Decades of Chrysler history will be on display at the All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle, Pa. 

Auto Shows | July 08 2015

Exploring the Chrysler universe in Carlisle

Summer is a great time for road trips. Your friends at the “Objects In The Mirror …” blog are taking one this weekend to the beautiful country in southern Pennsylvania for the All-Chrysler Nationals in Carlisle.

This company’s history is filled with amazing vehicles that showcase history-making designs and technology. Seeing all those iconic vehicles and meeting some of the visionary people who created them is an experience no Mopar fan should miss.

Carlisle is one of the few places where you can take it all in at one site.

“Carlisle is one event that every Mopar fan must attend at least once,” says Brandt Rosenbusch, manager of historical vehicles for FCA US. “This is an incredible gathering of more than 2,500 Mopar-related vehicles that spans every era, including our current performance cars. Every time I’ve been there, I’m amazed at the passion and enthusiasm that our collectors out there have for our products.”

That’s all it took to sell the boss on hitting the road.

Can’t be there this year (because you already committed to cleaning the garage, or whatever)? That’s OK, we’re going to bring you some highlights. Follow us on Twitter, @fcacorporate, because we’re going to post photos and stream video using Periscope and Meerkat. (Search for #ChryslerCarlisle and #CarlisleEvents.) Check out our Facebook and Instagram pages for updates. You’ll find videos at our YouTube channel.

What, exactly, will thousands of Mopar fans do for a weekend?

The agenda includes seminars on car valuations, repair and restoration tips, and sessions with members of the Ramchargers and Golden Commandos — groups of former Chrysler engineers whose passion for drag racing in the 1950s and ’60s carried over to their day jobs, resulting in some of the most-potent HEMI engines and muscle cars to reach car dealers’ lots.

The weekend includes a display of several stylish vehicles from the Forward Look era of the late 1950s and early ’60s, a sleek styling theme launched by design chief Virgil Exner. There is also a collection of 1970 Plymouth Barracuda AARs and Dodge Challenger T/As, street-legal versions of race cars built for the Trans Am race series.

And plenty of what Mopar fans love most — meeting old friends and making new ones while admiring cars that sparked a passion. Representatives from Mopar will be walking the Carlisle show field, looking for one car and its owner that symbolizes the passion for our products to be awarded the Top Eliminator trophy.

We also plan to hit the swap meet, where enthusiasts deep into a restoration project may find that elusive piece of trim or NOS part. There will be cars for sale, too. We’ll check them out, as well as check out the various vendors. Yes, we’ll come home with a new t-shirt.

Join us.

Dale Jewett

Do you know your blood type? Mine is 100 octane (not your standard blood bank classification). At any given moment, I’m thinking about cars – driving one, fixing one, buying one or (in my dreams) restoring one. So I love to tell stories that involve horsepower, brake and wheel diameters
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Do you know your blood type? Mine is 100 octane (not your standard blood bank classification). At any given moment, I’m thinking about cars – driving one, fixing one, buying one or (in my dreams) restoring one. So I love to tell stories that involve horsepower, brake and wheel diameters and 0-to-60 times – and the people who make it happen. Because behind every awesome vehicle are amazing people with vision and the desire to make it a reality. I cover Mopar, Dodge, SRT and motorsports for Stellantis Digital Media. I learned to drive on a 1973 Jeep CJ-5 with the rare Super Jeep option package and three-speed manual transmission. I still belong to the dwindling club of people who prefer to shift their own gears, and think the best way to drive is with the top down!