Return Of American Motors? It’s Time
(The Gas Station is where American Cars And Racing Executive Editor Gary Gastelu vents his opinions. Feel free to let us know if you think they stink.)
Ask someone you meet on the sidewalk what “Stellantis” is and they’re as likely to guess a prescription drug as an old sci-fi B-movie they think they remember seeing on the Tubi menu.
Nearly five years after the automaker was formed through the union of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, even journalists still feel the need to define it in articles and headlines. You’ll often see something like, “Stellantis, parent company of Jeep, Ram, Dodge and. Chrysler,” or a variation of that. I’ve done it myself.
It’s tiresome when reporting on quarterly sales reports and news about the “American Stellantis brands” and makes it hard for customers to proclaim their loyalty, the way they do with Ford or General Motors. The most hardcore of them will still go with Mopar, but that’s for insiders only, not the general public.
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At least Fiat Chrysler and Daimler Chrysler retained some legacy identity from the Chrysler Corp. days, but it was diluted and made the U.S. arm sound like the underling. Sadly, Chrysler, the luxury make itself, has reached a nadir today. It only sells minivans and its next models will be tasked with rebuilding it, rather than feeding a hungry audience, when and if they ever arrive in showrooms.
Things are more upbeat at Ram, which is on a product offensive with new models, a return to NASCAR and patriotic advertising campaigns. First it had the “Never Stop Being American” ads voiced by the UFC’s Dana White and it has now launched a college football campaign starring Terry Crews dressed in red, white and blue as he literally waves the flag.
I’d expect something similar when Dodge cranks up the commercials for the gas-powered Charger muscle cars that are heading to showrooms soon. It did once put George Washington behind the wheel of a Challenger, after all. (We’ll ignore that the Challenger was made in Canada, as is the new Charger. Can you say “Manifest Destiny?”)
But there’s something more interesting happening over at Jeep. The off-road brand recently unveiled the all-new 2026 Cherokee at an event that made a lot of callbacks to classic models. In particular, the legendary first and second generation Cherokees that launched when Jeep was run by American Motors, prior to Chrysler’s acquisition of its competitor in 1987. Jeep has even released a line of clothing and accessories that features the iconic AMC logo design as part of the promotion, which got me thinking …
Stellantis still owns the intellectual property to the American Motors name and branding. It’s just been sitting on the shelf all these years. So, what if it dusted it off, wrapped Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler in it and brought it back as the name of their parent company? Sure, it still has Fiat and Alfa Romeo in the U.S., but they’re on track to sell fewer than 10,000 vehicles combined this year. I’ll be surprised if they stick around much longer, but they can sit to the side or do their own thing, if they do.
With the country’s growing focus on U.S. manufacturing and reviving the American business spirit, bringing back American Motors seems like a no-brainer … even if it just means less explaining for me to do and more merch for the fans.
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