Originating in the 1930's as a brand name that the Chrysler Corporation used on its replacement parts for Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth and DeSoto automobiles, MoPar - short for "Motors and Parts" - over time became a term synonymous with any vehicle manufactured by Chrysler. In 1987 upon its purchase by Chrysler Corporation, American Motors Corporation (AMC) vehicles, including Jeep, became the most recent additions to the Mopar family. Mopar is still a brand name for genuine Chrysler parts & accessories and enthusiasts still proudly refer to their rides as Mopars.
The Central New York Mopar Association (CNYMA) is a family-friendly organization of men and women who own and drive, or simply appreciate Chrysler automobiles. Our group was chartered more than 20 years ago by a handful of people who wanted to socialize with others sharing their interest in preserving and restoring older Chrysler vehicles. We now boast over 200 members from all over New York State and Canada, though most of our members live in the Central New York area - hence our name.  We conduct a board of directors meeting each month, a general membership meeting roughly quarterly, and organize an event of some sort nearly each month. Aside from dinner gatherings, picnics, and cruises to various attractions, every June we put on the biggest (over 300 cars from all over the northeast in 2007!) All Chrysler car show in New York State at Longbranch Park in Liverpool, NY. Our members receive the Pentastar, a monthly club newsletter with columns by our officers, an events calendar, trivia pages and a free-for-members "Mopar Market" classified advertising section. We have a nice selection of club merchandise like t-shirts, sweat shirts, hats, key chains and such with our logo on them and we design a new t-shirt for our Mopar Madness show every year. Membership is currently $20 per year. That entitles you to everything mentioned above as well as all the fun you can have. In fact, "Have Fun" is our first club by-law, but we also do good deeds at the same time...
A few years ago we were looking for a charitable cause to support. One of our friends with the D.I.R.T. racing organization suggested The National Blood Marrow Transplant organization, as his son had undergone a transplant and was doing well thanks to their help. At first we donated some of our gate receipts and made up the difference to $1,500 each year, then as our show grew, started donating all the spectator admissions to the cause. A few years ago, this organization informed us that they no longer needed our funds as they now had an extensive database of marrow samples. In our search for a new charitable cause we discovered the Clark Burn Center at Upstate Medical University.  It is a very under-funded program that, among many other things, sponsors a therapeutic summer camp for youth burn victims. Everyone in our club could relate to the pain of burns, if only in a comparatively minor way, as we had all burned ourselves at one time or another while working on our cars.  Since 2001, we've given 100% of our spectator gate proceeds to the Burn Unit.  We also give smaller amounts to charitable groups such as "Meals On Wheels" and others.  As a member of the "CNY Car Club Association," a group of car clubs in the CNY area, the CNYMA donates even more funds to charitable organizations.
Look around our Web site.  If you like what you see, come join in the fun. If you have questions, write to us at P.O. Box 3451, Syracuse, NY 13220-3451, or you can e-mail us by clicking contact us on the above menu. See you out there!

Mopar2ya,
Tom Rose
President - CNY Mopar Association
February 2008