While some seem willing to write Chrysler off, events like this year's Festival of LXs show that passion remains great for late model Mopars.

Classic Mopars engender a special breed of fanaticism, and it has spilled over to the late model, rear-wheel-drive community of Chrysler owners. Nowhere was that more evident than in Irvine, California when the fourth annual Festival of LXs was held, ironically enough, across the street from Ford's West Coast headquarters. Held last year at the nearby former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, proximity to Ford not withstanding, the event, which hosted more than 500 participants, may have found a permanent home according to event founder and organizer John "fatchance" Fortuno.

There were two noteworthy introductions at this year's event. The first was the new 2009 Dodge Challenger SE Rallye Edition. Combining a high efficiency V6 mated for the first time to Chrysler's adaptive five-speed automatic with Auto Stick, the SE Rallye Edition is positioned to battle Chevrolet's potent six-cylinder models. With the chromed 'FUEL' door, deck lid spoiler, and 18-inch aluminum wheels with black pockets obviously inspired by the classic Magnum 500-style wheels found on the first generation 1970-1974 Challenger, the SE Rallye Edition is coming in April at a base price of $26,490 (including $725 destination) and is available for ordering now at Dodge dealerships nationwide.

The Hurst Performance team of Nate Sheldon and Ron Flint unveiled and made their first customer delivery of a black, Series 2 Challenger in front of many of the spectators who stayed on past lunch. Looking quite sinister in black--as opposed to the previously seen white Series 5 car now featured in a video on the Jay Leno's Garage website--its gold accents, especially the wheels, illustrate the vibrant tuner-car community that has already grown up around Dodge's popular pony car, which Chrysler officials pointed out outsold Ford's Mustang in February. With all the uncertainty surrounding Chrysler, this was welcome news.

Before the event kicked off, Automotive Traveler learned that a select number of LX forum members, after being sworn to secrecy, were given an exclusive sneak peak at the next-generation Chrysler 300 with executives from Auburn Hills--Joe Dehner, Vice President of Design and Tony Elias, LX Platform chief engineer--at a round table discussion at the host hotel. We were told that Chrysler's PR team collected all participants' cameras and camera phones before allowing them to enter, thus there were no leaks. But we can tell you that after speaking with several round table participants that they were shown photos that were far more revealing than the photo that leaked out of Chrysler's presentation for its Federal loan guarantees. To a person, without giving away any details or betraying any confidences, all the participants we spoke to communicated their excitement about and approval of the styling direction of the next generation of Chrysler's now iconic 300, the car credited for redefining the classic American rear-wheel-drive sedan for a new generation of enthusiasts.

Steve Stanford, who works with legendary customizer Pete Santini and who caused quite a stir last April with his "AMC Is Back" rendering published as an April Fool's Joke in Hot Rod, gave Automotive Traveler an exclusive look at a series of LX-based concepts. The most exciting of the group? Without question, the Dodge Challenger sports wagon concept. Think of the Challenger front clip perfectly mated to a Dodge Magnum from the A-pillar rearward and you'll get the picture. Look for an in-depth article on Steve's work here on automotivetraveler.com in the weeks to come.

Over the next three days, we will be uploading some of the best of the more than 400 photos taken at this year's event to the Automotive Traveler image gallery. With every possible LX variation on display, from extensively modified street machines sporting supercharged Hemis producing more than 700 horsepower to customized low riders, no matter what your LX Passion, you can be certain that it was on display. The Chrysler engineering and design representatives attending the event were offered plenty of inspiration for the next generation of LX models that are in the final stages of preparation for an expected launch in the fall of 2010 as 2011 models.

As we have been in the past, we'll be on our toes in Death Valley this summer, looking for highly camouflaged test mules that will give us a better indication of Chrysler's new-product plans as they strive to demonstrate that they are indeed a viable, right-sized car company ready to do battle with competitors around the world.

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greggk |03-2-2009 this event was a great time! mine is the orange/ white 300c. glad to see it made it onto your website! ReplyQuote 0 0

Kupaa  - Car photo |04-4-2009 Thank you very much for putting my cars photo on the cover of your story on the 2009 Festival of LX's. It was pretty cool to see it on the website. Had a great time. To bad I didn't get a chance to meet you. Nate 06 Silver Charger "BAGGED" ReplyQuote 0 0

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