The Name Game – Brand Equity and Chrysler
Corolla, Civic, Altima, E-class, 3 Series; Everyone knows these names and the vehicles they describe. Why? Simply put, it is brand equity. Start small, and build on it. Keep building on it. Improve each generation, build loyalty to a nameplate and a company.
I don’t know how many generations of Corolla there are, or 3 Series, or Golf. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that these Companies have made continuous improvement to the same nameplate for several generations. The result is brand loyalty, and repeat business, for the nameplate and the company.
Why is this so hard for the domestic manufacturers to understand? By changing your nameplate with every new incarnation of vehicle you suggest that the last one wasn’t worth preserving – ergo, your company makes throwaway vehicles, not built to last, not here for the long haul, not worth being loyal to. This creates a perception of low quality, quick turnover, and a lack of respect for the people purchasing your product. Are these not the same qualities ascribed to the domestic three?
To be fair, the truck divisions of all three have got it, finally we have generational truck lines. Still not so in the car lines, though, with a few exceptions. What does Caliber mean to me, or Compass? Give me a third gen Neon, or a Valiant, or a Fury. I would like to buy something with some history and longevity.
Chrysler and Dodge are finally looking to their heritage to build equity, but so far they are trading on past glory. They need to commit to a long term development of specific vehicles and to stick with it. To show some serious commitment to their own products and history and drop the faddish name changing. It hurts your reputation, and the public perception of your product.
Take the 300 for example. Why ‘C’, when it should be ‘N’. That would make a believer out of me. Why cheapen the 300 nameplate with base 2.7 V6! That’s what killed it the first time around. ‘Banker’s Hot Rod’, was the term, fast, beautiful and expensive. You’ve arrived baby! Revive another name for a lesser car and keep the letter cars exclusive. That is brand equity. The Imperial was Chrysler’s technology leader, and competed with the best in the world, do it again, right this time.
Don’t drop the PT Cruiser, make it better, same with the Pacifica, you were first out with the crossover, brag about it, then go whup the competition’s butt with the next one. Bring back Plymouth, whatever the cost, it’s your bread and butter. Now is your chance to fix perhaps the biggest mistake DaimlerChrysler made and reintroduce Chrysler’s economy brand.
I know people who are on their third Corolla, fourth Civic, and other than the minivans, I can’t think of a single third generation Chrysler product. (trucks excluded) How can you build owner loyalty with a constantly changing nomenclature? It’s a simple answer; pick a name and a product and develop it over time. Stop throwing out the baby with the bathwater!
That´s the same reazon why the GOLF (VW) even though has changed greately the name is the same, except from the Rabbit that was the first Golf in Europe.
European Brands not just BMW, but even Peugeot a economc brand have the series 1, 2, 3, 4, etc, they just replace the las number to create the innovation feel, 106, 206, 307, 407, etc. and when the 206 get´s replaced in america (it has been allready in europe) will be the 207, simplicity at their best.
but the Big Three, specially Chrysler under Daimler, Killed names, resetted the 300 series, used a 2 door car name on a 4 door, killed the value brand, and devaluated Chrysler and Dodge by pretendig to sell us the idea that Chrysler and Dodge were value brands from the beginning and that Chrysler never intented to compete with Cadillac.
Dave, i just hope that this new leadership (Cerberus) get on business FAST, and start fixing things, not just changing expensives signs
I hope they bring back the Plymouth Neon, Breeze and Prowler. There are still people that thought that those were good cars for everyday people. Oh and the Chrysler brand should definitely stop competing in the same price class as the Dodge brand. Move it up.
Look, I know you guys don’t like 2.7 300 models but they are absolutely crucial to the dealers. They are great sellers. You have got to have that body styled car at that $23-$24,000 price range for those customers that want that look but can’t pay the $30,000 for a Limited. At the time I left the dealership they were still having trouble getting 2.7 equipped 300’s.
The thing is, most people think of the neon as a lemon.
Mopar4ever, I don’t think Chrysler has what it takes to compete wih Cadillac… but with Buick, I think it does. The Sebring should be as expensive as the Buick alure, with LOTS of standard features, instead of being an avenger clone. For those who are going to bring up the dealership’s argument, well why not put back Plymouth in Chrysler dealers. That should be able to market the new China car without hurting Chrysler’s brand reputation. What a flop it would be: a 10 000$ Chrysler. I know some old people who would be pretty offensed by this hehe. Chrysler used to compete with Mercury and Buick.
Again we see Chrysler’s lack of vision.
GM on the other hand has a plan: Saturn is going to replace Oldsmobile in the hierarchy, and Buick is moving upward.
The 300 is, and should always be considered as a sign of excellence. Brad, I think the 2.7L 300 shouldn’t exist. Sometimes, losing sales to win prestige is the way to go in long-term. Buick’s example is a great one. Chrysler should follow GM here
Mustang, Corvette, Taurus, Impala, Malibu, Sebring and Focus are great examples of cars that have a certain reputation, and they shouldn’t change names. Chrysler has the Caravan, the Sebring (to a lesser extent)… what else?I can’t think of any.. they keep changing names. It IS a bad thing, indeed.. but for the neon? I doubt it. Chrysler wants people to forget about this car.
I just want to add that a good example of a brand that can’t move up anymore because of its reputation.. Acura. Sometimes, good cars with a certain reputation can destroy a brand’s reputation.
While the Acura Integra was a great car, it’s target was the youth, and small sports coupe fan. The car was so popular that it put a certain reputation of sports car on Acura.
Acura was meant to compete with luxury brands, but with such a sports car reputation, Honda knew they couldn’t play the same game than Infiniti and Lexus. Chrysler may be heading the same path, in a way. By making 20 000$ cars, you need to make a great 35 000$ car to really sale well, because at that price ,you can have a more “noble” brand. Don’t forget that in 2006, The Lucerne sold more RETAIL sales than the Chrysler 300. Clearly, the 300 is a more attractive car for most people, but the reputation changed the whole thing. A buick is seen as superior as a Chrysler, because there were CHRYSLER NEONS in Canada. Were there Buick Cavaliers? god i hope not.
“It hurts your reputation, and the public perception of your product.”
Totally agree here Dave.
Brad: Thanks for that spot on justification for the Plymouth brand.
Those buyers do need an LX vehicle that is more budget friendly.
The Chrysler brand, however, does not need that vehicle.
The comments on the never-ending name rotation are spot on as well. I know people who bought the new Civic because it was…the new Civic. The styling wasn’t it; in fact they bought it despite the styling. It was a Civic; that was enough. They knew what a Civic offered, what to expect.
Years and years of developing a brand will get you that.
i gotta jump in here! drop the 2.7 and 3.5 300! give us a 4 door ragtop and only offer 3 hemis! the 5.7, 6.1, and the 392! that would sure move chrysler up beyond buick and close to mercedes! only offer the sebring in 3.5 in the sedan and as a hard top convertable. oooo and bring back Neon. every one connects neon with reliablity, cute, preformance and fun to drive/ offer more then the 2.0 in it… try the 2.4 na in it… then the turbo for an option. o and turbo the 2.0 for the r/t and the acr! and mabey awd? the pl like the lh was set up for either front, rear, or all wheel drive. o. chrysler try this!
EXACTLY! While we’re at it, what about the New Yorker, LHS, Concorde, Intrepid, Valliant, Reliant, Dart, and so on…??? Even the Neon. Say what you will about the Neon, the 2nd generation got it right. Not to mention that the SRT-4 made some waves with young buyers. Plus, look what a piece of crap the Civic started out as - now it’s THE car to own if you’re under 30. The big 3 just don’t get it and I have no idea why they dump the nameplate with every new generation.
Here is the situation as I see it. I totally agree with the name game keep em the same. However, I also feel they need to make some major changes. First off Chrysler needs to be the cream of the crop vehicle for Chyrsler. If you want a Chrysler you get the Hemi, 4.0, the biggest engines only, Class leading interior (premium leather, wood trim, power everything, etc), the best paint and body fit, and options you cannot get in a Dodge. Keep the names that work (300, Sebring, etc) build the cars to compete with Cadillac, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, etc. but make them better. As for Dodge make it the performance line keep the great names Charger, Challenger, Dart, Avenger, etc. Make the Dodge a leader against Honda, Toyota, Chevy, Pontiac. Bring back Plymouth as the entry level Chrysler brand product Neon, Caliber, Chery vehicles. Make them the economy line but make them tough as nails bring back the valiant, etc. You can still have same platform cross brand vehicles but make them different for example make a Plymouth Valiant, Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300. As you change brands you get have better Luxury’s/Options. Make the Plymouth Valiant available with Cloth only, Manual seat, 2.7/3.5 V-6. For the Dodge you get the option of the Leather, Power seats, 4.0 V-6/Hemi, AWD. The next step will be the Chrysler 300 with Leather only, Wood Trim, extra sound insulation, and Hemi engine.
I also feel that Plymouth/Dodge needs an entry level car on par with the Civic, Yaris, Fit, Sentra, Scion, etc. Make it a great car and target the young crowd. If you attract the young crowd and sell them cars that last they will continue to buy the Chyrsler brand cars as they get better jobs, families grow etc. But you have to be careful and build something bullet proof. No major issues with engines, transmissions, etc. You have to build brand loyalty so they will come back time and time again. Ok enough of my opinion……
It would be mind blowing if Cerebrus released a PLYMOUTH BARRACUDA along with the new CHALLENGER. If they don’t, they should quit the auto business and sell the company to me. I can’t come up with the many billions it would take, but it could be a record breaking tax write-off! PLYMOUTH is one of the best names in all of automotive history. Heck, so is Oldsmobile for that matter. But who cares about GM right now? When daimler killed PLYMOUTH, I felt like I lost a member of my family. Here’s a sleeper car that not many people talk about, the PLYMOUTH GRAN FURY. What? You mean the car that only old people seemed to buy!? Yup. I picked one up cheap. Found out it came factory equipped with a big block HEMI. Oh yeah! Also found out this car could rip your face off during acceleration and outrun a PA State Police Interceptor. Relax, I was related to the cop and we were have fun on a limited-access course, the PA Turnpike! I am going to move to Chicago so that I can cast my vote “early and often” to bring back PLYMOUTH! BTW: Neons, especially the SOHC with manual tranny, was a really good car. Not so much for the DOHC, but you can’t have everything.
To change the subject from my prevoius post… What in the world was daimler thinking when they killed PLYMOUTH and “created” the CHRYSLER PROWLER??? Is this not the stupidest thing any MOPAR fan has seen(and non-MOPAR fans alike)? Seriously, the Bow-Tie guys and Blue-Oval guys that I know couldn’t understand it either.
I can’t say it enough… Bring back the PLYMOUTH brand and make it the bargain of the three. Make Dodge the every-man’s brand. Make Chrysler the techno-performance-luxury 3-Series-killer brand. Make Dodge Trucks it’s own brand. And, finally, make the Jeep brand about Jeeps once-and-for-all. No more goofy cross-over Jeeps! Who ever heard of something so dumb. If people don’t want a serious off-roader, well, they’re S.O.L. Because, seriously, nothing else exists that can beat a Jeep on the Trails unless you build one of those extreme rock-crawlers or something.
Even I could achieve all of these goals within five years. If Cerebrus does not do this, my 2x Barracuda, Gran Fury, Shadow, Neon, LeBaron, 3x Caravan, Dakota, Ram, CJ, TJ owning butt will never step foot in a Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge/Jeep dealer again.
cerbus needs to bring back plymouth! make the neon a plymouth and a dodge. and the breeze/satalite is a plymouth. just the 2.4 sebring and convt. turbo all dodge 4s and leave there 6s alone. only make plymouth 4cyl and a 6 in the ‘cuda. and offer a base cheap hemi in limited numbers. oooh. and more retro paint all around the line. make dodge preformance oreianted directed at pontiac. and plymouth value directed at saturn. and chrysler luxury directed at buick/lincolin/cadillaic/lexus adn imperial uber luxo. directed directly at mercedes! aha. teach those germans not to screw with chrysler!
James Thurber? It’s been Many Moons.
Some pretty good insights. I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t think that the 300 needs to only be an upscale expensive model. The lower priced 300’s work well for the blue collar buyer who wants something that looks expensive. I totaly agree with the name change game. The only problem is keeping the quality up. The Neon would be a perfect car for todays gas saver market, but Chrysler tanked the car and now it is to late to bring it back. I personally don’t like the so called cross over vehicles. Call me old school but to me it should be….car, van, truck, not this kind of a van, kind of a car, kind of a truck stuff. A high class Imperial that DOES NOT LOOK LIKE A 300 would be a great idea. It would have to be something special, not that thing they brought out as a prototype. Also keep the wild and crazy promo cars coming like the Tomahawk, or the ME 4/12? Not that they will actually build them for sale, but the buzz it creates is great. Bring back Plymouth in a serious way, not to just get a Cuda to the public. Reliable, good gas milage, inexspensive, and decent looking. Build it and it will sell like ice on a hot day (so said Mr. Iaccoa)
In reply to commment #14 ‘James Thurber?’ It’s a generational thing, like brand equity.
responding to coment 15. i meant imperal as the high class uber luxo brand, why wouldnt that work while there on the subject of resurecting names.
I have always thought that the single biggest mistake made by the “Big 3″, is the abondonment of model names, along with the hundreds of millions of dollars spent in advertising to establish the brand equity. It’s absolutely ridiculous, to an extent beyond words. When you abandon the model name, you climb back down the ladder of name recognition, to the first rung, - right at the point Hyundai or Kia is at. The you have to re-spend a portion to etch a brand new model name, with associated brand, into the public perception. Amidst the clutter of competing noisy ads for products of all stripes, including competing cars, this is very tough to do.
A prime example is the Ford 500 debocle. I rented a Ford Tauras in 1996. A fantastic car in every respect, and a respectable seller, no matter how you factor the rental sales aspect. So, Ford develops a new model to fill the same catagory niche in thier line up, and what do they do? Abandon the hundreds of millions of brand equity advertising and good will they had bought and paid for in the Taures, and call the new model the Ford 500, which nobody has ever heard of. Ditto for the Mercury version. In other words, people don’t associate anything, good or bad, with the new name, therby they have saddled thier new car with a completely hollow name brand recognition, at the bottom of the ladder, right there with the latest Kia!
The “executives” who decided this, complete with thier complete lack of anything resembling sound reasoning, should be tossed out the door, right onto the street.
Chrysler, Ford and GM are all guilty of this. Products, particularily car products, have very strong “brand perception” recognition ties. You mess with these at the significant chance of peril of your marketing message. I still tell whoever will listen of the story of the young Caddilac MBA’s, sitting around the boardroom table in the early 80’s. They had a fantastic brand, in the public’s mind, really priceless. It was based on all those years of classy National Geographic print advertising, “The Standard of the World”. So what did they decide to do? They took a Chevrolet Cavalier, with it’s 80 horsepower, 2 liter 4 cylinder, and called it a Cadillac (Cimmeron). The nice folks who were sold these, and laughed at by thier friends and nieghbours, never forgave the brand. As to those executives who made the call to denude the brand in such a manner, no fate is too harsh for them.
And these auto executives, always lament the poor buyer retention figures!
Welocme to the the predictable, avoidable, decline of the North American auto industry.
Brian Anderson
What kind on marketing research are these dunder-heads doing? What has caused them to ignore motor-heads like us and go with all the other people? We are the repeat customers. Not them. Or, is that the point? Get the people who wouldn’t buy Mopar to consider something “new”? Maybe that’s it. It’s so ridiculous anymore. If you think anybody at Chrysler (or Cerebrus for that matter) gives a flying fig about what we think, you are dreaming.
T.R.Y. to understand this:
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Got it? NOW GO MAKE SOME
IT would be benificial to note, that Chrysler should try to revive some of the former American Motor’s products (ie. AMX, Javelin, Ambassador, etc.). Would it work to have a Plymouth - AMC subsidary to be the “entry level” for potential customers (as previously mentioned) ?
I think the people at Chrysler and Cerberus do care about what the customers and Mopar enthusiasts think. The new TV ads are great. They celebrate the heritage of the company (the Chrysler one shows the 1924 B-70, Airflow, first power steering, Imperials, and 300’s) while showing what Chrysler has to offer today. We have not seen ads like this since the 300M came out. They are a far cry from the ads with Dr Z and the one where they blow up a Dodge Spirit. The new warranty is certainly a response to what customers and enthusiasts are demanding. Chrysler knows they have to improve interiors and quality. The new cross-over SUV’s should be very competitive, and should avoid the mistakes made with the Sebring / Avenger. Speaking of names, I’m not sure if I like the name “Crew,” but that may not be the actual name. “Adventurer” would be nice.
Names are important, but only to the extent that they connect with the present buyer. Hornet works for a car because the recent “Cars” movie makes the name relevant. Roadrunner and Duster would still connect with people. Valiant might work because alot of people have great memories of that car. Would it have been better than “Avenger” or Sebring”? I don’t know. I’m seeing alot of Avengers/Sebrings on the road in Florida. New Yorker or Imperial might yet be viable as a LWB LX/LY car. If there is a market for Town Cars ands limos why shouldn’t Chrysler get a peice of it? It could, with something above the 300C, yet not something 14 inches taller than a 300C. Not enough people have memories of Desoto, Fury, AMX, or Javelin to make the names strike a cord. I would like to see Plymouth come back; but realistically, the three current brands are probably enough to cover the market. Dodge occupies the space that Chevrolet or Toyota or Ford does. Chrysler, hopefully, will compete on the level of Lincoln or Lexus or Cadillac. The main thing is the product; simply putting the numbers “300″ on the cars didn’t ensure success. Great design did that. Who really is excited by the name “Acadia” or “Enclave”? GMC and Buick will sell those SUV’s because they are great vehicles. A truly great car will sell, whether it is called Sebring, or whatever.
I’ve said it before, when the end of DCX first became evident, and I’ll say it again now: Plymouth is gone, and it makes no sense to resurrect it. Maybe it never should have been killed off, but it was — end of story. Toyota and Honda manage to compete with extreme success throughout the entire automotive spectrum with only 3 and 2 divisions, respectively. Why do so many people believe that Chrysler can’t do the same? Muscle cars once came out of the same divisions as economy cars (e.g., a GTX and a Valiant, a Charger and a Dart). Yes, establishing a brand identity is important — but if you have well-designed products of high quality, that’s what’s going to sell cars. What, exactly, is Toyota’s brand identity? Could you easily describe it, without lots of time to think? And yet, they’re on track to become the world’s number one auto maker. I’ve been a Mopar fan for more than 20 years, so I appreciate Plymouth. It has an amazing heritage. But I think what Mopar fans often forget — or just plain refuse to acknowledge — is that the Plymouth brand doesn’t mean a thing to anyone other than Mopar fans. I don’t believe for a second that there are masses of people out there thinking, “If only they brought back Plymouth, I’d trade in my Honda (or Chevy, or Hyundai, or whatever) and get one. Dodge just doesn’t do it for me.” If you are among those who feel it’s that important to bring Plymouth back, my guess is you’re already driving a Chrysler or Dodge, which means that if it DID return, all that would happen is you’d trade one Chrysler brand for another, which does the Company no good at all. Great styling, a good buying experience, reliability that’s the best in the world — that’s what will help Chrysler grow and flourish. Not Plymouth. Not Plymouth!
Norm i hate to agree with you but you are absolutely correct. Plymouth will not save Chrysler, but the demise of plymouth showed the narrow thinking that permeates the hierarchy of management. Let’s take the Neon, In auto form a piece of junk that the transmission died in roughly 40- 45,000 miles what did chrysler do about it, nothing. The stupid wind down rear windows two generations nothing, the rough idling engine, that sounded like it came out of a caterpillar nothing. This is just one car and we can see the symptoms of idle neglect. If we discount our vehicle and flood the fleet market with it and give employee pricing to everyone we will meet our sales quotient. This is how these clowns are doing business. Give a lifetime warrantee but have so many loop holes that no one will ever get a claim. Please, let’s wake up these boys don’t have the guts to reinvent the wheel. until they do nothing will change, until they realise that cheaper, and cheaper only makes your car cheaper then we won’t have any thing new. Chrysler needed quality products yesterday. I do however agree that this name jumping is rediculous allan mulally got it right when he brought back the taurus and sable name plates at ford. Maybe Chrysler will learn to fix the problems in the vehicles and keep the name, and promote the improvements, and stop letting the bean counters win. Generations of shoppers will flock to a quality product. But if you build junk you will spend many a generation trying to win new customers with discounts and fancy financing only to lose them after the note is paid or the lease is finished.
I don’t agree that Chrysler products have been junk. What I do see as problematic is the practice of ending production of successful vehicles, and vehicles that have had the initial bugs worked out of them, in favor of successors that are yet to be proven in the marketplace. This is not a new practice: recall how the Valiant was dropped before the Aspen / Volare were ready for prime time. The Neon was dropped in favor of Caliber, right at the worst time when gas prices were going up, where Chrysler really could have used a good small sedan, one with the initial problems (head gasket, mainly; the 3 speed automatic was quite reliable from what I’ve heard) worked out. Ford has had alot of success with the Focus recently, an aging design; the Neon could have provided Chrysler with some badly needed sales over the past 12 months. Also unfortunate, the Breeze was killed when it was scoring at the top of the quality rankings; the quality was never exploited like it could have been.
The successful PT Cruiser nameplate seems to be heading in the same direction. It has alot of name recognition; if Chrysler has anything to equal icons like the Mini or the new Fiat 500, which are small cars that sell for a premium, it is the PT. As the HHR has shown, there is still a market for that sort of car. Perhaps even better than reintroducing the Plymouth name would be to revitalize the PT as a range of cars: the orginal, a true wagon (squarer rear roofline, factory wood-look trim), ragtop, coupe. Let it stand somewhat apart from the other Chryslers: the current headlights and grille really detract from the design more than they tie it to the rest of the brand. Perhaps use a waterfall grill, a la Airflow to allow it to be unique, while it reflects Chrysler’s heritage.