Storming Moab

Dodge and Jeep® vehicles outfitted with new performance parts and accessories by Mopar® put on a show at the annual MOAB Easter Jeep Safari. THE ANNUAL MOAB EASTER JEEP SAFARI.

Words: Roger Meiners

Thousands of off-road Jeep® enthusiasts converge upon Utah’s Red Rock country for the annual Moab Easter Jeep Safari, hosted by the Red Rock 4-Wheelers and the Moab Chamber of Commerce April 4–12, 2009. The Safari consists of rides on any of 32 trails, either privately owned or belonging to the Bureau of Land Management. These are mostly day long trips, departing from Moab throughout the 9-day event. The scenery is almost indescribably beautiful, and Jeep vehicles are all over it, going where no other off-road vehicle dares to venture. This is extreme rock climbing and this is where the Mopar® Jeep team wants to be.

“Mopar is at Moab to test, evaluate and prove the authenticity of our Mopar Performance Parts for Jeep vehicles and Dodge trucks on the most grueling off-road trails,” said Jim Sassorossi, Director – Mopar Global Parts Sales & Marketing, Chrysler Group LLC. “We wanted our core off-road customers to talk about their vehicle usage so we can address their unmet needs and identify emerging product trends to better support their off-road adventures.”

A team of Mopar’s most rabid Jeep enthusiasts prepped several vehicles for the Moab Jeep Safari to gauge Mopar’s core off-road enthusiasts’ reaction and feedback. The Jeep four-wheel drive group’s Steve Houtman, Tony Carvallo and Keith Montone had a big role in building these amazing vehicles. The Accessories group—Tom Haberkamp, Karen Dziengowski and Rob Waggoner—pulled together a unique and exciting array of accessories for the Moab fleet. Check these out, starting on page 28.

Pat Muldoon, Mopar’s Senior Manager, Product Development, commented, “Our people are so passionate about this program that some of them paid their own way, bunked together and ate Granola bars the whole week to support Mopar bringing their best effort to Moab. Some of them put their own parts on the cars when logistics problems delayed delivery.” Muldoon added, “One team member, Tony Carvallo, even put his wife, Lisa’s Jeep on blocks so he could use her wheels to get one of the vehicles transported for prep.” We hope she didn’t mind …