Last month Dodge sold 56k vehicles while it was 44k for Jeep, 32k for RAM and 29k for Chrysler. Why again would they discontinue their best selling brand?Erik Latranyi said:The past is irrelevant.
Marchionne and Fiat do not care about the past. They are looking to the future.
Ford, GM and Toyota to a (slightly) lesser degree lump their bread and butter vehicles in with their sporty models, etc. under the Ford, Chevrolet or Toyota brands; why not Dodge doing that same thing, rhetorically speaking? The same type of brand relationship can be said about Chrysler/Lincoln/Cadillac/Lexus as well. Yes; I know that GM still has Buick but that was due to its immense popularity in China and 'GMC' is quite profitable so it too got a reprieve.bumonbox said:Dodge does carry with it a sort of manly / sport image (looking at demographic seems to confirm it). I am all for focusing brands. Although I also that mass market brands such as the ones discussed must stretch beyond that main function. Especially given the absence of Plymouth. Ironically enough, it's a concern applied far too liberally to Jeep, and misused. Each brand should maintain a balance. A string of cars that most specifically fit and project the brand's image. Then a string of more mainstream everyday vehicles that borrow and use some of the brand's image. Jeep of course has too little of the former, and too much of the latter.
Since there is no proper dumping grounds for the affordable minivan, IMO - I think it should remain with Dodge. The base model may fail to capture the essence, but better equipped models would carry that slightly more "masculine" edge with in the brand. Basically, I like the current formula. Even if the R/T isn't a success, I'd want to see that continue (only offer an R/T with a tweaked powertrain that gives a particularly unique experience.
In either case, an RWD D sedan to complement the "bread and butter" sedans, and the challenger would do great to carry forward the image. Keep the people haulers, but give them the edge, more importantly - offer a real sport edition of every vehicle (once again, they are CLOSE here with the black top editions of each one). Not necessarily an SRT version of each vehicle, but something with a powertrain that has real oomph, all of this would help to iron out the wrinkles in the brand's image.
But as always, they should be careful. Loyalists aren't as concerned about image, they just want their car. If you make the right moves, you can keep them around, while cultivating your new-ish image.