This is the interior of the Dodge Caliber that’s currently on sale in the US market. Not particularly attractive, is it?
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Dodge brand boss Ralph Gilles has made his presentation on the future of the Ram-head brand. First up: it’s not the Ram-head brand anymore. Beginning next year, Dodge will be represented by the word “Dodge” in black with red accents. According to Gilles, the de-Ramification of Dodge was due to the fact that trucks were dominating brand perceptions. “Mojo” seems to be Dodge’s new buzzword du jour, along with the tagline cool × fun=Dodge. In addition, Dodge will be getting away from the “base, mid, high” trim level ladder to a “lifestyle-based” trim level system. In the future, Dodges will be available in the following trims: “sweet and simple,” “fun and practical,” “uptown luxury,” “thrill seeker,” and “cool extroverted.”

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Walter McManus, former GM economist and current head of the Automotive Analysis division of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, wants you to know GM’s SUV strategy of ignoring efficiency as a marketing input was his fault. In an interview with Energy and Environment News [via Edmunds Green Car Advisor], McManus explains how surveys in the 1990s showing consumers did care about efficiency were ignored:

The survey would estimate that people would estimate fuel economy fairly highly. Being a good economist, I said, ‘No, they don’t,’ and I changed the results. There was a systematic bias against such results. Our job was not to seek the truth, but to justify decisions that had already been made… It’s my fault they had the wrong vehicles until now

Can you say culture issues? McManus’s explanation for the insular attitude is a familiar refrain, namely that decisions “are being made by upper-middle-class white males, by and large. They don’t understand that the customers are not the same as they are.” Now that gas prices have made efficiency impossible to ignore though, McManus sees change coming.

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The Ford Mustang is not only Autoblog’s meat and potatoes, it’s also America’s most modded machine. Turning the relatively demure ox-cart suspended pony car into a overwrought, overpowered death car is big business. As our Best and Brightest know, the Las Vegas SEMA show is the temple of VTEC—I mean, modded motors. This year, Ford is sponsoring the show and bringing the noise (or whatever the current colloquialism may be). They’ve sent the usual herd of free ‘Stangs to the tuners with the inevitable results. White wall tires are in again? Who knew? “SEMA is important to Ford,” said Brian Wolfe, director of Ford Racing. “It’s not only about making great cars, but for those enthusiasts who want to take their cars beyond what manufacturers build.” So does that mean that people who take their cars beyond what manufacturers build are not making great cars? Perish the thought.

It’s 2009, and Chrysler Group is still hugely dependent on Ram sales to keep dealer volume flowing. Not that there’s anything wrong with pickups per se, but dependence on a shrinking market (down 34 percent year-to-date, compared to 27 percent reduction for all light-duty vehicles) is never a good thing. Cutting into profits to keep your share of said declining market is even less of a good thing. And yet Chrysler is planning on doing just that, cutting starting prices on 2500 and 3500 Heavy Duty Rams by $1,970. According to Automotive News [sub] Ram 2500 regular cab 4×2 with a 5.7-liter Hemi V-8 will start at $28,165, including shipping for the 2010 model year, despite offering more equipment than the outgoing model. Why? In a word, desperation. “There’s not a lot of strength in Chrysler’s portfolio right now, so they’re trying to give it its own identity,” says Edmunds Editor Karl Brauer. Except that “won’t sell unless they’re discounted to the hilt” was already part of the Chrysler portfolio’s identity. The only difference with the Ram is that it might just sell. As Cash-for-Clunker-era sales results prove, even huge rebates (on top of record manufacturer incentives) don’t do much to move Chrysler’s moribund car lineup. So why not try massive discounts on massive Rams?  How much worse could (will) it get?

Aldo: Hi Mr. Posawatz. I will be buying a Volt and wanted to know if an extension cord could be used to increase the reach for recharging, or if we are going to be limited to the length of the cord that comes with the car. Thanks!

[Chevy Volt Vehicle Line Director] Tony Posawatz: The EVSE or charge cord will be about 25 feet and designed to all relevant codes. We do not recommend extension cords but rather that when you have your home inspection, you reposition your outlet/charging station approproiately [sic].

From a recent Fastlane livechat on the Chevrolet Volt, ironically titled “Making Electric Vehicles Attractive to Consumers.” Which would you prefer?

Actually, that’s not the equivocal message we might have expected from a University of Michigan study on electric vehicle (EV) viability [via Green Car Congress]. Instead, the money quote reads:

The data provide strong evidence that a combination of economic and social incentives may be most effective in successfully introducing these vehicles.

The study’s baseline shows that, given no increase in fuel costs, 42 percent of those surveyed would consider buying an EV. But with every doubling of a hypothetical price premium, the probability of purchase fell by about 16 percent. At a $10k premium, only 14 percent said they would consider purchasing an EV. Which is enough to conclude that the “social incentives” of EV ownership are enough to create a certain level of demand for even uncompetitively-priced vehicles. And that seems to indicate that breathless green marketing is here to stay. In fact, if the image after the jump is anything to go on, this eco-toehold in the minds of some consumers will likely be exploited with ever-more breathtaking shamelessness.

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As an Allstate customer, a member of our Best and Brightest was not pleased to learn that GM Marketing Maven Mark LaNeve was crawling from the wreckage, crawling from the wreckage, crawling from the wreckage, into a brand new job. At Allstate. So he sent the insurance company an email.

The Volvo and GM brands are dead, thanks to the expertise of Mr. LaNeve and other of his ilk that have sunk them. Now he is welcomed into Allstate due to his “more than 25 years of marketing,  sales and general management experience.” Good luck, you’ll need it. His sort of expertise sinks businesses. The old phrase about rats and sinking ships comes to mind.

Gregory, Floyd (Allstate Insurance Company) wrote:
Dear Mr. XXXXX:
We have completed our investigation regarding your concern and would like to provide you a summary.

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TTAC’s MontanaVista sent us the heads-up: Volkswagen has released pricing and official information for its new Golf.  The commentator whose name reminds me of the station wagons of my youth alerted us that VeeDub’s U.S. website has finally been updated, and the death of the Rabbit nomenclature is now officially official. Not that anyone will notice save marketing mavens, who may also wonder if the combination of “Germany’s most loved hatchback” and “It’s what the people want” is a tag-line too far—given that U.S. buyers are notoriously hatchback aversive. The rest of us will delight in the build and price widget. My ideal all-new (to us anyway) GTI includes a $2795 Autobahn seating package (goodness gracious me!), an $1100 DSG gearbox (holy frijoles!), and $224 worth of mats (OCD takes it toll). That’s $28,358. Which is a lot of money for Rabbit.

The US-spec Buick Regal is receiving a better-than-Crosstour reception at Facebook, where official photos are showing some slight visual differences from the Chinese-market model. Against all the odds, the US-spec Buick appears to have dropped the Chinese version’s aftermarket-worthy fender vent. A more-subtle grille is another unexpected but welcome maturation. Or is that regression? This Buick’s as clean as the Insignia, somehow doing without the acres of chrome and tacked-on baubles that too often signify “American luxury.” Predictably, the most common comment on the new Facebook page is “needs ventiports.” Chinese-market Regal, for comparison, after the jump.

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