Dodge drops Durango/Magnum names for CUV
Company insiders claim that Dodge, frustrated with leaks that allowed the blogosphere to see the future names for its CUV – Dodge Durango, then Dodge Magnum – has dropped both names in favor of a heritage name.
“We considered using Power Wagon’ but Ram called dibs on that one,” said Ralph Gilles. “We also looked at Sportsman, which was used on full size vans, but the Ram guys yelled ‘dibs’ again, so we had to look further. I wanted to go back to Suburban, but General Motors took that one a while back.”
In the end, Gilles picked the name Reliant.
The Plymouth Reliant was available in a popular wagon form, as was the Volare before it, and the Valiant in its early years. Unlike the Dodge Aspen, whose name was adopted for the Chrysler version of the Dodge Durango, Reliant has not been associated with quality gaffes and premature rust.
“Nothing says gas mileage like Reliant,” said Gilles. “We did not feel Aries had the same positive associations,” he added. “Reliant is the car that saved the company.”
A special edition model with luxury features will be dubbed the Reliant K.
The Dodge Reliant will be powered not by the Pentastar V6 used in the Grand Cherokee, but by the four cylinder World Engine. They will have a six speed automatic transmission and an optional five speed manual transmission. A police version will use a turbocharged Pentastar V6 to compete against the front wheel drive Ford Police Interceptor.
Oh… and happy April Fools Day.
