Chrysler muscle car to roar out of Brampton, Ont.
GREG KEENAN
Feb. 13, 2007


The Chrysler entrant in the North American muscle car wars will roar out of Brampton, Ont.,

DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc. announced Tuesday that the Dodge Challenger will be assembled in its Brampton plant about a year from now.

“Quickly bringing desirable new products such as the Dodge Challenger to market is critical to keeping our plants humming and our dealerships busy,” Reid Bigland, president of DaimlerChrysler Canada Inc., said in a statement.

The Challenger made its re-entry to the Chrysler world at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, but it was overshadowed by the return of a rival, the Chevrolet Camaro from General Motors Corp.

But it appears Chrysler will win the race to market, with Challenger scheduled to go into production next spring and Camaro not available until 2009.

“Brampton is our first plant to demonstrate the ability to build four models on one line,” said Frank Ewasyshyn, Chrysler's executive vice-president of manufacturing.

The announcement was made ahead of the release of DaimlerChrysler AG's year-end and fourth-quarter profit figures on Wednesday when the auto maker will announce a restructuring plan for its money-losing Chrysler division.

The plan is expected to include 2,000 job cuts in Canada and 10,000 overall in North America.