head of branding. “That gives us a good sounding board for whether we are doing the right thing to begin with.
The first car in the series of three videos is the 300S John Varvatos Edition. The famed menswear designer once again brings his signature darkness to the model, with many quick to point out the satin accents, the pearlescent black leather interior, and the fashionable box stitching. “The steering wheel feels like butter,” said one woman, and the only way another local could describe the car was as “mysterious.”
Second is the 200S Special Edition, a car that Chrysler calls their “little hero.” Chehab said it “started our whole celebration of the city and our comeback story.” For this version of their light sedan, the Chrysler design team paired with Carhartt to infuse the vehicle with the real Detroit work ethic. “It’s a Detroit thing,” said one admirer. “It has a lot of quality details that you don’t notice until you’re in it and you experience it.”
And finally the Chrysler Town & Country S. “It’s not your typical soccer mom van,” said a man wearing a Detroit Muscle shirt. “I would drive this.” Indeed, the words most often used to describe this improved version of Chrysler’s classic minivan were “understated” and “subtle.” They talk about how they wanted to give the vehicle a different, more athletic personality, commenting on the edgy black interior, and the black chrome grill gives the van a face that tells you how serious they are about this design.
“We’re continuing to improve upon the products we’ve already built by listening to what the customer is looking for,” said Chehab. Make sure you check out the videos hosted on Autoweek for yourself to see how Imported from Detroit can compete with the rest of the world.
If you’re looking for cars like these or have any questions, get in touch with our team at Leith Chrysler Jeep and let them know you’re interested.
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