The SRT Brand Is Dead, Long Live Dodge SRT

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

Chrysler’s short-lived and amazingly unsuccessful run at an SRT “brand” is over.



Existing SRT products will be folded into Dodge and become the “Dodge SRT xxxx”. Obviously, the Viper will become a Dodge again — which is good news to people who are “Dodge Viper” fans — but there’s also apparently an SRT Journey on the way.

The SRT brand always felt like a bridge too far, the same way “RAM Trucks” feels a little odd. The fact that you couldn’t find a Dodge Challenger SRT on the Dodge website, for example, was more confusing to customers than anything else.

Now we’re firmly back in black. Or red.

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Xeranar Xeranar on May 06, 2014

    Many of you (and myself included) were too young to remember an era when name plates became independent for years at a time then folded back into their parent brand. Imperial, Continential, Valiant, the list goes on. It only became common for name plates to stay so in the 1970s. Even then outside of the US the Corolla is a brand unto itself with about a dozen different variants running around. We're mired in tradition so when changes occur we get confused and offended. But to be fair, the SRT as an independent brand made no sense. Keeping it a sport subdivision is practical, you can order an SRT model from within the brand.

    • See 3 previous
    • CRConrad CRConrad on May 22, 2014

      In at least the northern half of Europe, Corolla has been Toyota Corolla, the Corolla model of the Toyota brand, for at least forty years.

  • Phargophil Phargophil on May 06, 2014

    I'm actually surprised this move is being reversed. I work under the Fiat umbrella and know from experience that Sergio LOVES brands--the more the merrier. I've also learned that the Italian culture of management is rarely inclined to backtrack on a decision whether it was right or wrong. Actually I'm more than surprised, I'm amazed.

  • Phlipski Phlipski on May 06, 2014

    I wonder if all of the current SRT Viper owners are secretly hi-fiving each other. I can only imagine the awkward/annoying gas station conversations over the past few years... "Hey nice Dodge Viper!" "Ummm, actually it's an SRT Viper!" "Ummm... OK... Whatever... (whispering) douchebag..."

    • Raph Raph on May 07, 2014

      Hah, I bet I get the same thing when people call my GT500 a Cobra. I get that all the time. Them: "Hey, nice Cobra." Me: "Its a Shelby GT500 not a Cobra." Them: "Douchebag" Me: "Dumbass"

  • Ryoku75 Ryoku75 on May 07, 2014

    I'm glad this is over, I knew from the getgo that making SRT its own thing would be more confusing than anything.

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