FURY LAKE ELMO | 11144 Stillwater Blvd. Lake Elmo, MN 55042
(888) 498-1627
(888) 471-7148
(888) 474-2359
Chrysler grants acceptance into this prestigious group based on dealer standards and sales criteria met and/or exceeded during the 2011 calendar year.
St. Paul, Minnesota May 01, 2012 – Chrysler Group LLC has announced that Fury Motors is an inaugural member in the Walter P. Chrysler Club, the highest recognition for overall Sales and Service & Parts performance. Fury Motors was one of 44 Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram Truck dealerships across the country that qualified for the prestigious award.
The Walter P. Chrysler Club was established by Chrysler Group last year as a way to nationally recognize its leading dealerships and thank them for their hard work, dedication and overall performance in sales, service and parts.
“Chrysler Group appreciates all the hard work and support that these dealers and their employees have given us during 2011, a critical year in which the company realized tremendous growth in both Sales and Service & Parts in the United States,” said Reid Bigland, Head of U.S. Sales.
Fury Motors has been a Chrysler Dealer since 1963 and is located at 1000 South Concord St, South St. Paul.
Friday, June 24th
Are you attending the Kaposia Days Parade on Friday, June 24th?
Look for Fury's Convertibles in the parade for free give-aways!
New Chrysler 200 Convertible hitting showrooms just in time for spring
by Dan Heyman
in Automotive News
All images courtesy of Chrysler
Convertibles are a bit of a strange animal, especially in North America, simply because their just aren’t all that many of them these days on our roads. Sure, luxury brands like Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and others have always maintained convertible models in their lineups; for their part, Mercedes-Benz have an entire model lines (the SL Class and SLK Class) dedicated to the convertible body style.
And since the automotive world has been through a turbulent couple of years, special vehicles like convertibles have been cast by the wayside—Toyota’s Camry Solara was cancelled after the 2008 model year and more recently, two great convertibles–the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice ended their production runs when The Geberal abolished their parent brands. Granted, a Chevy Camaro Convertible will be available soon but that doesn’t change the fact that the convertible world has taken some heavy hits recently.
So kudos to Chrylser for introducing the 200 convertible as one of its 16 all-new or significantly refreshed models for 2011.
Like many drop-tops on the market today, both a canvas soft-top and folding hard-top are options. This is great news; some buyers find a soft-top to be an integral part of the convertible mystique, while others may find them to be unsightly and so can take the folding hard-top option instead.
(Interior large enough to accomodate four adults comfortably)
The 200 takes over from the Sebring line that has been around since 1995.
Wider tires, track and more canted forward lines give a more aggressive stance to the 200
Styling-wise, the 200 is a departure from the Sebring thanks to sharper lines, a broader grille, narrower headlamps and a more canted-forward stance. Also gone are the somewhat controversial hood strakes found on the old car, replaced by a broad bulge that runs the entire length of the hood and recalls muscle-car air intakes from the days of old. Overall, it’s a much more compact shape that hugs the ground better than the outgoing model.
And it’s not just an illusion; the suspension geometry has been completely re-engineered, lowering the car a full 12 mm in front and 6 mm at the rear. A wider track and wider tires (by 10 mm at each corner) help complete the more aggressive package.
Inside, owners will find a one-piece instrument panel, upgraded seats and a new Chrysler steering wheel with integrated phone, audio and cruise controls. Altogether, you’ll find more high-quality leather and soft-touch materials and fewer plastics than the Sebring. Ambient lighting is also featured, along with an optional infotainment system with a 6.5 inch screen, Sirius Satellite radio and a 30 gb hard drive for all your music needs.
Re-done grille gets new winged Chrysler badge while narrower headlamps give the front fascia a clean look; controversial hood strakes from Sebring are gone
Power comes from the all-new 3.6 litre Pentastar V6 already being inserted in the engine bays of current Chrysler products ranging from the new 300 sedan to the Town & Country minivan. It makes 283 HP and uses less than 7L/100 km of fuel on the highway. A 2.4 Litre V6 will also be on offer. Both engines will be mated to six-speed automatic transmissions; there’s been no manual announced at this juncture.
And perhaps the best part of all is that buyers now have a convertible available that can seat four adults comfortably (just look at the interior shots) at a non-stratospheric price; the entry-level LX trim package with features like power everything and 17-inch aluminum wheels starts at $29,999.
Is this a sign of things to come in the convertible world? Only time will tell but order sheets have already been filled for the not-yet-released Camaro Convertible and Chrysler is taking this new model seriously and that can be nothing but good news for drop-top aficionados everywhere.
Tom Leonard, father Harold, and brother Jim posed in one of the fastest cars on the lot, a 2011 Dodge Challenger SRT8. Of 789 dealers that Chrysler tried to shut down, 488 appealed and only 32 won their cases. Many of those still haven’t managed to open their doors, but the Leonards have prevailed.
Despite a near-death experience and legal battles with Chrysler, Fury Chrysler Dodge in Lake Elmo is alive and kicking. The owners are upbeat. And customers are buying.
As divorces go, the one between Chrysler and Fury Chrysler Dodge in Lake Elmo was both costly and ultimately unsuccessful.
Which is why Tom and Jim Leonard, the brothers who co-own Fury, couldn't be happier.
The dealership that Chrysler tried to close is still open. The black plastic that had covered up their sign for more than a year is gone. The lot and showroom are filled with new cars.
Best of all, customers are in a buying mood.
"We were profitable in January and February," Jim Leonard said. "In Minnesota, most dealers are trying to dig themselves out of a hole after those two months."
The Leonards owe their good fortune to a gradually improving economy, the slowly reviving fortunes of Chrysler and their own stubborn refusal to surrender to the will of a $40 billion company.
The fight began in 2009, when a bankrupt Chrysler announced that it would eliminate 789 dealerships, or 25 percent of its total. In Minnesota, 18 dealerships made that list, and no one was more surprised than the Leonard brothers, whose South St. Paul store sells more Chrysler vehicles than any other dealership in Minnesota.
The Leonard family linked its fortunes to Chrysler in 1963, when Harold (Red) Leonard bought a South St. Paul Chrysler dealership operating out of a Quonset hut on Concord Street.
Red and, eventually, his two sons, Tom and Jim, stayed loyal to Chrysler through one bankruptcy, two government bailouts, a disastrous merger with Daimler and an ill-timed leveraged buyout to a Wall Street firm, to say nothing of the Volare and the Prowler.
Rather than scout for opportunities to open an import franchise, they doubled down with Chrysler, buying the Lake Elmo dealership in 2005 with the automaker's blessing and encouragement. By 2008, they had transformed it into the fourth largest Chrysler-Dodge dealership in Minnesota.
So, imagine their surprise to learn that Chrysler wanted to put the Lake Elmo store out of business.
"I think they figured that because we had South St. Paul, customers would follow us there and that we'd be OK," Tom Leonard said.
But it wasn't that simple. The Leonards had spent $4 million to buy the Lake Elmo dealership, and they used one bank line to buy inventory for both it and the South St. Paul store. Shutting down one would jeopardize the other. The Leonards had no choice but to fight.
They were among hundreds of auto dealers who descended on Washington to lobby for a change in the federal bailout legislation to allow appeals by dealers. That bill was signed into law early in 2010.
In the meantime, though, they had to pull the new cars from their Lake Elmo store, which represented 40 percent of revenue. They laid off almost half of the 40 employees and subsisted on used-car sales and service.
"The people of Lake Elmo really supported us through this," Jim Leonard said. "They'd bring their cars in for an oil change, even if it was a Subaru or a Ford."
That loyalty inspired Jim, who manages the Lake Elmo business, to recently buy a home in the city.
In June, an arbitrator ruled for the Leonards. He noted that 397 Chrysler dealers had closed or gone bankrupt during the recession, but that "There is no dispute that Fury as a firm has always been profitable, even during 2008 when most Chrysler dealers were not."
Fury was one of 488 Chrysler dealers to file an appeal. Only 32 won their cases, and fewer than two dozen have since re-opened. The Leonards spent about $500,000 in legal fees alone, and they figure they lost at least that much in sales during their 15 months in limbo.
In other words, they have every reason in the world to resent Chrysler, which has seen its market share in Minnesota slip from an estimated 10 percent of new-car sales in 2008 to 7.3 percent last year -- even as the total number of vehicles sold statewide has declined by about 30 percent since the peak in 2006.
But the Leonards insist that their relationship with Chrysler couldn't be better. They're excited about the new and redesigned models and the boost in marketing and advertising. Their service staff is spending less time these days making repairs under warranty.
"We've been with Chrysler almost 50 years, and without a doubt this is their best management team ever," Tom Leonard said.
Chrysler doesn't have a vehicle among the Top 20 sellers nationally, although its sales this year are running almost 17 percent ahead of a year ago. But Tom and Jim Leonard don't need monthly reports to tell them they're back in business.
