The New Dodge: Iron Butterfly

All Dodge has to do to remain competitive in Texas is; increase global appeal, recruit women customers, shift from gas guzzling trucks/SUVs to attractive fuel efficient modern cars, and retain the brand's tough guy core constituents.

Problem? Yep.

The toughest part is the hard sell in global markets where big, bold, bad, and especially American, are decidedly unpopular.

Yet Dodges lead the belated attempt to take the new Chrysler global: Caliber and Nitro will star. The Dodge brand was reintroduced to Europe and other foreign markets in 2006.

Customers in say, Thailand, probably won't notice that Nitro is a badge-engineered Jeep Liberty, and the more than superficial similarity of Caliber to Jeep's Patriot/Compass.

Made in China, Sold in Texas?

Dodges will be sold in China starting later this year, with a dealer network under construction.

Chrysler is eying China and other foreign markets to offset falling western sales.

More ominously, Chrysler is in talks with China's Chery (yes, a shameless Chevy knockoff) about building sub-compact Dodges for export back to America. That has to hurt the United Auto Workers, which has given the German-controlled Chrysler Group less respect than GM and Ford.

Then there are the GM-talk rumors. Chrysler may be negotiating to buy small cars from GM’s Daewoo Automotive Technologies, GM's Korean affiliate, to sell stateside.

18 wheels, and a Dozen Roses

Dodge has succeeded primarily as a "macho" truck brand, since the styling began to copy 18-wheelers, back in 1994. That new Dodge Ram big-rig-wannabe, with available Cummins Diesel power, was huge success.

Sales in its early years increased from 100,000 units in 1993, to 240,000 units in 1994. This was a big part of Chrysler's recovery from near bankruptcy during the 1992 recession.

Dodge has cultivated an aggressively masculine image, with marque names evocative of violence (Charger, Viper, Ram, Nitro, Caliber, Magnum, Demon).

These cars are distinctly American, they scream "BIG."

Cute, represented by the discontinued Neon, is now gone from the Dodge brand.

Dodges never made much of a hit with female buyers: only 27% of buyers are women. Compare that with an industry average of 37%.

Caliber and Nitro will exhibit softer lines and toned down aggression, butcritics lament the superficial nature of the brand's changes.

The strategy is effective in part: the otherwise disappointing Caliber crossover pulls 45% of sales from women. Caliber is the only compact Chrysler offers. Nine Dodge vehicles are trucks or SUVs, out of 14 total.

For a company in trouble, they are still relying on the same marketing tricks that got them where they are today. Buyers need value and utility worse than another marketing program.

Gone in 60 Seconds

Dodge makes some cool looking rides, but Toyota and Honda are eating Chrysler's lunch with boring, safe, reliable products.

Consumers who choose the latest styling make up a mere 8% of buyers, but those who favor reliability and durability represent 45%.

A big problem for Dodge is customer retention. Cars bought for styling tend to go stale once the initial surge is sold.

In the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Customer Retention Study, Dodges ranked 21 out of 37 makes. Only 40.1% of those surveyed returned to purchase another vehicle.

In my opinion, repeat buyers are the strongest indicator of overall quality.

Nitro and Caliber may burnout early, following the established pattern.

Like the elusive new Chevy Camaro, a retro Dodge Challenger and aggressively styled Demon roadster are being dangled before us as halo models, available maybe next year.

I remember when the original Challenger was in showrooms, I was 20 years old and dying to have one. In those days you had to "qualify" for financing and be over 21.

If a kid came to the showroom alone they ran him off. Future customer? Who cares, we gotta sell a car today.

The retro 2008 Challenger and Demon look great, but how will a retro muscle car and sporty roadster contribute to the goals listed above? Not at all.

Candle in the Wind?

With a U.S. market share of 6.9 percent, Dodge is the fifth-ranking marque in the US. But of the car market, Dodge has only about 4%.

Dealers, who average around 375 sales a year, are unable to move Dodges without incentives, setting the stage for lower residual and trade in values.

Buyers should look for very deep discounts, but remember to examine the dealership closely for signs of stress before signing.

News-Blog Dodge Updates

12/07/07 Initial Dodge Challenger Demand Strong

11/02/07 Chrysler to Cut Models and Dealers

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