Up Front

It’s true that while Mopar was born in 1937, it would be more than 20 years later before Mopar really began to leave its mark on the performance world. The 1950s and 1960s were years of great optimism in the United States. Perhaps no other industry best exemplified this optimism than the automotive industry in general and the performance market in particular.

Mopar was powering grassroots and professional racers alike to stunning victories on quarter-miles around the country. Competitors began running for the tall grass when Mopar muscle showed up. HEMI® power was on display for all the world to see—whether the other guys wanted to see it or not.

But this is 2008. Does all this heritage mean that time has passed Mopar by? Is Mopar loved by a generation that fought two world wars? Do today’s iPod-crazed young people even know what a HEMI is?

The answers in order: No. Yes. Yes.

You see, Mopar has been so successful at learning from its heritage, and carrying its history into a new millennium that a whole new generation of enthusiasts is embracing Mopar. But that doesn’t mean that Mopar has turned its back on what’s been called The Greatest Generation. Essentially Mopar is saying, “Let’s all come to the track.”

Need proof? Two words. Matt Gaisbacher. Matt, from Pennsylvania, was one of Mopar’s Top Eliminator award winners last year. Mopar created the TE program to recognize the most passionate and skilled Mopar enthusiasts and their restored or modified vehicles. Matt is 17 years old. He restored a 1973 ’Cuda. If high school math serves correctly, the car Matt restored was built 17 years before he was born. Do you think Matt gets this whole Mopar thing?

Mopar’s Top Eliminator program is one of our top features this issue. Take a moment to meet Matt and the six other winners. Then read about Mopar’s stunning display at last year’s Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show, including the HEMI Evolution program.

When you’ve done all that, take a minute to reflect on what Mopar is accomplishing: No less than taking its proud heritage and cultivating it, ever so carefully, for an entirely new generation.

Not bad for an old guy.

—Ross Ruehle