Dodge Caravan gets the axe
05-09-14, 10:06 AM
#31
Lexus Fanatic
Was definitely referring to the fact that the Chrysler Town & Country label has extended down to very basic trim levels in the past, which was what Fizzboy was talking about in his post directly above mine. The Chrysler Voyager became the T&C eL, which came with basically nothing. So in that regard, yes really.
05-10-14, 04:51 PM
#32
Lexus Fanatic
In order to move forward a brand needs to leave behind things that hold them back, the Grand Caravan is one of those things. Even though it sells well, its not compatible with the image they are looking for out of the Dodge brand. They know they are going to loose sales, they want to do it anyway. Thats bold...I like it!
05-10-14, 05:05 PM
#33
Lexus Fanatic
In order to move forward a brand needs to leave behind things that hold them back, the Grand Caravan is one of those things. Even though it sells well, its not compatible with the image they are looking for out of the Dodge brand. They know they are going to loose sales, they want to do it anyway. Thats bold...I like it!
So what you are saying is to essentially dump a proven seller (and moneymaker) to try and change one's image? That has gotten more than one auto company in trouble....Lincoln is a prime example. Look at what happened when they dumped the Town Car...sales plummeted, their former customers scattered to other brands, and the division is now in serious trouble if the new MKC compact-ute doesn't succeed (which, BTW, I personally think it will, as it is a nice design).
05-10-14, 11:14 PM
#34
Lexus Fanatic
This is what you have to realize...Dodge is a part of a bigger company as a whole. It does not exist in a vacuum, it does not need to sell a certain figure of units to survive on its own. It exists within Chrysler, and now within the bigger family of Fiat.
Fiat has a plan and a mission for Dodge, they want the nameplate to be a sort of American performance/sport marque. They realize that may lead to lower overall sales as they reorganize...and they're okay with that. You mention Lincoln as an example...Lincoln exists within the framework of Ford. The Town Car sold units, mostly to fleets and it was a business Ford wanted out of. Lincoln doesn't have to perform like it stands as a company on its own, and neither does Dodge. Even outside of Fiat, Dodge has Chrysler and Jeep sales to buoy their numbers.
Think about it this way. Lets say you and your wife are both working. One of you makes enough money to pay all your bills, live the lifestyle you want, basically meet all of your needs. Does the other one need to go out and worry about making as much money as they possibly can? Or can that person maybe focus on doing what they want to do or doing something as well as they can, while not worrying so much about what they're bringing home? Pretend Chrysler is this family...Chrysler and Jeep are meeting all their needs...Dodge gets to have some fun and not worry so much about the bottom line. This "Chrysler Household" has the added benefit of grandpa Fiat too who doles out a healthy chunk of change every so often.
Fiat is rectifying what I think has been a long standing issue with Chrysler, an issue that Ford and GM have already done away with, as has Chrysler to a large part. Selling essentially the same car as different brands. Its redundant, and while perhaps it creates sales, it keeps the individual brands from being able to have any identity of their own which ultimately hampers their growth. Its pennywise and pound foolish. They don't need two brands targeting the same consumer.
They will recapture some of those Caravan sales in the Town and Country, and the rest will buy something else. Fiats cool with that. My guess is they will aim the T&C pricing a little lower to better compete with the entry Sienna, etc.
I am VERY impressed by this move. Excited to see what Fiat does with Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep now.
Fiat has a plan and a mission for Dodge, they want the nameplate to be a sort of American performance/sport marque. They realize that may lead to lower overall sales as they reorganize...and they're okay with that. You mention Lincoln as an example...Lincoln exists within the framework of Ford. The Town Car sold units, mostly to fleets and it was a business Ford wanted out of. Lincoln doesn't have to perform like it stands as a company on its own, and neither does Dodge. Even outside of Fiat, Dodge has Chrysler and Jeep sales to buoy their numbers.
Think about it this way. Lets say you and your wife are both working. One of you makes enough money to pay all your bills, live the lifestyle you want, basically meet all of your needs. Does the other one need to go out and worry about making as much money as they possibly can? Or can that person maybe focus on doing what they want to do or doing something as well as they can, while not worrying so much about what they're bringing home? Pretend Chrysler is this family...Chrysler and Jeep are meeting all their needs...Dodge gets to have some fun and not worry so much about the bottom line. This "Chrysler Household" has the added benefit of grandpa Fiat too who doles out a healthy chunk of change every so often.
Fiat is rectifying what I think has been a long standing issue with Chrysler, an issue that Ford and GM have already done away with, as has Chrysler to a large part. Selling essentially the same car as different brands. Its redundant, and while perhaps it creates sales, it keeps the individual brands from being able to have any identity of their own which ultimately hampers their growth. Its pennywise and pound foolish. They don't need two brands targeting the same consumer.
They will recapture some of those Caravan sales in the Town and Country, and the rest will buy something else. Fiats cool with that. My guess is they will aim the T&C pricing a little lower to better compete with the entry Sienna, etc.
I am VERY impressed by this move. Excited to see what Fiat does with Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep now.
Last edited by SW17LS; 05-10-14 at 11:22 PM.
05-11-14, 10:51 AM
#35
Lexus Champion
This is what you have to realize...Dodge is a part of a bigger company as a whole. It does not exist in a vacuum, it does not need to sell a certain figure of units to survive on its own. It exists within Chrysler, and now within the bigger family of Fiat.
Fiat has a plan and a mission for Dodge, they want the nameplate to be a sort of American performance/sport marque. They realize that may lead to lower overall sales as they reorganize...and they're okay with that. You mention Lincoln as an example...Lincoln exists within the framework of Ford. The Town Car sold units, mostly to fleets and it was a business Ford wanted out of. Lincoln doesn't have to perform like it stands as a company on its own, and neither does Dodge. Even outside of Fiat, Dodge has Chrysler and Jeep sales to buoy their numbers.
Think about it this way. Lets say you and your wife are both working. One of you makes enough money to pay all your bills, live the lifestyle you want, basically meet all of your needs. Does the other one need to go out and worry about making as much money as they possibly can? Or can that person maybe focus on doing what they want to do or doing something as well as they can, while not worrying so much about what they're bringing home? Pretend Chrysler is this family...Chrysler and Jeep are meeting all their needs...Dodge gets to have some fun and not worry so much about the bottom line. This "Chrysler Household" has the added benefit of grandpa Fiat too who doles out a healthy chunk of change every so often.
Fiat is rectifying what I think has been a long standing issue with Chrysler, an issue that Ford and GM have already done away with, as has Chrysler to a large part. Selling essentially the same car as different brands. Its redundant, and while perhaps it creates sales, it keeps the individual brands from being able to have any identity of their own which ultimately hampers their growth. Its pennywise and pound foolish. They don't need two brands targeting the same consumer.
They will recapture some of those Caravan sales in the Town and Country, and the rest will buy something else. Fiats cool with that. My guess is they will aim the T&C pricing a little lower to better compete with the entry Sienna, etc.
I am VERY impressed by this move. Excited to see what Fiat does with Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep now.
Fiat has a plan and a mission for Dodge, they want the nameplate to be a sort of American performance/sport marque. They realize that may lead to lower overall sales as they reorganize...and they're okay with that. You mention Lincoln as an example...Lincoln exists within the framework of Ford. The Town Car sold units, mostly to fleets and it was a business Ford wanted out of. Lincoln doesn't have to perform like it stands as a company on its own, and neither does Dodge. Even outside of Fiat, Dodge has Chrysler and Jeep sales to buoy their numbers.
Think about it this way. Lets say you and your wife are both working. One of you makes enough money to pay all your bills, live the lifestyle you want, basically meet all of your needs. Does the other one need to go out and worry about making as much money as they possibly can? Or can that person maybe focus on doing what they want to do or doing something as well as they can, while not worrying so much about what they're bringing home? Pretend Chrysler is this family...Chrysler and Jeep are meeting all their needs...Dodge gets to have some fun and not worry so much about the bottom line. This "Chrysler Household" has the added benefit of grandpa Fiat too who doles out a healthy chunk of change every so often.
Fiat is rectifying what I think has been a long standing issue with Chrysler, an issue that Ford and GM have already done away with, as has Chrysler to a large part. Selling essentially the same car as different brands. Its redundant, and while perhaps it creates sales, it keeps the individual brands from being able to have any identity of their own which ultimately hampers their growth. Its pennywise and pound foolish. They don't need two brands targeting the same consumer.
They will recapture some of those Caravan sales in the Town and Country, and the rest will buy something else. Fiats cool with that. My guess is they will aim the T&C pricing a little lower to better compete with the entry Sienna, etc.
I am VERY impressed by this move. Excited to see what Fiat does with Chrysler, Dodge & Jeep now.
High risk, and maybe high reward. I'm extremely skeptical--changing Dodge's image overnight is not something I see working.
05-11-14, 03:00 PM
#36
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I think they would have been better off axing the Chrysler Town and Country instead of the Caravan, for several reasons. First, the Caravan's sales, for years, exceeded those of the more expensive Town and Country. Second, when Kia introduces the new Sedona (we just had a thread on the new upcoming Sedona recently), the Caravan would be its most obvious competition in both size and price....the Sienna and Odyssey are both more expensive. Third, the Caravan nameplate was one of the original minivans when first introduced in 1984.....and bears one of the most successful nameplates in modern automotive history. When the original Voyager and caravan were introduced in 1984, the rest of the automotive industry was caught off guard, and everyone rushed to introduce competition.
chrysler can still fill that void with no problems once they move the price into similar range
they need to win the fleet market with the 200s and town & country
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