troverman
Junior Member
It seemed pretty dumb to me for FCA to throw away decades of the iconic "Dodge RAM" moniker. Especially when the trucks are still the latest evolution of all those Dodge RAM trucks. Europeans think pretty differently than Americans, and they probably had a totally drunken board meeting and came up with the "strategy" of Dodge being about performance, the invented brand "RAM" being about trucks, and Jeep remaining what it was about off-road. Chrysler itself became kind of the odd man out.
In reality, this strategy is dumb because individual brands have caused FCA to have a very thin model lineup. Having a larger lineup means the better products in the portfolio will help cover the brands weaker models in terms of overall reputation.
For example, Dodge sells the Challenger, Charger, Journey, Durango, and Grand Caravan. How the heck they think the Journey, Caravan, and even Durango are "performance / muscle" vehicles is beyond me. And frankly, the Challenger is just a two door version of the Charger; both of which are antiquated platforms along with the 300.
Chrysler sells the Pacifica minivan and aging 300 sedan. Quite a weak lineup. RAM sells full-size pickups and crappy Fiat-based vans.
While I don't care if people call my truck a Dodge (I call it that myself, since that's really what it is) I am annoyed by an iconic American brand being owned by Fiat.
In reality, this strategy is dumb because individual brands have caused FCA to have a very thin model lineup. Having a larger lineup means the better products in the portfolio will help cover the brands weaker models in terms of overall reputation.
For example, Dodge sells the Challenger, Charger, Journey, Durango, and Grand Caravan. How the heck they think the Journey, Caravan, and even Durango are "performance / muscle" vehicles is beyond me. And frankly, the Challenger is just a two door version of the Charger; both of which are antiquated platforms along with the 300.
Chrysler sells the Pacifica minivan and aging 300 sedan. Quite a weak lineup. RAM sells full-size pickups and crappy Fiat-based vans.
While I don't care if people call my truck a Dodge (I call it that myself, since that's really what it is) I am annoyed by an iconic American brand being owned by Fiat.