“Direct Connection” is a magical phrase in the world of Chrysler lore, going back to when the automaker was still called Chrysler and when drag racers such as Judy Lilly promoted Direct Connection, the corporation’s marketing arm for performance parts, on the sides of their race cars. High performance is still big business at Stellantis, the European conglomerate that now owns Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep, in part justifying the major sponsorship dropped recently on Tony Stewart Racing’s new nitro drag teams. That effort has involved rebranding the network of retailers who stock Direct Connection goodies, everything from electronics to fully built crate engines, as the Dodge Power Brokers.
The lineup of Dodge Power Brokers stores runs to about 100 dealerships nationally, selling Direct Connection components – we love the old-school sign on the right, just above the exhaust header – and other goodies to make your Mopar quicker, faster and more trick to the eye. That’s a total of more than 200 individual components, including no less than 14 performance kits for the production Dodge Challenger alone. Don’t live near a Power Brokerage? No problem, because Stellatis has also teed up a new Direct Connection retail website that has everything you need. Somewhere, Ronnie Sox and Dick Landy are smiling about all this.
Jim Donnelly On Wheels 