Mopar Extends Commitment to Teen Driver Safety

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Jul 25, 2015, 02:00 ET

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

"Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" teen defensive driving program will make seven stops in 2015-2016
Dodge, America's mainstream performance brand, is lending Mopar a hand to help ensure teens remain safe behind the wheel
Program builds on the successful foundation of the "Mopar Road Ready" initiative, which helped educate more than 700 teens and parents
The program will include stops in the Detroit and Denver areas

"Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" teen defensive driving program to make seven stops in 2015-2016

Mopar is going the extra mile in its commitment to promoting teen safety behind the wheel, with a helping hand from America's mainstream performance brand. "Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" will feature a slate of seven events scheduled for late 2015 and early 2016, each dedicated to training and educating teenage drivers.

The program is an extension of the "Mopar Road Ready" program, introduced earlier this year, which helped teach more than 700 teens and parents about the importance of being safe on the road during stops in California, Florida and Michigan.

"We are pleased to receive additional support from our sister brand Dodge in fueling our mission to teach teens the importance of safe driving," said Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO — Mopar Brand Service, Parts and Customer Care, FCA. "Thanks to sponsorship from the FCA Foundation and the Dodge brand, 'Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge' will help educate and equip hundreds of additional teens with the defensive driving skills they need."

"The Dodge brand wants all drivers to experience that visceral feeling that makes them fall in love with driving, and that includes making sure they feel comfortable in all driving situations," said Tim Kuniskis, President and Chief Executive Officer – Dodge Brand and SRT Brand, FCA – North America. "The 'Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge' program gives new teen drivers seven additional opportunities to learn skills and gain valuable experience behind the wheel."

The "Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" program has confirmed two event stops thus far, at Mopar Headquarters in Center Line, Michigan (September 12–13), and Bandimere Speedway in Morrison, Colorado (October 24–25). The Center Line location was the site of a sold-out "Mopar Road Ready" stop (and 200-plus waiting list) earlier this year, while Bandimere Speedway is home to Mopar's headline event, the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals drag race, taking place near Denver this weekend.

Additional event dates and locations will be released in the near future.

"Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" is sponsored by the FCA Foundation, in collaboration with the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Motorsports Museum and B.R.A.K.E.S (Be Responsible And Keep Everyone Safe), two nationally recognized non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations that share similar missions of promoting the importance of safe and responsible driving.

The advanced driving program, designed to teach safe and defensive driving techniques, is available to teens between the ages of 15-19 with a learner's or driver's license and at least 30 hours of driving experience. Participants will benefit from a proven curriculum and skilled high-caliber instructors provided by the B.R.A.K.E.S. organization. It incorporates both classroom education and hands-on training with a 3:1 student-to-instructor ratio, allowing for quality time with each teen.

Each teen's participation in the training program will include a companion experience for a parent or adult guardian who also will actively take part. "Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" sessions will provide a brief classroom review of core driving topics, including proper seat positioning, hand positioning and basic vehicle dynamics. Advanced behind-the-wheel training will then be provided to teens, with on-track course sessions including accident avoidance (slalom), distraction, panic stop, wheel drop and wet skid pad.

"Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" classes are free of charge to registered teens and their parents or guardians. A $99 refundable registration deposit (plus processing fees) is required to secure a spot and is returned after the session. Parents can register their teens at Mopar.com/Road-Ready/Detroit or Mopar.com/Road-Ready/Denver.

For information on future "Mopar Road Ready Powered by Dodge" events, visit Mopar.com. For more information on the NHRA Motorsports Museum and B.R.A.K.E.S, visit www.nhra.com or www.putonthebrakes.org.

About the FCA Foundation
Since 1953, the FCA Foundation, the charitable arm of FCA US LLC, has invested more than $500 million in charitable organizations and initiatives that help empower people and build strong, viable communities. The FCA Foundation invests in programs that generate meaningful and measurable societal impacts in the following areas:

Education – programs that inspire young minds, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM);
Military – programs that support financial and basic needs of military service members, veterans and their families;
Multicultural/Diversity – programs that promote inclusion and opportunity for diverse populations; and
Youth Development – programs that help young people develop the skills and leadership qualities to succeed in school, at work and in life.

Additionally, FCA US seeks opportunities to support communities through its Motor Citizens® volunteer program. This innovative program enables FCA US salaried employees to use 18 hours of paid time each year to be an Engine for Change by investing their time and talents in community service projects.

About Dodge Brand
The Dodge brand is America's mainstream performance brand. With the purification of the brand and consolidation with SRT, Dodge is getting back to its performance roots with every single model it offers. The Dodge and SRT brands offer a complete lineup of performance vehicles that stand out within their own segments. Dodge is the "mainstream performance" brand, and SRT is positioned as the "ultimate performance" halo of the Dodge brand, together creating a complete and balanced performance brand with one vision and one voice.

From muscle cars to compact cars, minivans, crossovers and full-size SUVs, the Dodge brand's full lineup of 2015 models delivers best-in-class horsepower, class-exclusive technology, unmatched capability and a slew of cool features, such as LED headlamps, Dodge signature racetrack tail lamps, dual exhaust, 8.4-inch touchscreen infotainment centers and 7-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) customizable gauge clusters, to name a few. For the 2015 model year, customers will be able to drive the new 2015 Dodge Charger and Challenger, as well as the Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and Charger SRT Hellcat. The Dodge brand lineup also includes the 2015 Dodge Dart, Durango, Grand Caravan and Journey, including the new Crossroad model, and its flagship, the Dodge Viper.

About Mopar Brand
Mopar (a simple contraction of the words MOtor and PARts) was trademarked in 1937 with the launch of an antifreeze product, but it truly made its mark in the 1960s during the muscle-car era. From Mopar Performance Parts to enhance speed and handling for both road and racing use, the brand soon expanded to include technical service and customer support.

Today, Mopar is FCA's service, parts and customer-care brand and distributes more than 500,000 parts and accessories in over 150 markets around the world. With more than 50 parts distribution centers and 27 customer-contact hubs globally, Mopar integrates service, parts and customer-care operations in order to enhance dealer and customer support worldwide. Mopar is the source for genuine parts and accessories for FCA brands.

Mopar parts are engineered together with the same teams that create factory-authorized specifications for FCA vehicles. This offers a direct connection that no other aftermarket parts company can provide. A complete list of Mopar accessories and performance parts is available at www.mopar.com.

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SOURCE FCA US LLC