Can Dodge survive without the V8? The car maker certainly seems to think so with its latest new model, the Hornet.
The compact SUV–the first new design from Dodge in a decade–will offer two different flavors at launch: the turbo-four-powered GT good for 268 horsepower and 295 lb.-ft. of torque, plus the plug-in hybrid R/T rated for a combined 288 horsepower …
Good question, can the brand make the transition...?
This is just a rebadged Alfa, right?
I imagine within five years either Chrysler or Dodge is gone. We don't have a lot of auto brands with three or less models.
This could be a Chrysler Something as easily as it is a Dodge. I don't really know what either brand is supposed to stand for that is separate from the other if we get rid of rowdy V8's. What are they going to do, stick Scat Pack bee's on this thing?
To answer the title question...the number of V6 challengers on the road says "yes".
Besides, the audio system will make musclecar noises for all of the models not so equipped. That's all people want, right?
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:This is just a rebadged Alfa, right?
I imagine within five years either Chrysler or Dodge is gone. We don't have a lot of auto brands with three or less models.
This could be a Chrysler Something as easily as it is a Dodge. I don't really know what either brand is supposed to stand for that is separate from the other if we get rid of rowdy V8's. What are they going to do, stick Scat Pack bee's on this thing?
Oh Lord, please don't let the survivor be Fiat...
Does anybody really care about branding when everybody is making look alike SUVs and Crossovers?
The Challenger will go away. The Charger will go away. Dodge can go away. Stellantis can go away too. GM, Ford and Toyota make the same thing with different badges.
As I mentioned in the 28 page monster I started; I don't see the V8 going away soon but as my predictions as Nostra-Thomas are frequently wrong I will say this.
As long as the vehicle offers some serious acceleration (it's what people want in a Dodge) then Dodge will be just fine.
Nockenwelle said:pres589 (djronnebaum) said:This is just a rebadged Alfa, right?
I imagine within five years either Chrysler or Dodge is gone. We don't have a lot of auto brands with three or less models.
This could be a Chrysler Something as easily as it is a Dodge. I don't really know what either brand is supposed to stand for that is separate from the other if we get rid of rowdy V8's. What are they going to do, stick Scat Pack bee's on this thing?
Oh Lord, please don't let the survivor be Fiat...
I think either Chrysler or Dodge will live and the other won't. Honestly I could see us ending up with Dodge, Ram, and Jeep as the three "American" brands in Stellanis. Maybe each gets one sort of unique offering; Ram gets a truck platform, Jeep has the Wrangler, and Dodge gets some heavily reworked sedan from Europe. Everything else is something that exists at least twice somewhere else.
All Stellantis seems to want to do is shrink N. American operations. And Italian.
There will always be a way to Dodge-ify whatever the rest of the industry is doing... And I think that continues to appeal to a big enough subset of the population to support their continued existence.
I see Chrysler being in the weaker position.
1.3 liter? Is there anything else on the market in the US that's smaller?
It'd take two of those to match the displacement of the supercharger on the Demon.
If they can market raucous at an attractive price, they'll survive long enough to be sold off to somebody else. As heavily as electric power plants are being pushed, consumers are getting what we're given. There will be plenty of Dodge e-emblems in the deployment parking lots while our 19 year olds are off bringing freedom to some mineral rich 3rd world country.
With the crackdown on tuning and reinforcement of proprietary engine software, I can see the near future where electric tuning is more accessible.
David S. Wallens said:Good question, can the brand make the transition...?
I think so. Their brand is more about bulk horsepower than how it's produced.
They'll be fine.
Ford has successfully sold both a v6 full sized pickup AND a v6 hypercar. And guess what? People can't get enough of 'em.
As Keith noted, as long as the speed is cheap, Dodge owners won't care
Keith Tanner said:I think so. Their brand is more about bulk horsepower than how it's produced.
calteg said:As long as the speed is cheap, Dodge owners won't care
Really good points. Dodge seems to have succeeded in being a "rowdy" car maker. If they can carry that over into the world of electrification (which should be easy for them), Dodge should do just fine.
Tom1200 said:As I mentioned in the 28 page monster I started; I don't see the V8 going away soon but as my predictions as Nostra-Thomas are frequently wrong I will say this.
As long as the vehicle offers some serious acceleration (it's what people want in a Dodge) then Dodge will be just fine.
They said the same thing about Pontiac.
Time to do what they did at the end of the first muscle-car era: reintroduce the K-car.
I mean, I didn't think they were really "making it" WITH the V8. poor build quality, spotty reliability, dated designs all glossed over with bigger and bigger engines and superchargers.
Wife and I've been keeping an eye on these as a potential new car. One thing not mentioned in the article, but that I've seen elsewhere, is they will supposedly offer staged performance packs from Mopar for them. If they go the route like they did for the SRT-4's where it's true power bumps and not just appearance packages, then I think it's a potential niche market for them. There are lots of hybrids out there, but I don't recall seeing any of them used as a platform to squeeze as much power as possible out of them. Everyone (as would be expected) focuses on the MPG's. Dodge instead going for max power seems very much on brand......
-Rob
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:Tom1200 said:As I mentioned in the 28 page monster I started; I don't see the V8 going away soon but as my predictions as Nostra-Thomas are frequently wrong I will say this.
As long as the vehicle offers some serious acceleration (it's what people want in a Dodge) then Dodge will be just fine.
They said the same thing about Pontiac.
One of my few predictions that I was right about; for years I asked why they need Pontiac and Oldsmobile.
I really like Pontiac's product line; G8, GTO, Solstice etc. but even with that I knew it wasn't viable, GM was bloated.
What I do see as a possibility is the Dodge V8 going away in cars and then hastily being brought back around the 2028-2032 range.
I also see it being possible that Dodge will be all electric and RAM selling V8 SUVs.
In reply to Tom1200 :
I still don't understand why Ram exists. What's wrong with calling them Dodge Trucks as they had done for decades?
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
Most pesimistic: easier to kill Dodge this way.
Most optimistic: easier to focus on what both Dodge and Ram could be; "the cars and such" brand + "the trucks" brand. But since Fiat itself isn't organized that way... I really don't know what's keeping Dodge around.
Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to Tom1200 :
I still don't understand why Ram exists. What's wrong with calling them Dodge Trucks as they had done for decades?
For pick ups, brand loyalty. GM has both Chevy and GMC and they are the same thing.
And I don't see a real issue for Dodge- if they have *something* that has a V8 so that they can advertise it, then they can have something else to sell as well.
As for the 1.3L, it's a generator. Based on a side project I was working on just as I retired, it's almost a perfect engine for the job.
We were looking at a derated 2.5l for the same thing (as it was a cheap engine). Or even a basic 1.0l for a different package.
In reply to alfadriver :
I think there would be more brand loyalty for a legacy brand like "Dodge Trucks", than from a new label named after a male sheep.
In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :
It would appear to be Lexus & Infiniti kind of thing.
Think about it long term if Dodge tanks you still have RAM; Americans love trucks and SUVs.
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