When you get to be 100 years old, you usually don’t want to make waves. No drastic changes, no new ideas, just biding your time until the inevitable. Not so with Dodge. One hundred years and a shot of power have just caused the company to make some major changes:
There will not be a Caravan coming from Dodge any more. If you need a minivan fix satisfied, you will have to go to Chrysler for that.
There will be no SRT stand-alone models. The Viper comes back home and will, once again, become a Dodge. SRT will be part of the company, not just a performance arm. The Chrysler 300 SRT is going the way of the Impala SS and Mercury Marauder.
The luxury comes from Chrysler. The performance comes from Dodge. This is not to say that Chryslers won’t have adequate power, but Dodge will have the performance cars while Chrysler handles the mainstream customers. You want to haul the family, go to Chrysler. You want to haul a**, go to Dodge.
New cars will emerge. A D-segment crossover and B-segment sedan/hatch will be birthed from the new Dodge. No word on whether there will be SRT versions, but I bet there will be.
Surprisingly, The SRT Cherokee will live. The Grand Cherokee SRT will remain with us in the near future for a very good reason: It’s the bestselling model to wear the SRT badge. Re-alignment means nothing to the bottom line.
Dodge is serious about their performance image and are doing major things to promote it. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We will keep our ear to the ground and be knocking on the doors of our good friends, Ralph Gilles (President and CEO – SRT Brand and Motorsports) and Dianna Gutierrez (Head of Public Relations for SRT/Design/Motorsports at Chrysler). Surely they will have something to say very soon. Trucks at RAM, Snakes at Dodge and we are at the beginning of a new era. One hundred looks good on you, Dodge boys!
Are you excited for what the future holds for Dodge?
