With Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles emerging from years of transition as well as CEO Sergio Marchionne’s five-year plan coming to an end in 2018, the time is ripe for a new brand to emerge. A luxury brand. The 2017 Dodge Durango Citadel should be its first model.

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I guess the person that wrote this doesn't know the GMC Denali lineup. Just like Citadel is the luxury model for the Dodge Durango, the Denali is the luxury model for the GMC SUV's and trucks Terrain, Acadia, Sierra, Yukon and Canyon. In comparison, FCA would apply Citadel as the luxury model across the Dodge lineup, and not make Citadel its own brand like RAM or Chrysler.

 

Luxury is one thing.'


Too much technology applied to mundane systems that people think they want, but often don't understand or even use, is another.

 

This article really seems kind of pointless to me. The Citadel can at times differ from a well optioned mid level model by no more than a few bits of chrome and ventilated seats.

FCA has plenty of brands:
Dodge
Chrysler
Ram
Fiat
Jeep

Meanwhile, GM and Ford recently shed unneeded brands in order to save costs and eliminate confusion: Mercury, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Saturn (did I miss any?).

I would also observe that the names of the trim levels change often enough that it's tough for the to develop any meaning or cache before they get changed. SXT? That sounds like it ought to be fast. Oh wait, that's RT. But there was an RT minivan which was what, an appearance package? Will we have a hellcat 6 cyclinder minivan with performance pages next year? And what's the midlevel model? Crew? That's a kind of sock. I don't even remember what its called this year. I haven't owned a GM vehicle in 20 years but I know what LT, and LTZ mean. Make the performance and luxury trim levels mean something.

Rather than worry about an extra brand name on the already crowded sign at the dealer, I would humbly suggest FCA should focus on great products and a great dealership network. I love my Dodge. But I hear plenty of horror stories about Darts, 200s and Journeys. Rather than worry that the top end product is too good for the brand name, how about making the bottom end product worthy of the brand name?

How about investing in dealer facilities so that when I take my Dodge in for an oil change, I don't feel like it's a dump compared to the GMC and Honda dealerships a block away?

Make great product for a competitive price. Get the message out.

 

No, it is not too Luxurious.
Citadel is the trim level that every Durango should come with.
Mine is a Citadel and I cannot immagine my car without its interiors, its chrome and so on.
I'd rather ditch the SXT and the Limited...

 

What is the point of this thread? Luxurious is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Pass that up the chain of Command Dodge Rep..

 

Under the Mercedes name you can get both luxury and performance and no one complains about that. You already have Chrysler. Make a similar vehicle under Chrysler. Or if it ain't broke don't fix it. Why not have a very nice Dodge? Maybe call it the Citadel (period) and all others are Durangos with different trim levels but not as much as the Citadels