Just posted this on the Blog.

Do you think it was a good idea for Ma Mopar to kill SRT? Let us know!

 

No, imo it's really not a good idea. Just like the story with the Grand Caravan... Crazy stuff

 

I love to hate dodge! the srt was awesome... and I have a grand caravan among several other dodges.... but whatever fiat non america wants it seems to get.... does everyone else laugh out loud at the little fiats around their rams? I do!!!!

 

Whoa whoa, my understanding was that Dodge would still have the performance division SRT, but SRT as itself a brand with the Viper would be dead?????????

 

Sorry buddy! It's just dead as a standalone brand.

 

Yes, and I'm GLAD! GLAD! GLAD! GLAD! GLAD! GLAD!!!

The whole attempt to transform a trim level into a brand was a dumb move. Chrysler did not need an SRT division for one single, pre-existing model. The whole split up of Dodge is dumb in my opinion. The higher sales of the Ram has little to nothing to do with separating it from Dodge. The new Ram is continuously being improved at the moment and not waiting for the next model year to unleash drastic improvements. In my view, this has and SRT worked to damage Dodge's brand equity. With the projections that FCA has for the company they need to reach an epiphany what Dodge is becoming in comparison to Chrysler. Dodge can justify the price in people's minds for the SRT trim level Charger and the SRT trim level Challenger, but Chrysler's cannot. With the new viper's interior being world class, the Ram having better leather than the 300's according auto magazine reviews, and Dodge selling both the Charger and the Challenger effectively, FCA needs to admit to themselves that in essence what they have done is they are on the path of making Chrysler into Plymouth, which means that Dodge could potentially be used to compete against the medium brands again (like it used to). The sooner they realize this, the sooner they can put it back together and let Dodge be seen as a more premium brand once again.

This move of killing the Grand Caravan is dumb. The Caravan does NOT hurt Dodge's image as it has been a part of Dodge's image longer than any other specific model save for the Ram itself. The Grand Caravan still sells well, the reason why it has fallen behind is it isn't as superior as it used to be. Invest in a good interior with real soft touch surfaces, put this thing missing in the seats called padding and lots of it, style the interior to fit the rest of the brand, and give it the new 9 speed transmission. That would do a lot to resolve the identity problem.

 

I agree splitting off the SRT trim and making it a new line was dumb. People who are loyall to Dodge want a Dodge Challenger, a Dodge Charger, a Dodge Viper....it goes back to the good old muscle car days when it was Ford vs Chevy vs Dodge.....People who are not blue oval or bowtie fans need that Dodge to compete....what the heck is an SRT Challenger?

 

SRT is just like SVT at Ford and it's a good thing.

 

okay, cool. Yes I am glad. The viper should have been a Dodge, not SRT, that was like Saleen and the S7, and it most likely would not have made it