An open letter to my fellow Chrysler and Jeep enthusiasts in Pittsburgh, Pa.

The Jeep Wrangler is the best 4wd made today!

 

     Hello and welcome to The Exclusive Chrysler Center at Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep!  My name is Craig Dennis, and I sell the most capable Family and 4-Wheel Drive vehicles made today.  I can prove it too!  Call 412-367-7200, or ask to speak with me.  I have been selling Chrysler and Jeep vehicles since 1997, and I have been with Mick’s since November 2000!  I am also responsible for this site and all it’s content.

     This site is dedicated to you, my past and future customers.  I have a blog that will keep you up to date with any Chrysler and Jeep incentives that you can combine to form a “Super Rebate!”  Also see what’s new and exciting with the new Chrysler and Jeep product offerings.  Many of my blog entries come from the pages listed to the left.  Use the contact links to let me know if you have any specific questions that need addressed.  The information contained in this site will save you thousands of dollars!

     I am sure that we all know people that just sit back and wait for an opportunity to fall in their laps.  Then there are people, like myself, that go through the time and effort to give you a reason to stop in and see what I have to offer.  Don’t let anybody rob you of your opportunity to speak with me!  I would like to earn your business.  Both now, and in the future.

Support Chrysler and Jeep.

  Ask for Craig too!

 

 

 

Call Us Today!

     I have been with Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep since Nov. 21, 2000.  One thing that I like about Mick’s Chrysler Jeep is that many of the people here have been with Mick for over twenty years!  When’s the last time that you walked in to a car dealer and recognized the boss’ and sales people?

     Many stores employe jumpers.  These people have worked at many dealerships over a short period of time, and they may lack consistancy as well as other traits.  You have to be competent, honest, and consistant to be able to stay with the same dealer for a long period of time.  Mick’s Chrysler Jeep provides this intangible commodity in spades. 

Call 412-367-7200

Use the Contact Page

or e-mail me :

cdennis@the-exclusivechrysler-center.com

My Other Favorite Links:

See my Blog

Mick’s Inventory

Mopar Accessories

Contact Craig

Craig Dennis’ other site

ChryslerCraig.net

 

WordPress.com - Web Log

ChryslerCraig’s Web Log

 

Look for the Statue of Liberty and my ChryslerCraig plaque on my desk.

 Look for me when you stop in! 

Knowing Which Cars Are Twins Gives Consumers More Choice!

Twinned Vehicles: Same Cars, Different Brands

Knowing Which Cars Are Twins Gives Consumers More Choice

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By Joanne Helperin, Senior Features Editor

2009 Buick Enclave CXL

So what are “twinned vehicles,” and how will knowing about them help you choose the right car?

Twinned vehicles are basically the same under the skin, but are sold under different brand names and marketed as unique vehicles. Manufacturers see this as a way of killing two birds with one stone: expanding their reach in various market segments while avoiding the higher costs of engineering a new vehicle. This practice is also referred to as “badge engineering,” since an automaker can create the illusion of an “all-new” model simply by changing the badges, the grille and other superficial styling details.

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Twinned vehicles are built on the same chassis and share most of their under-hood and interior components, but often have different sheet metal, amenities and interior design. This idea extends as well to “triplet” and “quadruplet” vehicles, as in the case of the Buick Enclave/GMC Acadia/Saturn Outlook/ Chevrolet Traverse quads.

Note that twinned vehicles are different from vehicles that only share platforms. Vehicles that share platforms can straddle vehicle types and sizes, such as the Ford Fusion sedan and the Ford Edge SUV, whereas twinned vehicles cannot. There are far more vehicles that share platforms (Ford and Mazda vehicles, for example) than are twins.

Not Like It Used To Be

Because it has so many brands under one corporate parent, General Motors is the classic example of a company that found efficiencies by issuing virtual carbon copies of its cars across numerous brands. At one point in its history, GM even had sextuplets. But in today’s world of customization and target marketing, the company is tailoring its vehicles to appeal to different customers.

“In recent times we’ve placed much more focus on the type of customer for a particular brand, to what type of features and styling appeals to a Buick Enclave customer versus that of our new Chevrolet Traverse,” says GM spokesman Jim Burke. “While it’s true that the vehicles share common chassis and powertrain attributes, really the customer doesn’t see or touch these ‘black metal’ attributes. We’ve really worked to differentiate and distinguish the models from the standpoint of exterior and interior design.”

So, for example, the Traverse’s sheet metal is mostly unique, sharing only its roof and liftgate with its siblings. Its dual-cockpit design — the way the dashboard arches up from the center stack on both sides — is unique to Chevrolet and harkens back to Corvettes of 50 years ago. The instrumentation and door pads are also unique to the Traverse.

But design isn’t the only feature that distinguishes the quads. According to Burke, customers are also attuned to the driving characteristics a particular brand is known for. So Chevy customers expect tighter steering and suspension, whereas Buick customers expect a softer, more luxurious ride.

It also held true in the past that twinned vehicles could be distinguished by the packaging of standard features and options: An item buried in an options package on one twin might be standard equipment on the other twin. That’s far less true today than just a few years ago, but it’s still worth reading those features and options lists carefully. In the case of the GM quads, whether a rearview camera, memory seats, Bluetooth or power rear liftgate is available as either standard or optional depends on which of the quads — and which of the trim levels — you choose.

More important may be the differences that exist in warranty coverage. This happens largely because vehicle twins exist today not only across brands within a company, but across different companies that share their engineering. A Pontiac Vibe, for example, is backed by GM’s three-year/100,000-mile drivetrain warranty; whereas its twin, the Toyota Matrix, has five-year/60,000-mile drivetrain coverage. Even bigger warranty discrepancies can exist if one twin is from a luxury brand and another is not, such as the Lexus ES 350 and the Toyota Camry.

One last thing to consider when comparing twins is resale value; mechanically identical cars can still have differences when you try to sell them. For example, as of this writing, the GMC Yukon Denali depreciates $31,643 in five years. Its twin, the Cadillac Escalade, depreciates by almost $10,000 more. While this kind of discrepancy isn’t common, it’s a good idea to use our True Cost to OwnSM (TCO) tool to compare the full five-year costs of owning the vehicles you’re comparing.

So How Does This Help Me?

Many people don’t realize the strong similarity between cars of different brands. Knowing which vehicles are twins allows you to see through the marketing spin. More importantly, it gives you flexibility and bargaining leverage at the dealership (in terms of equipment, trim level and color). For example, if you like the seating capacity and general performance of the GMC Acadia but the dealer isn’t giving you a good price, you can suggest that you’d be just as happy with the Outlook at the Saturn dealership a few miles away. It’s a pretty sure bet he’ll work harder to keep you at his dealership instead.

Below is a list of all the twin/triplet/quadruplet vehicles offered as of September 1, 2008. Some, like the Chevrolet Cobalt and the Pontiac G5, are close to identical; many others are more like fraternal twins. When car shopping, remember to compare not only whole vehicles, but specific trim levels and standard features as well. You can easily compare up to five vehicles at once by using our Vehicle Comparison tool.

See The ExclusiveChrysler Center.com 

2008 and 2009 Chrysler – Jeep Rebates and Financing Incentives

 

Call Craig Dennis at 412-367-7200 with any additional questions.

Buying American Cars Brings Manufacturing Jobs And Prosperity Back To America

     American Car Companies are building the best made cars in the world!

     Companies like Chrysler LLC.  are building cars, trucks, minivans, suv’s, and crossover vehicles that have quality that is unsurpassed in the world today.  That is why they have a Lifetime Powertrain Warranty!  Infact all American car companies have better warranties than their foreign competitors !  Today’s car market is very competitive.  It is a volume game.  There are three American car manufacturers battling against over fifteen foreign names!

What happens when you buy a foreign car in America?

     Your foreign car may be assembled in America; but the steel isn’t made here, the coal isn’t mined here, and the parts are not made here.  The back end costs are higher on foreign cars because of this.  Insurance rates are typically higher also because all of the parts need to be shipped here.  Think about all the jobs that are lost here in America.  The company that makes the stamping equipment doesn’t sell their wares, costing jobs.  The people that make the steel, deliver the steel, stamp the steel, and make the finished products don’t have a chance to earn a dime let alone employe Americans.   All that money goes overseas too!  Then we have to pay interest on this money because we are running a trade deficit.  This interest cost prevents our government from providing services to us here in America!

     Everyone to a man wants to bring manufacturing jobs back to America, but we each need to do our part each and every day everytime we make a purchase.  America is a consumer driven market.  Nobody else can change our current state but us!  We need to take responsibility for our countries trade deficit.  Every dollar not spent on foreign products is a dollar that we don’t have to pay interest on, and thus more money that we have to spend on improving our own lives!

Lets call on our Government to pass laws that makes business want to stay in America!

     Lets call on our government to pass laws that encourage companies to stay in America!  And, lets pass laws that benifit the companies that stay here and pay taxes here! 

Just what is a Foreign Car Company in America today?

     Just in case you are to young to remember when Nissan was called Datsun; foreign cars are Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Lexus, Infinity, Acura, Volkeswagen, Volvo, Mazda, Mercedes, BMW, Hyuandai, Kia, Mini Cooper, Jaguar, Porche, Bentley, Bolls Royce, Subaru, Audi and more.  Just look at what American Companies have to contend with. 

     I am not knocking foreign car companies.  I am knocking the perception that their cars are higher quality and more dependable.  Consumer Reports has just let out that they have been giving Toyota an AUTOMATIC RECOMMENDED rating for years without even testing them.  It is only now that severe quality issues have surfaced, and they have changed this policy.  They ACTUALLY review their cars now!  American cars have been getting bad press for no apparent reason for so long that people believe it now.   You know, tell a lie long enough and it becomes the truth!

     Lets keep American Cars on your list of must see vehicles!  Buying American Cars brings Jobs Back To America!  Do this by putting American cars back on your list of must see cars, and stop in and look around!  Once you see what we have to offer, it will be difficult to see the foreign cars in the same light!

 

Best regards,

Craig Dennis

412-367-7200

cdennis@the-exclusivechrysler-center.comThe ExclusiveChrysler Center

My name is Craig Dennis and I work at Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep

Mick's Chrysle Jeep

Hello, My name is Craig Dennis from Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep in Pittsburgh, Pa.  I like to believe that Mick’s Chrysler Jeep is the best place to do business in the entire Pittsburgh Tri-State Area!  I have come to believe this because of the conversations that I have had with Quick Mick himself, plus I have admired the competency of the people that Quick has assembled around him.  Most of all, Quick will always side with what is right no matter who is wrong!  This has empowered me to be the best that I can be knowing that there is a man at the top who will sort things out and correct me when I need correcting.

     Many people in the car business jump from one dealership to the next.  There are many reasons that they claim to do this, but it usually boils down to the fact that they always think the grass is greener on the other hill side, or they can’t hold a job.  Quick Mick does not employ jumpers.  Salesmen with stature exibit traits like honesty, truthfulness, competency, and commitment to excellence.  I sincerely hope that you will stop by Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep and give me a chance to earn your business.

See Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep New Car Ad

 

 

 

 

 

 

See Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep Used Car Ad

 

See the Current Chrysler – Jeep Rebates, Financing Incentives, and Lease cash

 

Best regards,

Craig Dennis

Sales and Leasing

Contact me

 

Mick’s North Hills Chrysler Jeep

7670 McKnight Road

Pittsburgh, Pa. 15237

412-367-7200

cdennis@the-exclusivechrysler-center.com