Ralph Gilles

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

A prenatal nose job for the Jeep Cherokee? Or...

2:19 pm U.S. ET | March 6, 2013
Is Jeep planning a nose job for the 2014 Cherokee, even before its official unveiling this month in New York? A mule spotted last week by an Automotive News reporter in Los Angeles shows that they're at least testing the idea.... Read More »

 

Fiat, SRT almost fill U.S. dealership networks

12:01 am U.S. ET | Feb. 4, 2013
Chrysler Group's two smallest brands -- Fiat and SRT -- have nearly filled out their dealership rosters in the United States. Ralph Gilles, who heads the automaker's SRT brand, said 430 Chrysler Group dealerships have finished their training to sell the 2013 SRT Viper.... Read More »

 

Hunting for designers

12:01 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Although enrollment at the nation's top automotive design colleges remains steady, automakers say they are having a difficult time finding students who love cars and have a passion for design. That's forcing design schools to find new ways to train students to become the hands-on car designers automakers want.... Read More »

 

LARRY P. VELLEQUETTE

Chrysler pays tribute to 1963 concept car

9:51 am U.S. ET | Jan. 14, 2013
Chrysler Group dropped a surprise concept on its stand this morning, a Chrysler 300S Turbine edition that pays homage to the 50th anniversary of the automaker's famous 1963 turbine-powered concept car.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Gilles dumps on Trump

12:01 am U.S. ET | Nov. 5, 2012
During the political superstorm last week, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne vehemently denied statements from the Mitt Romney campaign that Jeep production was moving from Ohio to China. But the strongest retort came from Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's usually mild-mannered design boss.... Read More »

 

Chrysler prices new Viper near $100,000, below Corvette ZR1

5:00 pm U.S. ET | Sept. 10, 2012
The 2013 SRT Viper will be Chrysler Group's most expensive production vehicle ever but still cheaper than a comparable Chevy Corvette ZR1 when sales begin late this year. Chrysler told dealers today that the 640-hp Viper will carry a sticker price of at least $99,390, including a $1,995 delivery charge. The Viper GTS will start at $122,390, including delivery.... Read More »

 

Chrysler will limit stores selling SRT Viper

12:01 am U.S. ET | July 23, 2012
The redesigned 2013 SRT Viper will be sold at about one in five Chrysler Group dealerships, says Ralph Gilles, head of the high-performance SRT brand. To qualify for the sports car, dealerships will have to train staff, buy special tools and improve their facilities.... Read More »

 

VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY -- THE CHANGING CAR

MPG: Not just for CAFE anymore

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 11, 2012
After three decades of heavier vehicles and little improvement in mpg, automakers are in a breathless sprint to bring out models that dramatically move the needle on fuel economy.... Read More »

 

FINAL ASSEMBLY

Designers at Chrysler are going with the (air) flow

12:01 am U.S. ET | June 4, 2012
It's a tad ironic coming from the Chrysler design chief who made his mark a decade ago with the slab-sided Chrysler 300. But these days Ralph Gilles says his stylists are spending hundreds of hours in the wind tunnel trying to create lozenge-shaped vehicles rather than unslippery rectangles.... Read More »

 

Chrysler vehicles will be sculpted by the wind, Gilles says

2:53 pm U.S. ET | May 30, 2012
Chrysler Group designers are spending more time in the wind tunnel to make more aerodynamic vehicles, aiding fuel economy, design chief Ralph Gilles said today. Speaking at a conference in northern Michigan, Gilles said aerodynamics are becoming an increasingly important design aspect at Chrysler and throughout the industry.... Read More »