QOTD: What's Missing From This Badge?

Steph Willems
by Steph Willems

The badge you don’t see in the photo is the no-longer-Ram-associated Dodge badge, the one we’ll be discussing today. In a post the other day, yours truly waxed on and on, probably to your great annoyance, about the brand’s attempt to stimulate interest in its future via its past. What name would you like to see return, the brand’s Twitter account asked.

Some readers considered the tweet a possible sign of a returning Viper — the low-volume supercar that bowed out Dodge’s lineup not all that long ago. A month before his death, former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne poured cold water over the idea, claiming the Viper could only stage a profitable return if it shared a platform with something from FCA’s European collection, and in doing so wouldn’t be able to handle a giant, honking, torque-laden American engine necessary for a Viper to be a real Viper.

Maybe it’s still a good idea to some, though others might feel a Ford GT-like one-off model punted to a Canadian specialty manufacturer and offered at a stratospheric sticker price is a better way to go.

While we can talk Viper, the aim of this post is to generate discussion about what missing vehicle Dodge needs in its lineup, taking into consideration the West’s cooling auto sales and the industry’s concerns for long-term financial stability.

You might argue that, in light of Marchionne’s insistence that a ground-up Viper build would lose the company money, a non-Viper sports car borrowing its bones from Alfa Romeo or Maserati might be just the thing to stimulate interest in the brand. And it could just as easily be a slow-selling lemon that makes Dodge a laughingstock. Cue jokes about “TC, by Maserati.”

With Boomers distracted by Corvettes and getting on in years, counting on a new sports car that doesn’t go way out and wild could be a recipe for breaking even. At best. So why bother?

It can also be argued that Dodge’s venerable Charger and Challenger already offer all the brash power and image a red-blooded American can handle, and do so reliably and profitably. Despite their aged platform and throwback bodies, the Charger/Challenger, long since paid off, still have what it takes to keep customers rolling in.

So, what’s left? Sedans are out, and the market tells us that so too are coupes and roadsters. Keeping one eye on the coffers and the other on today’s auto landscape, it would seem the most useful vehicle in a future Dodge lineup would be of the utility variety. Well, that’s hardly sexy. What can Dodge offer in this space that a buyer can’t find elsewhere?

Muscle?

Alright, B&B, it’s time to play Mike Manley for a while. What does this brand need to safeguard its existence?

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]

Steph Willems
Steph Willems

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  • Rpol35 Rpol35 on Oct 05, 2019

    It's hard to have a Dodge discussion without bringing Chrysler into it as well. Assuming that the Journey eventually gets remade into something more modern that would probably go to Chrysler and with the Grand Caravan possibly becoming the Voyager, that leaves Dodge with just the Charger, Challenger & Durango. The original plan was to eliminate the Durango when the BOF Grand Wagoneer goes into production. So that move doesn't leave Dodge with much unless it remains as a "performance" sub-brand under Chrysler. And I suppose the Durango could hang around in essentially a performance version while Jeep covers the more "sensible" SUV versions. In that case adding a new Viper, based on an existing platform, would make sense. While sedans are going the way of the Passenger Pigeon, perhaps there is value in being the last man standing and Dodge has done a masterful marketing job of reinventing the Challenger & Charger with differing trims, colors, power options, etc. The "old" Challenger, in particular, has done well in sales vs. the Camaro, and as of last month, the Mustang too. There is value in their approach, it's just how to you keep it going? That would be my biggest concern. I have seen too many five year FCA "projections" that never come to fruition so I hope for Mike Manley's sake, he's got something up his sleeve.

  • Johnster Johnster on Oct 05, 2019

    I find it hard to believe that the Maserati platform used for the Gran Turismo, GT Convertible, and the upcoming Alfieri sports cars couldn't handle the torque from the Dodge V-10 or the Hellcat V-8s. A new viper built on the same platform to keep costs down, but with its own unique sheet metal and a designed in Detroit V-8 or V-10 sounds like it would have the potential to be winner and if nothing else would be a good flagship for the Dodge/Chrysler line. Maybe Maserati needs to beef up their platforms to handle more torque.

    • Hummer Hummer on Oct 05, 2019

      Cars.com has multiple Chrysler 300s for under $20k, I don’t see the Maserati platform scaling to be that affordable.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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