If you’re an avid reader of DodgeGarage, you’ll recall a feature we did not too long ago on a gentleman whose name is Joe Hilger. Joe was the one who had the foresight to be proactive and save the Direct Connection brand and all those go-fast speed parts from being thrown in the dumpster behind the Mopar® warehouse when the economy was not so good. Marketing two brands (Mopar and Direct Connection) was costly for an automaker that had to operate on a razor-thin budget. Using his business skills and passion for drag racing and cool street cars, Joe was able to keep Chrysler’s innovative performance parts program and rename it Mopar Performance. With Joe and his team of fellow gear-head-minded engineers and marketing folks, the Mopar Performance Parts portfolio grew significantly while making these items more available through the Chrysler dealer network along with authorized warehouse distributors nationwide. Sales of Mopar Performance Parts increased through a cohesive marketing effort.
But Joe wasn’t done just yet. He was also a historian of sorts and knew about Chrysler’s domination of NASCAR and NHRA/AHRA drag racing. The engine that rewrote the record books was the mighty 426 HEMI®. Despite the 426 HEMI engine being long gone from production and many if not all the service parts having dried up, the HEMI name still resonated with Mopar fans worldwide. Joe had the inclination the HEMI would return back to Chrysler as a potential crate engine or in a modern version to go-fast cars and trucks. Joe did some investigation and realized Chrysler never trademarked the “HEMI” name. Needless to say, Joe being stunned would be an understatement. How could Chrysler let this happen? The name had defined the company for decades, yet nobody inside the walls of the automaker had the initiative to register the name as a Chrysler trademark. Now the HEMI name was open to any automaker, power sports manufacturer, tool company and just about anyone else to capitalize on the engine’s stellar reputation and racing heritage.
Knowing this, Joe immediately got the lawyers in Chrysler’s Patents and Trademark Office rolling and got the process in high gear. Joe made sure not to waste any time as he felt the HEMI name was exposed and could be poached by anyone, and he did not want that on his watch. “It’s not always what you know but what you ask, and I asked a very simple question about the HEMI trademark and found out that it had never been registered by Chrysler. We immediately went to work and engaged our legal team to present a pair of consumer car ads from 1966 showing the use of the HEMI name by Chrysler in the Plymouth Belvedere and Dodge Charger.
“That was all the documentation we needed for the U.S. Patent Office. So on December 22, 1992, we (Chrysler) finally trademarked the HEMI name,” smiled Joe. The irony is Chrysler had it all the time, but they needed to file the proper paperwork to make it happen and it was Joe that made it happen. “Registering the HEMI name was more important than we even knew and looking back, it was monumental. Especially given the GEN III HEMI would come out about a decade later in the Ram trucks along with the Chrysler 300C, Dodge Magnum, Charger and Challenger, and attain horsepower levels over 1,000.”
There was also a lot going for Mopar at the time that Joe was managing but once again his team of gearheads realized if Chrysler had the HEMI name back, they ought to make parts again for this legendary engine. The Mopar Performance group drew up plans for a cast iron 426 HEMI block, but it would be a massive investment in tooling dollars to make it a reality. Joe had the horsepower to fight the good fight and create a solid business case that would satisfy the most ardent, stringent and budget-conscious accountants and executives. “It was a team approach and no-brainer to bring the cast iron HEMI block black for street guys and drag racers,” noted Joe. “I really can’t take credit for anything but the instinct to say, ‘we got to do this’ because what we saw was not only the connection to the iconic Mopar brand, to our customer with HEMI muscle cars and racecars.”
Joe also remembers an interesting discussion with a ‘mover and shaker’ not only within Chrysler but in the whole auto industry. “I was on the Chrysler corporate jet returning from a meeting in Florida. I was in the back and Bob Lutz, our chairman at the time, was in the front. One of the flight attendants came up to me and said, ‘Mr. Lutz wants to talk to you.’ I immediately thought I had done something wrong and was in trouble. So I went up to the front of the plane where Bob was seated and wanted to speak with me about the Mopar brand’s history and its heritage. Bob specifically talked about the Harley Davidson brand and what they did to bring back their iconic trademark to connect with enthusiasts and customers.”
For Joe, it reinforced what his team was doing at Mopar with the HEMI brand and working with dealers on parts and services, and that included independent garages. “It was our connection to those folk who turn wrenches for a living. At the time, the corporation couldn’t afford to race in NASCAR or IndyCar, but NHRA Drag Racing was a major part of Mopar’s DNA, and it made sense,” noted Joe. After the HEMI block was launched, cylinder heads and intake manifolds soon followed. Those core pieces would catalyze Mopar to launch a brand-new 426 HEMI crate engine at various horsepower and torque levels. Therefore, changing the performance parts landscape and bringing Mopar back to the forefront within the racing and enthusiast communities.
As the 1990s progressed into the 21st Century, Joe worked his way up the corporate ladder. He retired decades ago during the ‘DaimlerChrysler’ era but what he accomplished through his hard work, passion and knack of “doing the right thing” not only for Mopar but also for diehard Chrysler enthusiasts, is still felt today. So thank you, Joe, for everything you did in keeping the HEMI name alive and well to race and win for another 50 years!
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