AUBURN HILLS, Michigan — Under Fiat's controlling hand, Chrysler plans to rebuild Dodge over the next few years as a car-only brand with a sharper focus on younger buyers — and lots of new products, beginning with a full-size seven-passenger crossover in late 2010.
Under the new "Soul by Design" strategy, however, the Dodge Viper appears to be an orphan. Chrysler now plans to drop the iconic supercar in mid-2010, but says a potential successor is "under consideration" for mid-2012 or beyond.
Ralph Gilles, president and CEO of Dodge, said the big CUV will be followed in 2012-'13 by a new subcompact hatchback and new compact and midsize sedans. The latter three cars will be built on Fiat platforms, while the CUV will get a Chrysler platform, possibly a version of the Grand Caravan.
In the meantime, the slow-selling Dodge Caliber, which gets a new interior and other minor changes for model-year 2010, will be dropped in mid-2012.
As part of what Gilles described as a "complete overhaul" of the brand, Dodge will begin freshening — and, in some cases, repackaging — existing models, including the Caravan, the Journey and the Avenger, all of which will be face-lifted in late 2010 in what Gilles referred to as a "major product intervention."
The Charger will get a major overhaul for model-year 2011, according to Gilles, including a new engine and "class-leading interior (and) features."
The Nitro, which shares its underpinnings with the Jeep Liberty, remains in limbo. Dodge will repackage the midsize SUV, but hasn't decided whether to drop it or replace it beyond model-year 2011.
Inside Line says: GM studied the same demographic and psychographic trends for Pontiac, and killed the brand. What does Chrysler know that GM didn't? — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Add A Comment »
davesuton says:
08:15 PM, 11/05/2009
As usual Lienert puts a negetive spin on a domestic manufacturer. If this were an Import brand, he would be saying "great thing" will come of it. Lienerts are both so bias against American brands. They should both be fired.
carnut48 says:
12:49 PM, 11/05/2009
GM only killed off Pontiac because the government made them do it. They could not receive funding until they agreed to drop Pontiac. I think that was a big mistake. GM did not want to kill Pontiac.
zoomzoomn says:
12:36 PM, 11/05/2009
"What does Chrysler know that GM didn't?"
The problem for Dodge won't be the demographic it is shooting for. I still feel that GM erred in it's decision to kill Pontiac. The problem will be how responsive the public is going to be to Fiats. They better do a good job in styling and packaging them for American buyers. Also, excitement will definitely need to play a role in getting people into Dodge showrooms. I hope that they can pull it off. I also hope that the old "Fix It Again Tony" acronym that Fiats of yore earned is no longer applicable!
preza says:
12:32 PM, 11/05/2009
It seems like a good plan to me.
As for the Pontiac comparison, I don't see it. I saw that before when Pontiac had dropped out of the compact sedan segment and focused on the Vibe, relied too heavily on the grille as a design feature which ended up limiting what they could do with the front of a car, cheaped out on interiors and were cutting the lineup down to fewer models.
This seems aside from removing the Ram trucks out of the brand to be a good direction for the company. They will now have a mainstream brand with vehicles in the B, C, D and E segment, a strong minivan, performance vehicle(s) and a couple of pretty decent CUV's. To me, its more of a Mazda direction with more sales.
hb1976 says:
03:51 AM, 11/05/2009
Maybe Dodge will build a true wagon, to replace the Magnum. One can hope.
double_duece says:
10:31 PM, 11/04/2009
as long as they retain the raw brutality of the Viper in whatever this new car will be, then ok. i think i'm more concerned about the rest of the line up. i trust the new Charger will look good and be better all-around.
as for the Caliber being killed off, it's not the i hated the car. i actually still want an SRT4 one of those(no it's not that great but i love all it's faults. i'm sad they won't make anymore), but it really was a redheaded stepchild. i hope this deal with Fiat goes well for Chrysler's sake.