I'm still confused on how dodge is doomed, but whatever. I'll believe it when I see it i suppose.

Light on why Dodge is dying content, but an interesting analysis on 'brand' as it relates to the automotive market.

And yes, Mr DeBored, some people will buy a Chrysler truck, to wit, the Asssspen.

Its all a MOOT point as Tata is going to own every auto company ever!

Why would they kill off Dodge when they could kill the Chrysler brand instead? Isn't the Chysler lineup a brand-engineered subset of the Dodge line?

What is 24/7 Wall Street, and why does it have principles in place of its principals?

It costs a lot of money to make a brand disappear due to legal constraints. It cost GM a billion to dump Oldsmobile. It also wasn't easy for Chrysler to dump Plymouth. So I doubt that will be happening.

Chrysler wants to cut down on its dealers and house everything under one tent. I don't think they will killing Dodge off anytime soon.

His logic on the XM brand is specious. Sirius has similar debt issues and XM, as he notes, has a larger subscriber base. I would expect, in the unlikely event of the satellite radio merger actually happening, that the more widely known XM name is the victor.

Most of his predictions are based on companies with more than one brand, but he fails to understand the brand differentiation between these.

Think about it: Would you buy a big Chrysler pickup truck?

As above, Chrysler has only one thing going for it today: the 300. That's it, that's the end of the list. Kill it. But keep Dodge.

@Brian B: Would you buy a big Dodge pickup truck?

I think we'll see Chrysler move toward cars only, Dodge as crossover and trucks and Jeep as SUV only. Sure there will be exceptions (Challenger, Charger cop cars) but as they continue to merge dealers into having all three brands, it just makes sense.

But this guy's logic seems more like reading tea leaves than industry analysis. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to predict KMart and Motorola's departure.

I cannot, for the life of me, envisage Dodge going the way of Olds, Plymouth, Studebaker, et al. I can definitely see it in Chinese or Indian hands, but not being retired.
This Dougie Mac dude seriously underestimates the power and mystique of things like the Viper, the O.G. Chargers, Max Wedge A-bodies, etc.

@Brian B: What about a Valiant Ute?

Think about it: Would you buy a big Chrysler pickup truck?

Depends. Find me a nicely done 1964 Imperialamino, and I'd be all over it.

Isn't Dodge the volume marque anyway?

Isn't most of Chryslerbus's marketing based on Dodge anyway? Or only the Dodge ads that stand out?

@FLB: then again, have you seen even a single ad for Journey?
or now that I think of it, for Saturn Astra either??

There used to be a hierarchy in Mopar-land.

Chrylser: nice, large cars. Think the Cadillac of Mopar. Mmmm, an Imperial built from '58-'70 has a space in my driveway, any day of the week.

Dodge: Primarily trucks. Then later, cars similar to Chrysler, but not quite as nicely equipped (Charger versus 300C comes to mind). Similar, in my mind, to GM's Oldsmobile or Buick, though I've always thought of Buick as higher-end than Olds.

Plymouth: The Chevy of Mopar, entry level, and the first to have bitten the dust.

When in the Great White North, eh, I found there were no Dodge cars, only trucks...as it should be. There, the Dodge Intrepid was a Chrysler Intrepid. This may have changed in the past few years, but it shouldn't have.

@abgwin: Actually, I have! There was a big promo for the Journey at the Montreal International Audo Show this past January. I tried one out (they had a couple of them open). Dodge also organized an online contest at winajourney.ca.

Hell, people buy Saab trucks, or at least they buy Saabs and use them as trucks.

Very simple, ditch all the Dodge cars and have Dodge be the truck label for non Jeeps.

At the local auto show I was checking out higher end sports cars, the Vette, Porsches, Audis, BMW, even Mercedes... when I came upon the Viper, it was locked and there was no one around. That pretty much tells me Dodge sucks. On a good note for Dogde, the Ram seems to be the minivan replacement vehicle of choice in my neighborhood. Mom's love those things for some reason.
I'd no doubt roll the barge on the way home from the dealer.

FWIW the old Sebring had attractive proportions, but the new one is a turd. Chrysler just can't stay focused IMO.

Jeep is the only good marque in that stable... and Jeep should have a small truck like that cool concept a while back.

@FuzzyPlushroom:
No. I'd buy a a '67-'72 C10. I don't need a truck for my livelihood, so I'm not really their market. My point, echoing the post, was that truck guys might have an issue with a five-pointed star on their grill.

im confused

@TomAnderson:
Only if it had a slant six!

Seriously, I wish marques that historically made cars would stop badge-engineering trucks. I think it's shameful that Lincoln and Cadillac are predominantly truck builders now.

Can anyone name a Chrysler or Dodge vehicle that was considered a winner in any recent multi-model comparison test? Maybe a late 1990's minivan?

Anyone?

If there aren't better new products on the way besides retro rehashes, fisher-price plastic utes and gas-guzzling trucks, then please kill both brands now. Auto enthusiasts can't stand the misery.

Just make sure Hennessey ends up with the Viper production tooling instead of Tata or Chery.

"Dodge Challenger by Chrysler"
Charger becomes a Chrysler Newport or LeBaron.
Dodge continues to build trucks to sell alongside Chrysler cars and Jeep SUV's (real SUV's).
Avenger? Caliber? Compass? Patriot? Durango? Aspen? Shit can 'em.

Yes and I did back in '06. Coming out of an 04' Mazda RX-8 GT w/ navigation I wasn't going to accept a subpar vehicle or interior. The 06's new charger inspired design is great with pretty good interior materials. (No it isn't a damn Audi inside.)

It is a damn nice rig. Megacab with plenty of room to have fun with the ladies in back. In '06 Ram the Mercedes influence showed up. It got thicker glass, a boxed frame, 375lb ft Hemi with heavy duty 11 inch Dana rear end and a 5 speed "Orion" gearbox that replaced the god awful 4 speed. You also got 14 inch 4 wheel disc brakes. This isn't your fathers 1987 Ram.

The 2009 will be even better. I mean comon, it has a beer cooler built into the bed!

@BartMack: at every car show i've been to there's a crowd around them. and they're locked. Keep in mind, this is a car that's a few years old, and it still hasn't worn off it's mystique. I'll admit that it's one of a very few cars that gets me weak in the knees in person, and makes me shiver when i touch it. No matter what body style, year, etc.
I haven't read the article yet, but from everyone's comments, it seems this guy is a bit weak on some of his points.

okay, I've read it now, and this guy has some of the weakest arguments I've seen for dropping brands. Just because something is losing money doesn't mean it's going to go away. Although he seems to be pretty knowledgable about his financial data, he seems to be missing some key ingredients about brand equity, etc. And the parts about selling off divisions (i.e., Motorola handsets) isn't big news- companies do that all the time. I call shenanigans, and foresee Chrysler merging the Chrysler and Dodge dealerships instead. Or the Dodge/Jeep dealerships.
On a similar note, how the hell was Mercury not on his list? Has it already been axed internally, and the public just not notified?

@Triborough: Heh. That would be the Isuzu Strategy you're referring to.

Who cares...

Hmm, some slightly dubious analyses going on there, and all from a very America-centric viewpoint (e.g. Microsoft buying Yahoo! and rebranding it as MSN; fails to understand why MS would buy Yahoo in the first place, it isn't for Yahoo's American customers). With Dodge, once again, a US-centric view. Chrysler tried to avoid using the Dodge brand outside the US to save money (it was a Chrysler Viper here in the UK, but everyone called it a Dodge anyway), and it didn't work, which is why they now use the Dodge brand for the Nitro etc. Car buyers outside the US who buy into US brands tend to have a good understanding of what those brands mean and are buying into the very "Americanness" of the brands. Its also why flogging rubbish Deawoo hatches as Chevys isn't working either.

I miss the DeSoto.

OK, I've read the article(snore fest as it were) and here are some things that stand out to me: 1) this analysts view is strictly on business, he doesn't care what we think in terms of buyers brand loyalty. 2) as far as his statement of disappearing brand names, he sites things like Gateway loosing out to Levano, and Old Navy loosing to The Gap, MOST PEOPLE DON'T GIVE A CRAP !! It's like this, I bought a Compaq computer from Best Buy back in the day, when they got bought up by HP I couldn't have cared less if I tried, I just went and got what I needed from a different brand/maker. However there are some things that people do find and stay loyal to, cars especially, and the people who by businesses know this. So dispare not ye lovers of all that is DODGE, for thy brand is not dead yet. Besides, it takes ALOT MORE than a buy out to change things overnight ! Trust me I know, I worked for a company for 4 yrs. & got bought out 3 times, they finally changed the name just before I left.

With the creation of a middle class in China and India, the US market is becoming less and less important on a world-wide scale. Home brands like Dodge, will have a hard time surviving the huge global economic changes. They have little presence abroad and that presence they have is handicapped by the "Americanness" of the brand which is completely out of touch with the realities of the changing European markets and the new ones in Asia.

But it is not just because of the products that Dodge and all other US car brands will have a hard time, it is mainly because of the structure of their companies. Very old-fashioned and bureaucratic, where decision making takes years and even then full of compromises.

With the gas prices rising, and the US economy on the brink of a big recession, buying habits will change drastically... this will be a fatal blow to many companies.
Chevrolet sells in Europe only because they rebranded Daewoo. I think we will see many more what would have been Daewoo's in the US sold as Chevy's.

@FLB:

They had the Champ de Mars metro station in the basement plastered with huge "JOURNEY" stickers on the walls and stuff too. I think some of the pictures of the car on the wall was bigger than the car is in real life...

I can tell you, at least from what I know, Dodge isnt goin anywhere yet.

The guy is just another sideline observer in the "idea economy" that needs something to write about. Dodge will stay around because it is a well known North American brand; muscle cars and trucks. The article also discusses rebranding KMart's as Sears stores, a la Sears Home Essentials. That idea is not really catching on. These consultants rarely know as much as they purport to know.

@cardesignmike: HA! You need to put Mercury on your list. Nicely done, working in Mercury's own tag line. If that was on purpose, well done.

Yeah, I'm kind of confused as well.

@graverobber: SIRI is buying XM, the mgmt will be SIRI, so the combined product will probably be called Sirius. Hopefully they hurry up and merge so they survive, though Siri as a company is finally looking like it was mauled by a bear, not mauled to death by a bear.

dodge: avoid sudden quick movement.

Says it all. Someone in corporate ID hasn't yet figured that one out; that a name that means "to avoid" isn't good for a name.