Spring Fling Upholds Mopar Greatness

Being number one is not necessarily the best. Just ask any Mopar fan. Number three is far better. Maybe existing as the underdog of the American big three had the Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth collective working that much harder to come up with something groundbreaking and innovative. Perhaps being a little smaller allowed for more free thinking and resulting nimble action. Whatever the case, the number three American automaker produced some of the most enduring American cars and trucks of all time. What does Mopar stand for? That depends on who you’re talking to. Each spring and fall Van Nuys is the place for almost a full week of Chrysler Performance West Mopar hosted celebration. The 2010 Spring Fling proved once again that for a growing number of die-hard fans, it is Mopar or no car.

Automotive lore has it that Mopar began as a contraction of the words MOtor and PARts, and that the Mopar logo was used to brand genuine Chrysler replacement parts. As the English language and automotive lexicon are odd bedfellows, the word Mopar eventually came to signify the entire Chrysler-Dodge-Plymouth-DeSoto and even AMC collection of automobiles and contraptions as a whole, causing fans of Plymouth Barracudas, Dodge Power Wagons, AMC Hornets and eighties Chrysler New Yorker station wagons powered by Mitsubishi Astron engines to say things like “I love my Mopar”. On the opposite side of Mopardom are evil forces that like to say that Mopar stands for mostly old parts and rust, or millions of odd parts assembled randomly. So it goes. Moparnaut numbers seem to be growing. Each year a heap of them gather in Van Nuys and surrounding San Fernando Valley environs to show off their rides, swap parts and cars, and hob nob about all things Mopar.

The Chrysler Performance West Spring Fling is the premier Mopar show, swap meet, and season opener for Mopardom for the West Coast and beyond. Everything from restored down to the last factory daub of assembly ’68 Dodge Chargers to unmolested 1976 Plymouth Volare Road Runner survivors roll off the boulevard and onto the lawn for a gathering of Moparnauts. The Mopar brain trust produced some of most badass cars ever to roll off a factory assembly line. As some of those cars push into the 50-year old time frame, examples of genuine simulated wood panel turbo goodness demonstrate that time marches on. What was once uncool and unloved gets brought into the Mopar fold a little more with each passing year. We’ve got our eyes peeled for that 1972 Dodge Colt coupe, and a turbo Astron with five speed waiting to go in under the hood.

Keep an eye on Chrysler Performance West for upcoming Fall and Spring Flings.

2010 Spring Fling Mopar Photo Bonanza