Dodge to fix trim levels

The five year plan calls for a complete repackaging of all Dodge cars, with new options mixes, by the end of the fourth quarter of 2009. A complete overhaul of branding, marketing, positioning, and point of sale is to be completed by the end second quarter of 2010.

The car and truck brands are being separated to “amplify the youthfulness of the Dodge brand.” Cars will have a base, mid, high, and sport level. SRT will continue as the “ultimate performance sport” level.

Alex Peterson clarified this statement, quoting Ralph Gilles:

The other part of the formula that needs to be adjusted is the way we sell cars. This is the basic classic formula of base, mid, high. In actuality we do most of our sales in the base … What happens is there seems to be a frustration, where they (The Customer) see the things that they want, but they simply cannot afford them. So we are going to go through and really rethink how we package vehicles. And instead of creating this base, mid, high, we are going to create personality types.

He then outlined the types of personalities the vehicles will have. Sweet and Simple, Fun and Practical, Uptown (Luxury), Thrill Seeker, and Cool (Extrovert). A derrivative of the Thrill Seeker will be the Ultimate Performance SRT-8. Imagine R/T vs. SRT =Thrill Seeker vs. Ultimate Performance.