[Allpar News System]

News Analysis Recently, Ward’s posted an article which was picked up (and exaggerated) by various news-scavenger sites. Insiders told Ward’s that two cars being rebranded from Dodge to something else, and the Avenger being dropped. The conclusion some drew: Dodge is dying.

When Sergio Marchionne started talking about the Dodge Avenger, over a year ago, it prompted death-of-Dodge stories then; but then, we’ve been reading death-of-Dodge stories since Daimler took over. First, let’s look at Dodge Avenger. A rear wheel drive mid-sized car  is in the works; Chrysler/Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne publicly said more than once that it would not be economical to create one for Alfa Romeo alone, but making one for both Alfa and Dodge would work. Not Chrysler. Dodge. Does it make sense to make a Dodge version of the 200, which is  essentially a bigger Dart with a V6?  Chrysler’s division of sales among two or three..

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[FreeLantz]

Thanks for a level-headed response to the "Death of Dodge" hysteria that has been going around this week.

As much as Sergio and Co. seem to be struggling with where to take Dodge (and Jeep for that matter), Dodge is 100% more focused and cohesive as a brand than Chrysler is right now. So as Dave said, where are the rumors that Chrysler is dying?

I believe the Chrysler brand will ultimately end up with the traditional minivan, with the Caravan and Journey morphing into some kind of mid-sized "sporty" crossover. It will be minivan-based and thus larger than the Cherokee-based Dodge crossover. The Durango, Challenger, and Charger will continue in their current roles, and be complemented by a smaller-but-larger-than-200, Alfa-based, RWD sport sedan. The Dart will fill out the bottom end of the lineup, perhaps even with a five-door model eventually. This scenario gives Dodge a well-rounded lineup that does not compete directly with what Chrysler offers now.

 

[SE Charger]

I for one am not a Chrysler buyer, I am Dodge and Dodge only. If Dodge ever disappeared I would probably end up a Chevy guy which would break my heart and make me sick. I would consider Chrysler if they had a sporty muscle inspired car like the Charger or Challenger but if they did why wouldn't it be a Dodge? I still think the Ram should be a Dodge, go show Joe Public a picture of a Ram truck and I bet 95% of them will call it a Dodge Ram. Just saying.....same thing goes for Viper............

 

[patfromigh]

This reminds me of something.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXibX5I0ZBU

 

[Muther]

Joey, the fourth grader, told me that the Volkswagen group was in talks to buy Dodge, and that the aquisistion will be announced as soon as the Alfa Romeo deal is complete.

 

[bumonbox]

Joey, the fourth grader, told me that the Volkswagen group was in talks to buy Dodge, and that the aquisistion will be announced as soon as the Alfa Romeo deal is complete.

He got it from somewhere - that's the scary part.

Of course, what makes a kid a kid is usually their lack of experience and inability to perceive the the validity of what they read. They usually can't parse out the fiction from the fact.

But that leads to the other thing. In an increasingly child like society, we see this type of thing more than ever. Hence the reason we're having this discussion in the first place.

 

[valiant67]

The scary part to me is this:
Dodge has seven current models: Dart, Challenger, Charger, Durango, Avenger, Grand Caravan and Journey.
Figure that three of those (Grand Caravan, Durango and Avenger) are on thin ice.
That leaves only four models and that corresponds to what Plymouth had at the end (Neon, Breeze, Voyager and Prowler). Now there could be new Dodge models or some on this list may not go away. But Dodge could end up product starved which does make its future much less certain.

 

[Stratuscaster]

And yet somehow Chrysler is not product starved with only THREE models? :huh:

 

[valiant67]

Yes, the same argument could be made for the death of Chrysler as a brand too. Only saving grace is the (supposedly) higher margin on the Chrysler lineup vs. the Dodge lineup.

And yet somehow Chrysler is not product starved with only THREE models? :huh:

 

[dodgeismycar]

All good points but have we heard from SM?

 

[Muther]

Joey also told me that we might as well give up and surrender to the Chinese, because eventually all corporations will be head quartered in China.

I'll not treat ridiculous news such as the death of Dodge with a straight face and anything less than a completely facetious answer. Let's just make everything a Chrysler, and be done with it, then sell Chrysler to Toyota and retire to Costa Rica, just so we can be rid of the copy/paste blogger idiots.

 

[bumonbox]

Joey also told me that we might as well give up and surrender to the Chinese, because eventually all corporations will be head quartered in China.

I'll not treat ridiculous news such as the death of Dodge with a straight face and anything less than a completely facetious answer. Let's just make everything a Chrysler, and be done with it, then sell Chrysler to Toyota and retire to Costa Rica, just so we can be rid of the copy/paste blogger idiots.

Correction: Make everything a Jeep.


Personally, I will say, I am not thrilled with much of direction SM seems to be going. But, I do say seems. They had been rumors of an RWD D Sedan for Dodge. But these have come and gone. If these are real - I am 100% behind it. It offers the differentiation he is after and would be a breath of additional fresh air.

It IS fair to say that currently, both Dodge and Chrysler are a bit weak as brands, we can thank previous management for bringing us there, and I feel that management has done little to address it, with wanting everything to be a Jeep, and parring down Models. That makes it easy to conjur up theories. But as of yet, I see no actual evidence that Dodge is dead. Anything to that effect is simply hyper speculation, and for it to be reported as news is garbage.

 

[geraldg]

I for one am not a Chrysler buyer, I am Dodge and Dodge only. If Dodge ever disappeared I would probably end up a Chevy guy which would break my heart and make me sick. I would consider Chrysler if they had a sporty muscle inspired car like the Charger or Challenger but if they did why wouldn't it be a Dodge? I still think the Ram should be a Dodge, go show Joe Public a picture of a Ram truck and I bet 95% of them will call it a Dodge Ram. Just saying.....same thing goes for Viper............

I guess you now understand how plymouth guys like me walked away from chrysler, and like I said this is not the chrysler we once knew.

 

[MikeGKlein]

Sergio always plays the long game. Most of the products delays are explained by that view he insists on. Don't rush anything out the door that is all trouble. The Dart had a bit of a slip in that but is slowly making its way. So an Avenger replacement will arrive when all the Fist-Chrysler ducks are in a row, not a moment before. And yes, he is not afraid of brands. Just look at Fiat. Even as a cold-hearted mercenary type executive, that gives the parent company more flexibility as troubles or opportunities arise as there are more assets that might be disposed of. There's risk in multi-branding. There's risk in having the whole enterprise's brand take a beating over a failure of a single model or strategy.

There are naysayers about everything. Their prophecies make for interesting pub discussion, but I doubt they have the accuracy of long range weather forecasts.

Have faith baby.

 

[Dave Z]

They had been rumors of an RWD D Sedan for Dodge. But these have come and gone.

Because they were confirmed by Sergio. It's not a rumor if he says "Yes, we've approved this and here it is in the plan."

+1, MikeGKlein.

 

[dakrt99]

This is confusing. I wish Chrysler would put an end to this and reaffirm that Dodge does have a bright future. Jeez. This is what happens when you remain as secret as Fort Knox.

 

[Dave Z]

Perhaps they should also reaffirm that Mopar, SRT, Ram, Jeep, and Chrysler have bright futures?

Better for them to ignore the nonsense at this point.

 

[Muther]

Perhaps they should also reaffirm that Mopar, SRT, Ram, Jeep, and Chrysler have bright futures?

Better for them to ignore the nonsense at this point.

+1


...as for me? I choose riculousness!

 

[Erik Latranyi]

This is confusing. I wish Chrysler would put an end to this and reaffirm that Dodge does have a bright future. Jeez. This is what happens when you remain as secret as Fort Knox.

Why would you announce such a thing and kill all current sales without replacements in the other divisions?

That would be stupid business sense. You arrange your pieces first, then make your move.

 

[dodgeismycar]

This story is growing bigger by the minute.Just Google Dodge and look at the the news outlets have jumped all over this story.

Sergio needs to do damage control before customers who may want to buy a Dodge are scared off for good!
Think about that before you pooh pooh this as a non story.
Someone needs to put this fire out.

Bad press is the last thing Dodge needs.