Maybe some good news for struggling CDJR

[JH27N0B]

As a Mopar fanatic, both vintage and new, I've been pretty bummed seeing their fortunes collapsing this year.
I'm not sure what can be done to rebuild the company with all the damage Stellantis has done, but bringing back Kuniskis is perhaps the first positive news I've heard concerning CDJR this year.
I've also heard rumors Ralph Giles might be tapped to head Dodge.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/12/09/ex-dodge-ram-boss-tim-kuniskis-returning-to-stellantis-.html
I hope it's not too late, I don't want my Dodges and my Ram to qualify to be shown in a Orphans car show!

[RUNCHARGER]

Fingers crossed. I'd like to see CDJR separate and become it's own entity again but then I'd like Iacocca back too.

[ec_co]

This is about the only decision I agree with recently. They really screwed the pooch on Dodge Chrysler RAM and Jeep. Launching the EV charger only with the I6 version coming months down the road was an absolutely horrendous decision as well. Tavares had his head so far up his ass when it comes to the North American market. Disbanding the SRT team was an absolutely horrible decision as well. Now everything is overpriced for the market segments that they generally cater to, I really don't know how they're going to pull their heads out since they've essentially gutted and killed the vehicle lineup with all brands.

Kuniskis and Giles are our only hope at this point

[7212Mopar]

Besides the products, they need to seriously work on pricing. The amount of money being asked for the cars are ridiculously high. $70 to $80 k for a Charger? $50 to $60k for a Challenger Scat Pack?

[JH27N0B]

Those 2 models ceased production approximately a year ago so their pricing is water over the dam.  I know there are some still in inventory around the country which Stellantis could help the dealers get them off their lots by offering rebates and or 0% financing, but that doesn't have much bearing on the future of the company.
The new Chargers are coming out but just EV.  I don't know what the pricing is on them but really haven't followed them as I am not interested in an EV or even the 6 cylinder ICE version when it comes out.
Really all they have left now with much market interest is Ram trucks and Jeeps, and a few odds and ends like Durango.
They need to work on the pricing of all of those. 
But other than that I am not sure how you rebuild a brand.  It's apparent the Europeans don't understand the North American market and bet the farm on EV, which is failing.

[7212Mopar]

What is done in the past is what get you to this point now. Learn from the past. The mid trim EV Charger is $70 to $80k. There are quite a few in depth reviews on YouTube already. It is getting not affordable to many.

[JH27N0B]

What is done in the past is what get you to this point now. Learn from the past. The mid trim EV Charger is $70 to $80k. There are quite a few in depth reviews on YouTube already. It is getting not affordable to many.

I'm guessing the new EV Chargers sales will rival Hornet sales! 

[torredcuda]

The majority of the best selling vehicles in the US are trucks and suvs, the Challenger and Charger are more niche vehicles and not big sellers comparatively. Ram has selling OK but other than Durango and Jeeps what do they have in thier line up that people want to buy in volume? The Hornet was a failure. Is Stellantis still going towards all EV or with Tavares gone will they rethink their path?

[MEK-Dangerous]

The majority of the best selling vehicles in the US are trucks and suvs, the Challenger and Charger are more niche vehicles and not big sellers comparatively. Ram has selling OK but other than Durango and Jeeps what do they have in thier line up that people want to buy in volume? The Hornet was a failure. Is Stellantis still going towards all EV or with Tavares gone will they rethink their path?

Well, they are killing off the Durango after this year(dumbest move ever). So they won't have an SUV in the lineup. So what will families buy other than the Jeeps?
The EV Charger was supposed to be out by now, with the gas version coming out early next year. Then they had a change of plans when they saw the EV weren't selling. So the last I knew, they were focused on getting the gas powered Chargers out quicker.
It's like every move they make is the wrong one for the market. I don't see them surviving, but I hope I'm wrong.

[JH27N0B]

Chrysler has been a comeback kid a couple times in the past after being on the brink of failing, but then recovering, like the early 80s, and 2009.  But both of those times the government intervened to help bail them out.
As it's now foreign owned, and given the direction things are going in DC, I don't think they can count on a government bailout this time, though time will tell.
Would another automaker buy out a few of the profitable brands like Ram and Jeep and let Chrysler and Dodge fail?  More likely I think would be for a large investment group buying it and folding, spindling and mutilating the company to then spin off or sell off a couple years later for a profit, as those places specialize in doing.
Some old man yelling at clouds types on Mopar forums proclaim they don't care about what happens to CDJR as "the real Chrysler has been gone since the 70s".  But I've really enjoyed the last 30 years or so with the many new exciting vehicles they released like the Viper, radically redesigned Ram in '94, the RWD LX cars starting in the early 2000s and the new hemis starting around the same time.  I'm on my 2nd Ram, and my 2nd LX Challenger, and loved them all.  My Dart which was a mashup between Fiat and US design and components and built here has been a good car too.  I've enjoyed the ride and hope somehow things get fixed and more cool vehicles that I'd be interested in buying come out soon!

[torredcuda]

Ya I don`t get those who say the real Chrysler is dead, true it is not the same company and has been bought and sold and is now Fiat owned but I still like and drive them. If Chrysler had failed or does fail the only options are to keep the latest ones running as long as you can or go buy a Ford, Chevy or Honda. I have loved my Jeeps and Rams and the one newer Charger I have owned and even the lowly Neon I had back in 2000 was a good, cheap, dependable car. Dodge needs a small and midsize SUV that will compete in those markets but different than the Jeeps so not to take away from each other, Chrysler ??? not sure what the market is for them these days.

[FrankenCuda]

To pile on here... Auburn Hills (CTC) has been basically emptied.  North American engineering has been decimated. The old guard who could bring all this back are now, are pretty much gone.  A large if not majority of the engineering has been moved off shore and as mentioned earlier, does not understand the NA market.  A deep restructuring would be required to get all this back on track.  I don't see that in the near future.  If the money gets vacuumed out of all corners of AH there may not be a path back.  I even heard rumors "they" were going to sell CTC.  Funny, back in the day (before it was sold to Daimler), it was seriously discussed that the employees buy Chrysler and run it.  There's not enough passionate employees left to do that now. Let's hope management wants to save the NA market.  As for us muscle car folks, note that even GM gave up on Camaro. We may just have to grow old with what we got.

[JH27N0B]

Here is yet another article about Stellantis's mailaise:
https://theweek.com/business/economy/stellantis-problems-price-carmaker-profits-sales
I can't say the other 2/3rd of the big 3 is doing that great these days either. For a fairly significant period in my life (80s into early 2000's) I had my vintage Mopars for fun, but mostly had Fords for daily drivers.  They were reliable and generally were a few that really caught my eye.  I remember the early 90s I wanted to upgrade to something cool for a daily to replace the economical VW Rabbit I had.  I would have liked a Mopar, and looked at the Talon but it was a little small for me at 6'3", and I really wanted RWD.  Mopar didn't have a decent midsize sporty car then, so I ended up getting a Thunderbird which fit me like a glove and I still look back at how much I enjoyed that car. I ended up putting 180K miles on over around a 10 year ownership and other than it being a pain to work on sometimes (supercharged with early design complex ABS system).
But now Fords are getting a rep as being pretty unreliable, and I seem to hear about a new recall on Fords about every week. And other than the Mustang they have abandoned the traditional sedan and coupe market, as has GM other than one Cadillac.
Want a traditional car?  Then your choices are Asian, European or an EV like a Tesla.  Who could imagine there would come a time when the Big 3 didn't sell any sedans or coupes?  Crazy!
Seems that you're almost forced now to go with an SUV or a pickup.  I have a Ram but its a second vehicle for me.  I live in a congested suburban area and a big truck is just too cumbersome to use as a full time vehicle where I live.  Some do, but for me just too much trouble to be dealing with in crowded parking lots and garages etc.
And SUVs are so utilitarian and bland there isn't much to get excited about with any of them, so choosing one to buy largely boils down to which is most reliable?  The big 3 can't compete with Honda or Toyota there, so that doesn't bode well for the future of any of them.
I found a number of cars and trucks to buy new or late model the last 35 years that excited me and fit my "style".  That 90 T bird SC, my 95 Ram 1500, a Lincoln LS (which sadly turned out to be somewhat of a lemon), my 09 Challenger RT, my '14 Dart Rally, my '21 Ram 2500, and the latest, a '23 Challenger Scat pack.
It occurred to me when I was buying my new Ram a couple years ago, that it will likely be the last truck I ever buy, as I typically own cars around 10 years.  The new Challenger might be the last new car I ever buy.  Going forward, anything I buy not car hobby related will probably just be a boring late model SUV I get strictly to go from point A to point B.  I got to enjoy exciting new cars as a young man through most of my middle age years so I'm thankful for that, but feel sorry for younger generations who likely will not have the opportunities to enjoy new cars like I had!

[torredcuda]

"And SUVs are so utilitarian and bland there isn't much to get excited about with any of them"  Durango SRTs and Hemi Jeeps are not exciting enough? I`d take a nice Durango for a daily if I didn`t need a truck.

[JH27N0B]

For the most part I was referring to the compact SUVs, segment which are almost all jellybeans almost indistinguishable from each other.  There are some mid size and large SUVs that still some personality left like the Durango, Bronco and Tahoe.
I might be wrong but I thought the aging gen 3 Durangos were winding down with no gen 4 in the works?  At least for me, the larger SUV category is similar enough to 1/2 ton pickups that I don't pay much attention to them as I'd just opt for a 1500.  If I had a brood of kids to cart around I'd probably think differently, but for those not needing 3 rows of seats, a pickup seems the best way to go.