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Dodge Durango to stay classy with Ron Burgundy as spokesperson [w/video]

The upcoming 2014 Dodge Durango has a lot of things going for it, including its 290-horsepower V6 and 360-hp Hemi V8 engine options, an eight-speed automatic and aggressive looks. And now it will have Ron Burgundy, the fictional television news anchor played by comedian Will Ferrell, as a spokesperson, Adweek reports. He follows in the footsteps of other non-fictional Chrysler brand spokespeople such as Eminem, Clint Eastwood and the late Paul Harvey.
Though the star of 2004's Anchorman and the upcoming Anchorman 2 is wildly popular, we're not sure we see a Dodge spokesperson in Burgundy. (Please, no womanizing or scotchy, scotch, scotch before test test drives). But at this point there's no turning back: Chrysler's chief marketing officer Olivier Francois previewed three ad spots at the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix on Friday, and says Chrysler has already filmed 68(!) Durango ads with the fictional newsman.
According to Adweek, one of the ads previewed had Burgundy highlighting the SUV's glovebox size, and in another he compared its horsepower to a white horse standing next to him. Will this help Dodge Durango sales improve? We can only wait and see. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts in Comments, and check out the trailer for Anchorman 2 below.

Chrysler's Woodward Dream Cruise festivities include Ram concept truck debut

The streets will be crowded next weekend along Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak, Michigan for the 19th Annual Woodward Dream Cruise. As part of the run-up to the festivities, Chrysler has announced that all of its brands - Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Fiat, SRT and Mopar - will bring along their latest vehicles. Also included will be a collection of classic American cars and various activities for attendees at the official Chrysler location on the corner of Woodward and 13 Mile Road.
Special to this year, Ram brand director Bob Hegbloom and head of design John Dehner will unveil a Ram concept truck on Saturday. Chrysler will also bring Ryan Friedlinghaus of West Coast Customs fame along to show off a few custom Chrysler-made vehicles of his own. Fans of the brand on Facebook will get the chance to virtually customize a vehicle from the automaker's portfolio, with the winner getting their dream car built for them by Chrysler. Pretty cool stuff, no?
As in past years, Ford and General Motors will have an official presence at the event as well, and you can expect to see plenty of cars of all makes and models from all parts of the globe. The madness starts this Friday, August 16, from 4:30 PM to 10 PM, with the main event taking place on Saturday, from 9 AM to 9 PM. For more details on the show, including events and their times, check out the press release below.

2014 Dodge Durango leaks ahead of NY rollout

Even though Chrysler will reportedly discontinue the Dodge Durango after the current model's lifespan - said to be around 2016 - that isn't stopping the automaker from improving its full-size, three-row SUV. The vehicle won't debut at the New York Auto Show until tomorrow, but images are already leaking out ahead of the embargo lift, and they show that the 2014 model is getting even more aggressive styling to go with more technology inside and out.
Dodge limited its early press shots of the new Durango to just the R/T trim level, but this new look adds a meaner look to this model with more dramatic projector-beam headlights along with a "floating" crosshair grille and a restyled fascia. At the rear of the Durango, LED racetrack taillights show a family resemblance to the Charger and Dart, while a new rear fascia adds to the styling while also allowing for an integrated trailer hitch.
On the tech side, the instrument panel looks to have been redesigned to include a standard seven-inch thin-film transistor (TFT) gauge cluster, and it also appears as if Chrysler's well-liked UConnect system has been updated with the 8.4-inch touchscreen found in other Chrysler vehicles. The 2013 model's conventional console shifter has been replaced by a rotary knob for gear selection, suggesting that there are transmission changes afoot as well. We'll have more details when the silks slide off this big boy tomorrow, so stay tuned.