Chrysler Jeep Dodge

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Comment by David Ruggles on June 1, 2010 at 8:43am

I remember distinctly when Dodge put that damn goat on everything truck. It was 1980 and the new truck looked good, but then there was the damn goat. Or is it a sheep. I never thought a goat or a sheep was a worthy emblem for a vehicle brand.

Chrysler has so confused the public over the years. They just haven't been able to make up their mind and stick to something. They build brand equity, nd then squander it and have to begin again.

The Shelby emblem on 024s? Anyone even remember those. All sorts of stuff, including an Imperial on a K-car platform? The abuse heaped on their dealers? They are lucky they have representation in the market at all, and Sergio thinks the dealers work for him. He needs to figure out this ain't Europe, and he'd better do it quick. The only customers he has are his dealers.

They might be able to bring over some smooth Italian stuff IF it is high tech and up to par in terms of quality and dependability. But this is the ultimate "Hail Mary!"

Comment by Mark Dubis on June 1, 2010 at 8:22am

Collapsing the three Chrysler Brands into one would de-value the brand equity established over the years. Each brand is unique and stands for something different. Chrysler vehicles covered the luxury, power segment; Dodge cars meant performance, muscle and a bit of in-your-face. Think back to the Dukes of Hazard and their Dodge Charger, The General Lee. Dodge also means strong, powerful trucks that are reliable and get the job done. I believe segmenting Dodge Trucks into the RAM brand was a big mistake and diluted the marketing oomph of the Dodge Brand. It confuses the market and only serves to increase marketing costs and puts unnecessary layers of “slow process” folks in the way of getting the job done.

With the consolidation of the three brands into one location, Chrysler has effectively done what you said, brought everything under one roof. Having one “brand” will not really help the situation. Consumers want choices and a consolidation would send a message that the only flavor offered is “vanilla.” Thinks about the clothing you buy. If you buy Johnston Murphy shoes does this mean you would buy their shirts, their socks, their jackets, and pants? They offer them too, but if you ask the average consumer what Johnston Murphy sells, they will answer “shoes.” It would be the same with all these CDJ vehicles under one brand.

Chrysler is struggling, not because of their brands, they are struggling because they lost focus of who was responsible for their success. Consumers and dealers were, and are responsible for buying their vehicles. When you don’t take care of providing what both of these entities want and need, you will suffer. That is what happened. A decline in the quality of the product, a deterioration between their retail relationships, products and pricing that was out of touch with consumers and then desperate pleas via big rebates and low interest rates to buy these “damaged goods.” Once they address these issues they have a small hope of turning things around. Currently the odds in Vegas (our industry experts) are betting against this one.

Comment by Michael on May 31, 2010 at 1:01pm

In the competitive arena of Brands, beyond a few integrative models of some 'brands' with 'appealing' models, so many will continue to struggle their years of diminished Brand 'value' in the eyes of so many prospective buyers. Jeep of the three in the Alpha arena has the best Brand image of the three, as sales objectively reflect. Fiat, even though brand established in Europe will take years to take on a valued Brand image here and not so sure keeping the name Fiat separate from the Chrysler's struggling branded name and image will enhance/expedite/facilitate more showroom traffic as is hoped.

Comment by Mark Dubis on May 30, 2010 at 6:51pm

Bringing a Fiat branded product to the Chrysler stable of brands is like bringing a knife to a gun fight. It just aint gonna make much of an impact. We need to see some new Wrangler designs that combine fun 4-wheeling with some amenities of the popular crossovers. And while the Sebring is an a decent sedan, it just doesn't get my blood pumping. It sorely needs a real updating with some cutting edge styling. Having the CDJ brands is okay, but let each have its own unique vehicles. Chrysler should focus on cars, Dodge on some muscle vehicles and trucks and leave Jeep to do what it does best; the off road and SUV segment. We have some great heritage here, but that doesn't sell cars. Exciting product and quality sell vehicles.

Comment by Michael on February 7, 2010 at 9:09am

As a struggling 'domestic' product brand, why wouldn't Chrysler make every attempt to bring together (as Alpha in the past), these three segments (Cars, SUVs and Trucks) under one roof, in order to compete with the already established entities of Ford and Chevrolet with all three segments for decades ensembled under ONE brand name and known for carrying all three broad segments. Fiat, to come, will only enhance the most struggling entity, namely Chrysler cars, once an 'aggregate'.