Dodge Marketing Explained. Sort Of.

by Edward Niedermeyer

Published: November 4th, 2009

This is the interior of the Dodge Caliber that’s currently on sale in the US market. Not particularly attractive, is it?

Dodge’s plan is to introduce a number of interior trim levels to widen the appeal of its products to a number of “lifestyle segments.” Or, to water down whatever brand attributes Dodge actually has left.

The “thrill seeker” trim level (above) will exemplify the brash, sporty element of the Dodge brand. It is seen as an entry-level for customers who aspire to an SRT vehicle.

The “uptown luxury” trim level (above) is apparently intended as a way to cannibalize Chrysler.

Edward Niedermeyer

More by Edward Niedermeyer

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 38 comments

Carve on Nov 05, 2009

"OK, so Chrysler brought this car out with a lousy interior, and it cost them sales. How is redesigning it “really dumb”? Seems to me the really dumb move would be to NOT improve the interior" Well, that's just it: they didn't actually improve anything, and now they're saying LOOK AT US LOOK AT US SEE HOW MUCH GOODER IT IS! They needed a substantitive change. This isn't it. It might be just SLIGHTLY better than nothing, but not by much, & it looks like a bunch of afterthought bandaids, so it may actually be equal or even worse to some eyes. Combined with the ridiculous names people won't want to associate themselves with and they'll be lucky to break even.

Like Reply
Thebeastofrock on Nov 05, 2009

How do any of these people have jobs? How???

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Jalop1991 is this anything like a cheap high end German car?
HotRod Not me personally, but yes - lower prices will dramatically increase the EV's appeal.
Slavuta "the price isn’t terrible by current EV standards, starting at $47,200"Not terrible for a new Toyota model. But for a Vietnamese no-name, this is terrible.
Slavuta This is catch22 for me. I would take RAV4 for the powertrain alone. And I wouldn't take it for the same thing. Engines have history of issues and transmission shifts like glass. So, the advantage over hard-working 1.5 is lost.My answer is simple - CX5. This is Japan built, excellent car which has only one shortage - the trunk space.
Slavuta "Toyota engineers have told us that they intentionally build their powertrains with longevity in mind"Engine is exactly the area where Toyota 4cyl engines had big issues even recently. There was no longevity of any kind. They didn't break, they just consumed so much oil that it was like fueling gasoline and feeding oil every time