Dodge Caravan gets the axe
05-07-14 | 01:17 PM
#1
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Dodge Caravan gets the axe
I didn't see another thread on this yet, but if there is, feel free to delete/merge mine.
We've known for a while now that one of the twins was not going to survive, but it hadn't been settled which one. Looks like Fiat/Chrysler/Dodge has made up their mind.
The article mentions that they are taking Chrysler mainstream to replace Dodge, while Dodge is rotating into a sportier marque. It only makes sense that they then ditch the minivan and the mid-size transportation machine.
I hope they bring out some really exciting stuff.
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/...ntcmp=features
We've known for a while now that one of the twins was not going to survive, but it hadn't been settled which one. Looks like Fiat/Chrysler/Dodge has made up their mind.
The article mentions that they are taking Chrysler mainstream to replace Dodge, while Dodge is rotating into a sportier marque. It only makes sense that they then ditch the minivan and the mid-size transportation machine.
I hope they bring out some really exciting stuff.
Chrysler Group wants to expand its sales with new vehicles — including a plug-in hybrid minivan and a new small Jeep SUV — and a more aggressive effort to differentiate its brands.
Chrysler is dropping the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan and Dodge Avenger sedan, which it says compete too closely with the Chrysler Town and Country minivan and Chrysler 200 sedan.
From now on, the company said, Chrysler will be the mainstream brand that competes with Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford, while Dodge will be a sporty, performance-oriented brand designed to appeal to younger buyers. Chrysler's SRT performance brand — which includes the Viper sports car — will be consolidated with Dodge and considered the "halo" of the Dodge brand.
"Dodge is the American performance brand," Dodge chief Tim Kuniskis said. "This is not a new strategy. This is a purification of the brand."
The company revealed its future product plans Tuesday at an all-day event at Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters. Chrysler is in the process of combining with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Outside, a new sign was unveiled, reading "Fiat Chrysler Automobiles."
Fiat completed its purchase of Chrysler in January. Shares of the combined company are expected to begin trading jointly on the New York Stock Exchange and in Milan, Italy, by Oct. 1.
Chrysler brand chief Al Gardner said Chrysler and Dodge had long suffered from an internal rivalry, with their minivans and sedans competing for the same customers. The company hopes to change that.
Chrysler will keep the Town and Country minivan, and will update it and add a plug-in hybrid version in 2016. Chrysler will also get a new compact car, the 100, which will compete with the Toyota Corolla, in 2016, and a full-size crossover to take on the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano in 2017. The crossover will also come in a plug-in hybrid version.
Dodge, which is releasing the sporty new Charger and Challenger sedans this year, will revamp the Dart small car and Journey crossover in 2016 to make them sportier. It's also planning a subcompact hatchback.
Dodge's U.S. sales will drop without the minivan. The company sold more than 124,000 Dodge Caravans last year. But it expects to make that up with its new vehicles. Chrysler's global sales are projected to more than double to 800,000 by 2018. That would bring the brand back to sales levels it enjoyed a decade ago, before the recession hit and it suffered from a dearth of new vehicles.
Chrysler Group says Jeep sales, which are expected to top 1 million this year, can grow to 1.9 million by 2018 with aggressive global expansion, particularly in Latin America and Asia. Jeep will also introduce new vehicles, including a compact SUV in 2016 — which will replace the Compass and Patriot — and the seven-passenger Grand Wagoneer in 2017.
Jeep currently makes vehicles at three plants in the U.S. By 2018, it expects nearly half of its total Jeep production will come from plants in Latin America, Europe and China.
Chrysler is dropping the Dodge Grand Caravan minivan and Dodge Avenger sedan, which it says compete too closely with the Chrysler Town and Country minivan and Chrysler 200 sedan.
From now on, the company said, Chrysler will be the mainstream brand that competes with Toyota, Chevrolet and Ford, while Dodge will be a sporty, performance-oriented brand designed to appeal to younger buyers. Chrysler's SRT performance brand — which includes the Viper sports car — will be consolidated with Dodge and considered the "halo" of the Dodge brand.
"Dodge is the American performance brand," Dodge chief Tim Kuniskis said. "This is not a new strategy. This is a purification of the brand."
The company revealed its future product plans Tuesday at an all-day event at Chrysler's Auburn Hills, Michigan, headquarters. Chrysler is in the process of combining with Italian automaker Fiat SpA. Outside, a new sign was unveiled, reading "Fiat Chrysler Automobiles."
Fiat completed its purchase of Chrysler in January. Shares of the combined company are expected to begin trading jointly on the New York Stock Exchange and in Milan, Italy, by Oct. 1.
Chrysler brand chief Al Gardner said Chrysler and Dodge had long suffered from an internal rivalry, with their minivans and sedans competing for the same customers. The company hopes to change that.
Chrysler will keep the Town and Country minivan, and will update it and add a plug-in hybrid version in 2016. Chrysler will also get a new compact car, the 100, which will compete with the Toyota Corolla, in 2016, and a full-size crossover to take on the Ford Edge and Nissan Murano in 2017. The crossover will also come in a plug-in hybrid version.
Dodge, which is releasing the sporty new Charger and Challenger sedans this year, will revamp the Dart small car and Journey crossover in 2016 to make them sportier. It's also planning a subcompact hatchback.
Dodge's U.S. sales will drop without the minivan. The company sold more than 124,000 Dodge Caravans last year. But it expects to make that up with its new vehicles. Chrysler's global sales are projected to more than double to 800,000 by 2018. That would bring the brand back to sales levels it enjoyed a decade ago, before the recession hit and it suffered from a dearth of new vehicles.
Chrysler Group says Jeep sales, which are expected to top 1 million this year, can grow to 1.9 million by 2018 with aggressive global expansion, particularly in Latin America and Asia. Jeep will also introduce new vehicles, including a compact SUV in 2016 — which will replace the Compass and Patriot — and the seven-passenger Grand Wagoneer in 2017.
Jeep currently makes vehicles at three plants in the U.S. By 2018, it expects nearly half of its total Jeep production will come from plants in Latin America, Europe and China.
05-07-14 | 06:49 PM
#3
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We've known for a while now that one of the twins was not going to survive, but it hadn't been settled which one. Looks like Fiat/Chrysler/Dodge has made up their mind.
The article mentions that they are taking Chrysler mainstream to replace Dodge, while Dodge is rotating into a sportier marque. It only makes sense that they then ditch the minivan and the mid-size transportation machine.
05-07-14 | 06:53 PM
#4
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05-07-14 | 07:03 PM
#5
IMO, it WILL be missed.....see my reply to Brettjacks, above. We'll have to wait and see for sure, but my preliminary view is that, after a string the last few years of VERY good marketing and product decisions at Chrysler, Fiat management may have blown it this time....along with the new Cherokee's front end.
Disagree on the Kia Sedona. This isn't like the first cheap Kia Sedona, this latest iteration competes with the Odyssey and Sienna on every front including price. I'm actually excited to see a comparison test
PS I don't mind the Cherokee front end
05-07-14 | 07:12 PM
#6
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From: Toronto, Canada
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.
It's a best selling minivan in Canada at 5-10K cheaper than the competition and I believe it's similarly at the top in the US.
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05-07-14 | 07:25 PM
#8
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(Just being facetious, but you get the idea)
Would have worked well for Pontiac if GM had trimmed the fat so to speak before they let Pontiac go belly up and focused the brand on actual sport/sporty cars and not bagde engineered Torrents, SV Montana's ect..
Of course a lot can and will change in 5 years (Fiat just layed out a 5-year plan) and if they did mess up well they could always bring the Caravan back if they wanted.
As long as they keep the tooling and assembly-plant for the Town and Country, it wouldn't take much, if necessary, to de-content the vehicle and turn it back into a Caravan.
Disagree on the Kia Sedona. This isn't like the first cheap Kia Sedona, this latest iteration competes with the Odyssey and Sienna on every front including price. I'm actually excited to see a comparison test
PS I don't mind the Cherokee front end
The rest of it is a pretty nice vehicle (I reviewed one)...but I'm not alone in thinking that the headlights are a little weird and alien-like. Most reviews have also zeroed in on that.
05-07-14 | 08:18 PM
#9
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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.
I agree but the Town & Country makes Chrysler more money than the Grand Caravan. All those "luxury" touches cost next to nothing but Chrysler can price them high to rake in the profits.
05-08-14 | 01:36 AM
#11
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Huge mistake. The GC is a bread and butter mainstay, that sells well and people rely on across mid-America. It is good, and could easily be better with more refining. Trying to re-invent an American brand is risky business that rarely works. They should focus on what already works, and perfect that while sprouting similar products that mesh with what people expect from the brand. Re-inventing the brand is a waste of time and not necessary. Dodge doesn't need to be something else it hasn't been... it just needs refining. That would be the cheapest way to higher sales and profits. No need to re-invent the company or wheel, but someone with a flamboyant European vision has to go and ruin it. First the weak Dart, now this.
05-08-14 | 05:24 AM
#12
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I wish they axe Town n country instead of Dodge Caravan. To Dodge Caravan's credit, in the early 90s (I think) when they introduced the new stylish red Dodge Caravan, it was a huge hit and became THE benchmark of what a minivan design should be. It did have quality issues like all Dodge/Plymoth/Chrysler products. However, the design popularity led to the birth of Toyota Sienna and the 2nd gen Honda Odyssey.
When my family went to LA for vacation in the late 80s or early 90s, we rented a Dodge Caravan (the boxy one). Thank you for the experience, Dodge Caravan.
When my family went to LA for vacation in the late 80s or early 90s, we rented a Dodge Caravan (the boxy one). Thank you for the experience, Dodge Caravan.
05-08-14 | 06:29 AM
#13
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I have to trust that they know what they are doing, but focusing on "sportiness" didn't end well for Pontiac. At the end of the day, I just don't think there is a large enough customer base that cares about sportiness, as opposed to value. This means that the Chrysler brand is going to have to be all things to all people; starting with value at the economy car level with the new 100, to a family hauler Grand Caravan, to the near luxo with a tricked out 300.
And, are they telling me that Chrysler will not longer make "sporty" version of their models (top of the line 200 looks pretty sporty to me).
Good luck, Fiat.
And, are they telling me that Chrysler will not longer make "sporty" version of their models (top of the line 200 looks pretty sporty to me).
Good luck, Fiat.
05-08-14 | 08:34 AM
#14
I have to trust that they know what they are doing, but focusing on "sportiness" didn't end well for Pontiac. At the end of the day, I just don't think there is a large enough customer base that cares about sportiness, as opposed to value. This means that the Chrysler brand is going to have to be all things to all people; starting with value at the economy car level with the new 100, to a family hauler Grand Caravan, to the near luxo with a tricked out 300.
If Chrysler gets a CUV, I assume it's going to be based on the Grand Cherokee platform in some capacity. So we'll have Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge versions of the same vehicle, and who knows if it will be used by another brand for something different.
If you consider cars, trucks, SUVs and CUVs, I still think there's going to be too much overlap between Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep based on what we just heard about 5 year plans.
05-08-14 | 09:10 AM
#15
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I assume they may offer a more de-contented trim on the T&C to fill the Caravan void.
I did drive an 08 Grand Caravan for work a couple years ago. It was a marked improvement over prior generations.
I did drive an 08 Grand Caravan for work a couple years ago. It was a marked improvement over prior generations.