IIRC, many years ago, Dodge was sold in Canada as Fargo and Plymouth was still
sold under the DeSoto brand name. Had something to do with Canada wanting
vehicles that were unique to Canadian manufacturing. Even though they were built
on the same assembly line in Detroit, they just changed the brand name on the
cars as they rolled along.
----- Original Message ----
From: Gary Hedlin <superdak@gmail.com>
To: dakota-truck@dakota-truck.net
Sent: Fri, February 18, 2011 11:56:26 AM
Subject: Re: DML: Ram brand (was: Dodge Ram on Craigs)
They went with the Ram branding now so that they have an easier time
spinning it off down the road. Fiat's main reason for buying (or
taking it at practically nothing) Chrysler was solely for it's
dealership & distribution network. They've got no legacy costs thanks
to the bankruptcy, so it's their plan to slowly integrate Fiat cars
into the US System and spin off or sell brands if they need to.
Remember the talk about Chrysler selling it's truck line to GM?
That's why they re-branded the line now so if they do something like
that they'll have an even more attractive offer... a separate branding
that won't cause a bunch of confusion in the market.
The writings on the wall, at the Chicago auto show they had one Fiat
last year in the Chrysler display, 3 this year.... Fiat is slowly
moving in.
P.S. New Durango looks HOT! I want one! :)
Gary
On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 1:20 PM, Andy Levy <andy.levy@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 14:04, Jason Bleazard <jason.dml@bleazard.net> wrote:
>>
>> On Mon, February 14, 2011 2:45 am, TerribleTom wrote:
>>>
>>> I am, however, highly encouraged to see the Ram Tradesman moniker dusted
>>> off and put to use again. If you don't know what I'm talking about -
>>> check out allpar.com - they did a write up on it. Dodge (yes Dodge, not
>>> freaking "Ram") Dodge unveiled a Tradesman package,
>>
>> Speaking of which, I wonder how long it's going to be before Chrysler's
>> new overlords realize that not one single person out in the real world
>> thinks of these trucks as anything other than Dodges. There are three
>> brands of domestic trucks: Dodge, Ford and Chevy. That's the way it is,
>> that's the way it's been for a long time, and that's the way it will
>> continue to be for the foreseeable future.
>>
>> Why is it that marketing people have such a difficult time understanding
>> how one brand can sell both cars and trucks? They tried something similar
>> in Canada several years ago... the Dodge brand in Canada was only supposed
>> to be for trucks and utility vehicles like vans and station wagons. The
>> Neon and Intrepid were sold as Chryslers, there was no Stratus (they just
>> told people to get a Sebring instead) and Viper became its own brand up
>> here. They finally gave up on that idea when the styling on the Neon
>> changed, and the Charger was coming down the pipe. They finally realized
>> those never would have worked as Chryslers. Duh.
>
> IIRC, Dodge = Truck and Chrysler = Car is how they have everything set
> up in Europe.
>
>
-- Gary Hedlin Show Car Signs by Hedlin Designs www.showcarsign.com--Many talk about those who died, but too few talk about those who survived... THANK A VET!
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