We got an up close and personal look at the Mopar’s take on the Jeep Compass, which they call the “True North” edition, today at the Chicago Auto Show.

The modifications gave a bit of practical improvement while leaving the SUV’s off-road ability untouched. Among those changes, front and rear brush bars offer the Compass’ underside some protection. Beyond that, the Mopar treatment is strictly cosmetic. A two-tone burnt orange and matte black finish make it look more aggressive, as do the larger fenders.

Inside, the car gets neoprene seats, which is a cool touch for a vehicle aimed at outdoorsy types. The dashboard also gets tilt and pitch gauges, which would be a cool edition for a trail rated vehicle if we hadn’t touched them and the carbon fiber shifter knob was also a cool touch. Unfortunately, the unit felt like flimsy and poorly attached. Finally  The car also got an improved sound system which we could see working well during beach nights or camping trips where the flip-down rear speakers get their best use.

Have a look through our gallery and lend us your thoughts in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

Of all the special edition vehicles Mopar has on display today at the Chicago Auto Show, the Dodge Dart is probably the most attractive.

It’s also the most radically different looking of the four vehicles we had a chance to see today thanks to the sweeping carbon fiber hood with an aggressive-looking hood scoop that looks down towards a black grille. Those colors work well against the car’s red paint, especially with the 18-inch black aluminum alloy wheels which set this special dart aflight.

Mopar also graced the car with a better air intake and exhaust and retuned engine computer to make an extra 30 horsepower, bringing this version up to 210 total.

Inside, the car gets similar treatment as the exterior. A matching color scheme and piano black trim set the Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute well apart from the stock model — if you’re into the racer boy look.

Click through our gallery and tells us your thoughts in the comments section below.

GALLERY: Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Today we took a first-hand look at the most powerful of the four vehicles Mopar doctored up for this year’s Chicago Auto Show, the Mopar Chrysler 300 ’12.

In case you don’t recognize that name — it’s actually just a dressed up Chrysler 300, albeit with a price tag that jumped about $10,000 over the entry-level Hemi 300. For $49,700, you get a somewhat sinister black-and-chrome color scheme helped by blue pinstripes that set the car’s lines back in sight. 20-inch glossy black rims complement the matching grille and paint job.

The 300 ’12 interior is full of black leather with blue stitching to match the striped outside. The seats also get blue Mopar emblems embroidered in them, though they look gaudy in a car at that price.

You won’t find any engine changes here, the same 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 363 horsepower is mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission, but it’s going to feel more punchy off the line thanks to a more aggressive differential. Drivers may also notice improved handling thanks to a stiffer suspension.

Have a look at our gallery and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

GALLERY: 2012 Mopar 300 ’12

Mopar is making an appearance at the Chicago Auto Show featuring four cars they’ve decked out with loads of visual goodies including the Mopar Fiat 500 “Stinger,” pictured above.

Photos hit the media last week, along with the equipment list for the Stinger, which plays up the black and yellow paint scheme you might expect given the name. Black stripes run along the sides, and a black-and-yellow checker pattern covers the roof.

Other than the exterior styling changes, the other-other 500 (don’t forget the Abarth) comes with black chrome accents and 17-inch black aluminum wheels borrowed from, well, the Abarth. The interior also gets new color touches that match the Stinger-styled outside.

Performance-wise there isn’t much different here: just a new set of brakes, cold air intake and a cat-back exhaust to help the car’s 1.4-liter engine breathe easier.

Have a look at our pictures from the show, shown below.

GALLERY: Fiat 500 Stinger

Mopar has treated us to some automotive delights this morning by releasing Chrysler vehicles decked out with Mopar parts in celebration of the aftermarket parts companies 75th anniversary. The Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute is a race inspired package that takes the already sporty looking Dart to a new level of performance.

The exterior of the Dart GTS 210 has gained several matte black trim pieces including a lower chin spoiler, side sills, rear spoiler and rear-diffuser panel. A carbon fiber hood complete with large air scoop takes some weight off the Dart and makes it look good. The Dart GTS 210 will run on 18-inch, 10 spoke forged alloy titanium-colored wheels which look fantastic against the ruby red paint.

The interior of the Dart GTS 210 will carry on the black and red theme with red Katzkin leather seats accented by black stitching. Piano black trim is used on the shifter bezel, cup holder bezel and dash vents bezel. To top it all off the Dodge Dart GTS 210 gets a suede clad instrument panel with red accent stitching.

For performance, Mopar has added an improved air flow intake, a low back pressure exhaust system and finer tuned fuel/air mix in the cylinder to pull 210 horsepower out of the regular 180 horsepower engine.

The Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Discuss this story at DartForum.com

Chrysler released details on the Mopar Jeep Compass “True North” today, along with three other vehicles meant to mark their 75th anniversary, all of which will be on display at the 2012 Chicago International Auto Show.

Here’s what we’ve learned about the modified Compass since we published our earlier story featuring photos of all four cars.

First, we’ve found that Mopar knows better than to tinker with a Jeep owner’s pavement-optional perspective. They say it’s still an off-road capable, trail-rated vehicle, though nothing Mopar does really adds, or subtracts anything. The only modification that makes the “True North” Compass any more viable in the bush is the added brush bars on the front and back that might keep your undercarriage a bit safer from rocks.

That said, this is anything but a rock crawler. Realistically, most Compass owners probably don’t go off-roading unless you count driving on the beach or through a snowy parking lot.

The modifications are superficial, but at least they make the Compass look a lot cooler. For example, the two-tone burnt orange and matte black grille and bumper make the car look less like a boring suburb spelunker and more like a stylish SUV. The same matte black accents surround the front and rear fog lights and run along the edge of the fenders and fascia.

The interior really plays up the Compass’s appeal to the young outdoorsy types it’s aimed at. Mopar even added neoprene seats. Yup, the same synthetic rubber material that half the stuff in REI is made of. It’s a cool touch that screams out to people who own CamelBacks and Nalgene bottles.

A center stack gauge pod holds pitch and roll meters if you do decide to take that risky first trip into the wild, though you won’t be doing it without modern amenities. Aside from little interior touches, the last big change is a Kicker sounds system the company says transforms the car into a “rolling high-end sound studio.” We’re not sure what sort of audio work people do on camping trips, but maybe you can enlighten us in the comments box below.

GALLERY: 2012 Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

Mopar introduced us to four new Chrysler tuned vehicles this morning, one of them being the Fiat 500 Stinger.

The Stinger comes with a Giallo (yellow) paint job, playing on the bumblebee reference, with black racing stripe and checkered flag design on the roof. To contrast the bright yellow paint, Mopar has outfitted the Stinger with black chrome accents around the headlights, door handles and mirror caps. The Stinger will ride on 17-inch by 7-inch Abarth hyper black aluminium wheels outfitted with performance tires.

The interior of the Stinger will continue with the Giallo and black theme with Mopar’s Katzkin black leather seats stitched with yellow highlights and accents. A Mopar carbon fiber instrument panel decal gives the Stinger a technical race appearance as does the Mopar shift knob finished in gloss black.

In terms of performance, not a lot has been done to the Stinger. It gets a cold-air intake as well as a free flowing cat back exhaust to squeeze some more juice out of the 1.4 liter 16 valve Mulitair engine. The brakes have also been upgrade to match the performance feel of the Stinger, utilizing cross drilled rotors to dissipate surface heat faster.

The Mopar Fiat 500 Stinger will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

GALLERY: Mopar Fiat 500 Stinger

The Mopar ’12 300, as it’s being called, is a souped up version of the 2012 Chrysler 300.

Earlier today we published a story featuring a gallery with four Mopar-modified cars, which will appear at next month’s Chicago International Auto Show. Since then, the company released detailed information on them. Here’s what we’ve learned about the Mopar ’12 300.

On the outside, the car features a black on black look that suggests improved performance. A single blue pinstripe runs from the front fender to the tail lights, keeping the car from looking more like a piece of auto-shaped obsidian than a sedan.

20-inch glossy black wheels with a matching blue stripe are wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1s. Just above those wheels, the car sports “Mopar 75” fender badges that feature the Mopar Blue “omega” logo.

The interior is “monotone” black with die-cast aluminum paddle shifters, a thicker steering wheel and blue stitching. The sound system gets a boost too, featuring a 506-watt Alpine 9-speaker system.

Nothing changes under the hood aside from a new Mopar engine cover. The same 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 363 horsepower is mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission that powers the rear wheels.

That power will feel a little different though, thanks to a more aggressively geared differential, which gets swapped from 3.06:1 to 3.91:1.

Though the 300 isn’t known for it’s nimble cornering, the Mopar ’12 edition will feel better than the 300C, which is minimum level Hemi version, thanks to a stiffer suspension.

The brakes also get a bit better, though it’s marginal for a car that weighs more than 4300 pounds. The Mopar package moves us up to bigger front brakes featuring two pistons over the standard single piston versions.

Before you buy one of these things, take a good hard look at what you’re getting. Sure, it looks different, but you had better be in love with the looks because at $49,700 you’re paying more than $10,000 for what amounts to a lot of makeup and marginally improved performance.

GALLERY: Mopar ’12 300

For Mopar’s 75th birthday they have added some style and performance to four of Chrysler’s cars.

The Jeep Compass get’s the “True North” package, adding some matte black highlights and blacked out rims. The Fiat 500 is re-badged as the Mopar Fiat Stinger, sporting a bright yellow paint job complete with black racing stripe and checkered flag designed roof. The Dodge Dart becomes the Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 tribute, which comes with a carbon fiber hood complete with hood scoop, a skirt to get the Dart a little closer to the ground, and red leather accented interior to make the Dart really pop. To close out the four Mopar tuned vehicles is the Chrysler 300 which is simply called the Mopar ’12. The ’12 got the blacked out treatment, except for a blue line which circles the front wheels and the runs down the side profile of the car.

All four of these beauties will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Check out the pictures below and tell us what you think in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

GALLERY: Mopar Fiat (500) Stinger

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

GALLERY: Mopar Chrysler (300) ’12

On January 31st, Chrysler’s Mopar Division (a term coined from its original title, Motor Parts), celebrates its 75th birthday. And what  could be a better way to mark the occasion than unveiling four modified production vehicles created from the current Mopar performance catalog.

The official unveiling of these four, as of yet unknown machines (the image above is of Mopar’s existing Jeep Wrangler JK-8 pickup conversion), will take place tomorrow at 9.00 Eastern Standard Time at Mopar’s Accessory and Performance Parts Lab, located at 26001 Lawrence Avenue, Center Line, Michigan.

Present at the ceremony will be Pietro Gorlier, who currently heads up Mopar division, along with legendary drag racer Don Garlits. Once the four vehicles have been revealed, they will take pride of place on the Chrysler stand at this year’s Chicago Auto Show, which runs from February 10-19.

Live streaming of the official unveiling begins at 8.30 am EST tomorrow. For more information, click on the link below:

[Source: Mopar]