This rumor began after Plymouth was axed, but really got traction when Ram was made its own brand. They were both stupid moves, but killing Dodge is worse yet.
When they killed Plymouth, they lost most of the customers that were loyal to Plymouth. I don't recall how the number was tracked, but it was in the 80% range. Dodge is a much larger brand than Plymouth was at the time, so if history repeats itself (and there's little reason to believe that it won't), they're going to really regret that decision. This time, however, I feel that it would be due to mismanagement, rather than indifference - Daimler only cared about Chrysler as far they could steal and neglect their way to profitability for the mother ship. Fiat seems to care, even if they don't always make sound decisions.
~S~
I don't know if this corporate marketing move would make our 1962-1965 Dodges more collectable. Who knows. Anyway, I have not read about this in a Mopar-focused magazine or Web site, but “Hot Rod” magazine reports that the Dodge brand may vanish.
“According to Wards Auto, the Dodge brand might be on the ropes—possibly disappearing after 2016. With product replacements and production sourcing coming to a head in ’16, preliminary reports show a significant reduction in Dodge’s portfolio, leading to speculation that it’s headed to the auto-brand graveyard. After next year there will be no midsize Dodge offerings, and Ram trucks has already been splintered off. Fiat-Chrysler is also saying other Dodge segments will migrate to Chrysler, with most all of the shuffling and new or replacement products in showrooms by 2016. It’s obvious that redundancy within corporations continues to be in the sights of planners and bean counters, as the global picture looms larger. Still, Dodge has always been a significant player and would seem to have more relevance than, say, Plymouth or Pontiac, which lost all brand identity two decades ago. With such a rich legacy in hot rodding, we’d sure hate to see it join the ranks of Studebaker and Hudson.”
http://blogs.hotrod.com/is-dodge-on-the-ropes-61331.html
Thanks,
Gary H.
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