2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan Win 2008 International Car of the Year (ICOTY) AwardsOnce again, Chrysler LLC’s “family rooms on

Once again, Chrysler LLC’s “family rooms on wheels” have been awarded highest honors. For the first time in the award’s history, the all-new 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan captured all of the votes for best minivans as awarded by the 2008 International Car of the Year Awards (ICOTY) jurors, leaving no room for third-place contenders.

2008 Dodge Grand Caravan

The 2008 Chrysler Town & Country earned first-place in two categories, International Truck of the Year and The Most Compatible Minivan of the Year. The 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan earned second place in The Most Compatible Minivan of the Year category as well.

In addition, the 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan "Rooms" television spot won The Heart String Award from the ICOTY jury for the most emotionally compelling car advertisement.

"We’re honored to have earned the accolades of jurors on the ICOTY panel for our all-new minivans,” said Deborah Meyer, Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer. “These awards serve as testimony to what customers have been telling us about the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan, namely that they offer more innovation, functionality, value, safety and useful features than any other minivan in the market."

2008 Chrysler Town & Country Limited

As the fifth generation of industry leading minivans, the 2008 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Grand Caravan are designed to be “family rooms on wheels,” with each offering distinct advantages in the areas of safety, fuel economy, functionality and design.

Among the all-new minivans’ 35 new or improved features are:

* Three distinct seating systems that include the Swivel n’ Go™ seat system, the Stow n’ Go® seating system and a second- row bench seat with fold-in-the-floor third-row seat. Swivel n’ Go offers second-row seats that swivel 180 degrees to face the third row with a removable table that installs between the two rows, covered storage bins in the second-row floor, third-row uncovered storage and fold-in-the-floor third-row seating
* Standard safety equipment such as advanced multi-stage driver and low-risk deployment air bags, the all-row supplemental side-curtain air bags with added rollover protection and an electronic stability program with traction control and brake assist
* Entertainment features including SIRIUS Backseat TV featuring three family friendly channels (Disney Channel, Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon Mobile) and a dual DVD entertainment system that allows for different media to be played at the same time
* Convenience features like the one-touch power third row folding seat and YES Essentials stain-resistant, odor-resistant and anti-static fabric seats, a premium front console that slides rearward 21 inches and 13 cup or bottle holders
* A minivan-first six-speed transaxle available with 3.3-liter, 3.8-liter and 4.0-liter V-6 engines for more spirited driving performance

Chrysler LLC invented the modern minivan segment in 1983 and has been the innovation and sales leader in the segment ever since, selling more than 12 million minivans worldwide to date and pioneering more than 60 minivan or industry-first features.

The ICOTY awards are voted on by a panel representing a variety of automotive media. The ICOTY awards honor vehicles made in all countries around the world that are sold in North America. The awards are a salute to automakers and their teams for their success in connecting with consumers. J.D. Power tabulated the jury votes.

BMW Announces Pricing for All-New BMW M3 Coupe and Sedan at 2008 NAIAS

During its press conference today at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, BMW announced the pricing for the highly anticipated 2008 BMW M3 Coupe and 2008 BMW M3 Sedan. When the vehicles go on sale in March, the Coupe will be priced at $57,275 and the Sedan at $54,575. Sharing the high-revving 414-horsepower V8 and balanced chassis designed to be "faster than its engine," this March, BMW M GmbH will offer the most powerful, best performing series production M3s to the North American market.

The all-new 2008 M3 Coupe and M3 Sedan-the fourth generation of compact sport vehicles which set the standard in minimizing any compromises between race-inspired performance and luxury and convenience-feature the first V8 in a series-production BMW M3. They also feature driver-adjustable settings for crucial dynamic controls encompassing engine response, steering, damping and stability (with an available steering-wheel-mounted "MDrive" button to store the preferences) and a sumptuous interior which can be optimized to the driver's desires including the comprehensive entertainment/navigation system operated through BMW's latest iDrive controller.

Additionally, the 2008 M3 Coupe is the first production vehicle in its segment with a carbon fiber reinforced roof. The material shares the same safety properties as steel, but is four times lighter. Weighing around 11 lbs. less than a standard steel roof and approximately 44 lbs. less than a steel roof incorporating a moonroof, the carbon fiber reinforced roof provides significant weight saving at the highest point of the car-lowering the car's center of gravity-to increase agility and responsiveness while limiting dive and roll in turns.

Racing provided the reason for the original M3's 1986 creation as the company had to produce road-going homologation versions of its 3 Series Coupe to enter the motorsports version in the German Touring Car Championship. The original M3's popularity provided the impetus to continue developing the M3, making it both a better performer and more inviting road car. The M3 has continued to evolve along with the underlying 3 Series, the company's most popular, upon which it is based.

In 1987 North Americans received their first taste of the high-rpm, naturally aspirated 2.3-liter four-cylinder M3 Coupe's 192-hp and thus was born a legend on this side of the Atlantic. The next generation arrived in 1995 with a 3.0-liter (and later, 3.2-liter) 240-hp inline-six powerplant. In 1997 the first M3 Sedan joined the family and the first M3 Convertible followed shortly thereafter. The most-recent version, available from 2001-2006 as either a coupe or convertible, again was offered with six-cylinder power, this time providing 333 hp from its 3.2 liters. This vehicle was BMW's first use of SMG (Sequential Manual Gearbox) for the U.S. market.