Mopar will help celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the premier Mopar enthusiast events on the annual car show calendar when the Mopar Nationals roll into National Trail Raceway near Columbus, OH, on Aug. 13–15. Mopar will bring its Mopar Direct Connection Trailer and display vehicles to the event and will name a fourth winner in its popular Mopar “Top Eliminator” enthusiast program.

The 2010 event will host a number of new and exciting display vehicles at the Mopar Direct Connection Trailer, including the new Mopar ’10 Challenger, the first-ever special edition Mopar version of a Chrysler group vehicle. The Mopar ’10 was revealed last month at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals event in Golden, CO.

Among other Mopar cars to be exhibited is the Mopar Direct Connection Test Lab vehicle, used to demonstrate the potential of Mopar performance parts and showcase new and exciting parts for enthusiasts. The Mopar Direct Connection Trailer will also feature a number of fun activities for Mopar Nationals attendees, who can test their racing skills by taking the wheel of a video-game version of a Mopar HEMI-powered NHRA Funny Car and also try their hand in the Mopar sprint car simulator.

The fourth of six members of Mopar’s 2010 “Top Eliminator” program will be selected from among hundreds of show cars at the Mopar Nationals event. The Mopar “Top Eliminator” program, now in its fourth year, recognizes the most skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restyled or customized Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles. Winning vehicles will be displayed in the Mopar Alley at the 2010 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show in Las Vegas, November 2–5, 2010. The Mopar Nationals winner will be recognized on Sunday during the awards ceremony.

Showgoers looking to purchase Mopar Authentic Performance Gear will want to stop by the Mopar Rolling Speedshop at National Trail Raceway. Mopar fans can choose from hats, t-shirts, hoodies, diecasts and much more to display their love of Mopar.

Mopar Nationals attendees can view exclusive video footage from the Mopar Nationals on “Mopar Captured,” Mopar’s official YouTube channel. Fans can access the channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/moparcaptured.

Mopar-First Features

Mopar has introduced numerous industry-first features including:
• Camper trailers: first to introduce off-road camper trailers;
• Vehicle-information apps: first to introduce smartphone vehicle-information applications, a new channel of communication with consumers;
• Electronic owner manuals: first to introduce traditional owner manuals in a DVD and brief user-guide format;
• FLO TV: first to offer live, mobile television;
• WiFi: first to offer customers the ability to make their vehicle a wireless hot spot; and
• WiTECH: first to support vehicle diagnosis and software updates leveraging off-the-shelf personal computers and a dedicated wireless tool network.

About the Mopar Brand
Mopar is Chrysler Group LLC’s service, parts and customer-care brand.

Mopar distributes approximately 280,000 parts and accessories in more than 90 countries and is the source for all original-equipment parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram Truck vehicles. Mopar parts are unique in that they are engineered with the same teams that create factory-authorized vehicle specifications for Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram vehicles—a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at http://www.mopar.com.

More than 70 Years of Mopar
When Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, the need for a dedicated parts manufacturer, supplier and distribution system to support the growing enterprise led to the formation of the Chrysler Motor Parts Corporation (CMPC) in 1929.

Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked for a line of antifreeze products in 1937. It also was widely used as a moniker for the CMPC. The Mopar brand made its mark in the 1960s — the muscle-car era. The Chrysler Corporation built race-ready Dodge and Plymouth “package cars” equipped with special high-performance parts. Mopar carried a line of “special parts” for super-stock drag racers and developed its racing parts division called Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use.

For additional information about Mopar, log on to http://www.mopar.com or http://www.moparspeed.com.