Celebrate Dodge Heritage at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum |
 
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Posted on January 7, 2011
Short of driving your own ’57 Dodge Sweptside Truck through downtown Auburn Hills, there’s no better way to celebrate your affinity for Dodge products than by visiting the Dodge Gallery at the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. The collection includes such company milestones as that aforementioned Sweptside, as well as concept cars dating all the way back to the Dodge brothers’ initial collaboration.
Check out some of the pics from our latest visit right here! Of course, if mere pictures aren’t enough to get your blood going, click over to http://wpchryslermuseum.org to schedule a tour, or check out the heritage section at http://www.redlinedodge.com for an instant Dodge history fix.
Jan 07, 2011 @ 10:42:57
My wife and I visited the Walter P. Chrysler Museum a couple of years ago and it is an awesome place! It is heaven for the Mopar enthusiast but it is also a very interesting place for any auto buff. I loved the WWII historical stuff. People need to know about the large part Chrysler played in supplying hardware for the war effort. Also, as a retired machining supervisor, I enjoyed seeing the displays of Walter P. Chrysler’s machine shop tools. The cars are awesome! I loved the Chrysler Woodie, the HEMI Roadrunner, the ’57 Dodge Sweptside pickup, etc., etc. Just too much to take in with one visit. I’d love to go back!
Jan 07, 2011 @ 12:23:26
I’d love to visit that place. It would be true heaven. Walter P. was a true craftsman and a genius,
and a better businessman than a lot of people who were only business men. He is a true hero
for all those people who worked hard on the factory floor, and as a Machinist myself, would have looked up to this great person. A True American Icon and Hero!
I’ve only ever seen pictures of his wooden toolbox and hand tools, but you can always tell
a true craftsman by his tools. He is the reason why I always loved Chrysler and it’s great cars/divisions. Thanks, Chrysler.
Jan 07, 2011 @ 12:35:06
I visited the museum a few years ago and it is worth the trip. The movie they play in the theatre is great as well. Most of the muscle cars are kept in the basement so make sure you go down there. The gift shop is great and they have a lot of specials and merchandise that you cannot find anywhere else. In addition, you can drive around the headquarters and I saw some new models that were just coming out. I think some of the Chrysler execs get to drive them before anyone else does. Neat experience.
Jan 07, 2011 @ 13:33:26
I see that Chrysler has spent millions of dollars upgrading their Brampton, Ontario plant. They have installed a laser brazing system that welds together the roof and the section where the doors fit instead of having that long strip of plastic between the panels. This is a good thing because the panels on my Challenger are uneven where that seem is. Here is part of that article:
The Brampton plant also invested $20 million to establish a Metrology Center onsite that would further improve quality. The tools within the Metrology Center are used to verify the capability of the vehicle’s entire sheet metal structure to the smallest of tolerances, as small as a human hair. The aim is to identify possible deviations between the product and the process.
Another process used for the launch of the 2011 Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger vehicle design ,borrowed from Fiat, is a new roof laser braze process, which allows for a seamless transition from the roof to the door opening. Brampton Assembly invested nearly $12 million to be the first Chrysler plant to install this new technology. The laser braze process uses an intense laser-light beam to melt a piece of silicon wire, applied by four robots, into a predetermined location between the aperture and roof panel.
The company said the facility improvements have increased the morale of the nearly 2,900 employees working on two shifts and given them a new sense of purpose. As a result, employees felt empowered to offer more than 5,000 suggestions on other improvements that could be made throughout the plant.
Good to hear. Hopefully the paint shop has been refurbished as well. I have a lot of dust in my Challenger’s paint job.
Keep up the good work! Quality is king and that is what the media dings Chrysler on all the time.
Jan 07, 2011 @ 14:05:22
Sublime, I used to drive by the Brampton plant now and again, and that plant is HUGE! I used to
envy all the workers as they drove out. Nice clean plant. The media may ding Chrysler on quality,
but they never mention, or fail to mention all the innovations and engineering firsts that Chrysler
has brought into the automotive field. A lot of the things that brand x’s and imports have on their
vehicles have been brought to you by your “Friendly Neighborhood Chrysler”
Chrysler needs a commercial listing all the things that the everyday driver takes for granted, that they developed and/or invented. This was a major drawing point for me towards Chrysler, they always had excellent engineering, things that were worth it or helpful to a driver or automotive system. Not like a lot of the garbage gimmickry that the brand x’s were putting on their cars.
Someone once admitted to me that they bought a brand x car because they had those seat belts on the door, and you could get in and you didn’t have to pull the belt over you.
Remember that junk?