Tag Archives: Sterling Heights

2013.5 Chrysler 200 S Special Edition: Getting Dressed for Work [2013 New York Auto Show]

March 22, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Looking to imbue the 200 with a taste of the hard work, ingenuity, and perseverance that once defined and propelled the Motor City, Chrysler has teamed up with Carhartt to create the 2013.5 200 S Special Edition. The pair first collaborated on the successful Carhartt Imported from Detroit clothing line that debuted last November, so it seemed only natural for the teamwork to continue with a bespoke vehicle project.

Built on the S package that brings refinements including a gloss-black mesh grille, chrome-accented fog lights, a body-color decklid spoiler, 18-inch aluminum wheels, and a sport suspension to the 200, Carhartt’s contributions deal primarily with the interior enhancements. A Carhartt-selected water-resistant black fabric featuring gray signature Carhartt triple stitching covers the seats, and the stitching extends to the steering wheel, the armrests, and the center console. The air vents, the gear selector, the front cup holders, and the steering wheel buttons get finished in black to continue the dark appearance. And that’s about the extent of Carhartt’s involvement. This being an S model, it will come with body-color sill cladding; platinum-chrome belt molding; a rear valance with polished, fascia-mounted exhaust tips; unique, black-colored badges; and a Boston Acoustic sound system. Those looking for a car covered inside and out in Carhartt’s iconic brown-duck dungaree material sadly are out of luck.

Chrysler is holding firm in calling this a 2013.5 model, and tells us that production of the Chrysler 200 S Special Edition will begin at Chrysler ’s Sterling Heights, Michigan, assembly plant in the second quarter of 2013, but that all the upfittings that makes it unique will be added on at the brand’s facility in Warren, Michigan. Pricing for the 200 S Special Edition will begin at $29,720.

Automobiles

Report: Chrysler 200 replacement coming in January

March 18, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

By Zach Bowman

2013 Chrysler 200 - front three-quarter view

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Autoweek reports the next Chrysler 200 will bow early next year. CEO Sergio Marchionne has said the 2015 model will debut next January, and Chrysler plans to cut the 2014 200 model year short to make way for the model’s successor. According to AW, internal documents reveal 2014 model production will start this July and run through early January, 2014. The memos don’t specify whether its Dodge Avenger twin will also see a shortened model year (the latter was originally rumored for discontinuation, but a successor is apparently back on the table). Chrysler is investing some $1 billion to construct paint and body facilities at its Sterling Heights, Michigan plant for the next-generation 200.

From what we’ve heard so far, we can expect the 2015 200 to bring a new design language to the Chrysler brand that will eventually bleed into the automaker’s other products. Early reports have also suggested the four door will boast a nine-speed automatic transmission and return up to 38 miles per gallon.

Chrysler executed a very successful facelift in 2011, turning the flailing Sebring into the newly minted 200. Buyers responded enthusiastically, with sales jumping 44 percent in 2012. That step up was enough to make the 200 the brand’s best-selling car. The momentum hasn’t slackened, either, with sales up 21 percent during the first two months of this year.

Chrysler 200 replacement coming in January originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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News, Politics, Government

No ID on body parts found in Michigan sewer, police say

March 15, 2013 Bartle Doo Leave a comment

Body parts found in a Detroit-area sewer in December came from a woman, but not the same woman whose partial remains were discovered in a nearby community’s sewer line during the summer, police said Friday.

A DNA analysis of the two fleshy pieces found Dec. 20 by sewer contractors in Warren determined they belonged to a white woman, Police Commissioner Jere Green said at a news conference. However, he said, the woman’s identity is not known.

“We are investigating this as a homicide until the evidence takes us in a different direction,” Green said.

The gruesome find of the pieces, which measured about 4-by-4 inches and 1 1/2 inches thick, is eerily similar to the discovery of body parts last summer in Sterling Heights, The Macomb Daily of Mount Clemens reported.

On Aug. 15, 10 fleshy parts approximately the size of a softball had become snagged on a platform used by workers about 60 feet beneath the road. An autopsy determined the parts belonged to a heavy-set white woman, and some of them had portions of a tattoo.

A check of FBI databases did not yield matches for the DNA of the body parts found in the two cities, and missing persons reports also have not provided clues.

“It’s an unusual case,” Green said. “There is no investigative blueprint how to solve this.”