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Chrysler is not amused that proud folks in Toledo, historical home of Jeep, are riffing on the company's new slogan "Imported from Detroit."According to a report in the Toledo Blade newspaper, Chrysler squashed plans by a local Jeep dealer to sell a 70th-anniversary Jeep T-shirt emblazoned with "Imported from Toledo." Before Chrysler noticed, two other dealers put the Toledo slogan on the sides of a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that drove out on the on ice at a Toledo Walleye hockey game last weekend.

Jeep Park in Toledo still makes some models, but others are now made elsewhere, including up the interstate in Detroit.
Chrysler spokesman Michael Palese told The Blade that the automaker appreciates the local enthusiasm but does not want those folks in Ohio diluting its "Imported from Detroit" marketing tag line.

Take that, Toledo!

The slogan has been a home run for Chrysler since it was introduced with Eminem and the Chrysler 200 in a Super Bowl ad (video of the ad below). The company now has it everywhere, including on clothing it sells and 14 stories high on its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich.

According to the Blade, the Monroe Dodge Superstore recently designed and printed up T-shirts to sell for 20 bucks with "Imported from Toledo, and "Jeep 70th Anniversary" above and below a likeness of the Jeep's seven-slot grill.

Now they'll be collectors items. Says Monroe owner Ralph Mahalak, Jr.: "I want to promote Toledo. I want to promote Jeeps." As part of deal with Chrysler over its trademarked Detroit slogan, he now is giving away the Toledo shirts for taking a test-drive a vehicle. "I love these vehicles, and I love seeing the American auto industry coming back."

Guess Chrysler won't be letting the folks across the bridge in Windsor, Ontario, promote local pride in all those minivans they make: "Imported from Canada, but we can see Detroit from here.".

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