posted 03-08-2005 11:22 PM                  

First of all, let me set the record/rumor straight.......I know that a lot of people thought this, but I am not now nor have I ever been employed by Chrysler/DaimlerChrysler. My husband Bob (RPL on the board) was employed by AMC-Jeep/Renault/Chrysler/DaimlerChrysler for 26 years. Last June, he was given an early retirement from DC and is now working for Decoma. Over the 37 years of our marriage, he has been a Parts guy at a dealership, he wrenched for many years, sold cars, was a Sales Manager at a dealer on the retail side of the automotive business. His corporate career spans many positions and a great deal of experience in all facets of the auto industry.

Let's see.......now where do I go from here? I've been called a lot of things......lots good...some not so good. I am not the Queen of Questions....not the Woodward Goddess, not a Liasion (although I don't mind that one) or any other "title" that makes me sound better than anyone else. I'm not. I'm just lucky!

My interest in cars started in 1967 when I married Bob. He has been "into" cars all his life. He spent a lot of hours beyond his day job working on cars. I took the attitude that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em". It was the only way I got to see him. I learned how to use mechanical tools, doing minor things and just hanging out, asking questions and learning a lot. My love of cars grew from that.

During my husband's career with AMC-Jeep/Renault/Chrysler/ DaimlerChrysler, I assisted him in working many of his dealer and corporate events. This gave me the opportunity to meet and work with many of the people he worked with. When we lived in Cincy, I worked at Jeep dealership. When we got transferred back to Michigan in 1992, I got a job with one of the ad agencies that serviced Chrysler and their many programs. This agency did the early marketing and brochure development for Prowler. I helped Bob at several different venues on behalf of Chrysler, handing out brochures, posters and answering questions. It was all volunteer......I was not a paid employee. I loved it, though and the more I was around the car, the more I wanted one. I saw it for the first time as a drawing and stated that if they ever built one, I wanted one.

In 1995, I took a job at TMG Sports Marketing. They built tractor/trailer rigs for many of the race venues for Chevy and Pontiac along with a host of many other venues. There were specific programs to be executed with the tractor/trailer rigs. One of these programs was the Plymouth Prowler Road Show that we built and executed for Chrysler. This particular rig was a 5th wheel trailer pulled by a specifically equipped Dodge truck. Since I had already been involved with Prowler through Bob and Chrysler, I was the obvious choice as the Program Manager for this rig. I actually worked many of the venues (Dream Cruises, Car shows, etc.) with the rig. I even spent a week at the SEMA show in Vegas, working the display. It carried one of the Prowler concept vehicles. It was my job to know everything about the Prowler so that I could answer all questions, hand out the Prowler brochures, sell Prowler merchandise and apparel and talk to the people that visited the display. This program ran for three years. The third year, it was used as a dealer promotion. I booked the rig at dealerships all across the country where they used it for "special sales", promotional opportunities, etc. It was to help draw customers into the Plymouth dealers to help sell all Plymouth vehicles, not just Prowler. At the end of that year, Chrysler decided to end the program as they felt they had exposed the car enough to the public.......especially since they were only building a limited number of Prowlers. Since Chrysler was my client, again, I got to know many of the people involved with Prowler.

Bob was added to the Prowler Team with the job of doing the dealer allocation. He established the guidelines that decided which dealers would receive Prowlers. There were many factors in that equation. Not all Plymouth dealers received cars the first year, as production started later than planned and they did not build as many the first year as they had predicted.

Not only did I develop contacts through my own work with Prowler, but also through Bob and his job at Chrysler. I also started taking groups of people who would come to Detroit for tours (and visits to the gift store) over at the Prowler plant. I developed many friendships with the people there and they made me feel like I was part of the Prowler family at the plant. I worked closely with the employees that ran the Viper/Prowler store at the plant and helped by photographing their merchandise and posting it on this board so the owners would know what was available, so they could call and order over the phone. Even though production ended three years ago, I still visit the plant and the people there. When Prowler production ended, I organized the Prowler Tribute event at the plant that we did for the plant employees, with permission from the Plant Manager and the UAW. Over 80 Prowler owners attended and it was truly memorable. I was there, along with Mike and Judy Krehel the entire last week of production. They pretty much gave us free reign at the plant and we walked the line with the last of the Prowlers, talked with the employees and watched history in the making. I've also worked hard to develop a good relationship with the Walter P. Chrysler Museum and the gift store there.

Many years were spent attending the SEMA show to help Bob in his work with running the Image Team and its show vehicles. For three years, I was selected to be a judge on the Chrysler Design Team which gives out awards at the show every year. I was the only non-employee and the first year they asked me, I was the only female. I was very flattered by the opportunity.

My husband surprised me with my first Prowler (Black) in July of 1999. It was a big production over at Chrysler Headquarters with Prowler Team people, MSX people and he even had Chrysler photographers taking pictures. When Bob decided to give me the second Prowler (Candy Red), the head of the Prowler group offerred me the last Candy Red Prowler. After much thought, I declined. I wanted to drive my car and felt that the last one should have a place to be displayed and driven little (for history sake). Bob then helped Mike and Judy acquire the last one for the Museum. He'd also help them get the last Plymouth Prowler. I don't regret the decision, as I now have 19,000+ miles on my Candy Red and have loved every minute of it.

Through Bob, I was able to develop a working relationship with Mopar. My contact there has worked closely with me and I was able to be instrumental in helping him convince Mopar to keep producing some of the Prowler accessories, such as the mud flaps, etc. When production ended, they were a bit panicky as they had about 147 trailers left and didn't know how they were going to get them sold. I helped them by posting it on the board and within a couple of weeks, they were all sold. A new mission was born........I talked my Mopar contact into doing a business case for his boss to build 200 more trailers. They had the components, but not wheels. They finally agreed and those 200 were sold within a week.

Through my former Chrysler client for the roadshow, I was able to procure a large number of brochures, posters, etc. that were offerred on the site free of charge (I only asked for postage reimbursement). It afforded a lot of the owners to have some of the original brochures that they never had a chance to get. A contact at DC has been gracious in sending me a monthly report of the unsold Prowlers still available which gives me the opportunity to help potential owners and existing owners find more Prowlers!

I do have some contacts at DC that have been instrumental in providing tech info and general questions. Jerry Scholten who is an engineer and was on Team Prowler from the beginning has helped a lot along the way. On more than one occasion, Bob was able to get Jerry's boss to agree to let Jerry attend the Prowler events on behalf of DC as a tech rep. Jerry has answered many questions and offered a great deal of assistance to the owners. He's not allowed to post on the board, so he would send info to me and I posted it on his behalf. Same situation with my Mopar contact.

In the beginning of the club, we were able to provide timely and accurate info of anything Prowler. As stated in previous threads, I joined the club when it first started in Ohio as the Plymouth Prowler Club and moved over to POA when it started up. We've been around for a long time.

Bob has also done a lot over the years for the club as many have mentioned. Even though he is now retired from DC, we still maintain the contacts and they continue to work with us to help the Prowler community as best they can. I've also been able to work with some of the vendors to bring back some of the original items for sale in the Prowler Store.

I've always said that I was lucky to have the association with Chrysler and Prowler through my husband.....it afforded me a lot of opportunities to help the Prowler community. I love my Prowlers. This association has afford us an opportunity to make many friendships with a great bunch of people! The events are a great excuse to see all of our friends again. I've planned many, assisted with many and attended a great many. It's been a great ride so far and I look forward to many years of association with this club and the Prowler community.

We will continue to assist the club and the owners in any way that we can. Over the years, many owners have complained that DC doesn't support the Prowler community. They never intended to start a Prowler club like they did with the Viper owners, but they have given the Prowler community a lot of support in other ways, albeit behind the scenes.

WOW! I have been a busy gal, haven't I? I apologize for the length of this, but hopefully, now you understand where my "pedigree" came from!

posted 03-09-2005 06:01 AM                  

Kevin

posted 03-09-2005 07:18 AM                  

Wow that was a great bio. You helped me find my first Prowler - and I will never forget that GREAT event in my life. Best of luck to you and your family.

Cliff

posted 03-09-2005 08:45 AM                  

On your contact Jerry Scholten, can you see if he has any insight to the Noise Hum over the radio/cd, that other prowler owners are still experiencing, that comes and goes, or stays there,no one has a sure fix yet!

posted 03-09-2005 03:07 PM                  

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posted 03-09-2005 03:31 PM                  

First off, although we have not met, we have spoken on the phone a few times, and you are truly an asset to this club. Being in the automotive industry myself, I know how valuable "contacts" are, and certainly you have used them to the advantage of this entire club!

This question may have been asked before, but I guess I don't recall ever seeing a comment on the topic, so I'm going to ask.....what ever happened to the actual concept show vehicles??? Do you or Bob know???

Thanks for all your efforts and one day on a business trip back to Auburn Hills, I plan to give you and Bob a call to say hello in person.

posted 03-09-2005 09:26 PM                  

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This question may have been asked before, but I guess I don't recall ever seeing a comment on the topic, so I'm going to ask.....what ever happened to the actual concept show vehicles??? Do you or Bob know???

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posted 03-09-2005 10:05 PM                  

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Well done CJ! It would also be interesting to see a list of Automotive Greats that you have met i.e. George Barris etc.

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posted 03-09-2005 11:03 PM                  

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Originally posted by ed monahan:
Some people are talkers, others are "doers". CJ & Bob get it done. If they say there is a project in the works, it will be finished if they have any control over it. Sometimes things are not accomplished, but it is definitely not from lack of effort by Bob & CJ. It is because someone else dropped the ball or the resources simply are not available.
Don't you wish you could depend on everyone to follow through when they say they are going to do something.
Thanks for all your efforts and friendship.

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Well said Ed, I agree completely

posted 03-10-2005 06:53 AM                  

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Originally posted by jd2ksilver:
Well said Ed, I agree completely

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Well said John, I agree completely. Besides, I'd rather agree with you than Ed.

posted 03-10-2005 08:39 PM                  

I drive my Prowler
I call Bob Goetz for appearance mods
I call Westech for engine work
I call Gary Archer when I need some wrenching on my car
I call Bob & CJ when I need info or contacts or when I break down
I look for Laddie when I want to race
I read posts from Alley Cat and/or Ed when I need a laugh
I try to find cnote when I need a beer!