(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.)
In one of the most shocking developments in American automotive history, Dodge and Ram have been divided into separate companies. Surprised to hear it? You shouldn’t be. It happened in 2009.
It was part of the post-bankruptcy reorganization of their parent company Chrysler in to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. The idea was to give each of its brands, including Jeep, distinct identities. Some observers at the time speculated the move would also make it easier to sell off the most valuable ones, if that became necessary. It hasn’t … yet.
I bring this up because Ram is in the news this week with the launch of its new Rumble Bee muscle trucks and a large portion of the comments we’ve been seeing that refer to the new Dodges has been overwhelming. It’s been 15 years since the first Rams rolled into dealerships without Dodge logos on them, but it seems like a lot of people missed the memo. It’s time to hit the brakes on this and stop it.
It’s understandable to some extent, because Ram is usually bundled with Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep in the same dealerships in what is known as the House of Brands. The idea is that they each have their own niche that complements the others, rather than one brand trying to cover a wide array of vehicle segments, like Ford does. At this point, we’re not sure if it’s Ram’s fault for not driving the point home, or the consumer’s for not bothering to notice. Of course, there are those that simply call it Dodge Ram out of habit. That includes the boss.
“I do it all the time. Everybody does. The whole world loves Dodge Ram. Everybody gets Dodge Ram. It’s the same thing,” Tim Kuniskis, Ram CEO and head of all of the American Stellantis brands, told Mopar Insiders earlier this year.
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When asked if he thought Stellantis should just give in and put the Ram trucks back under the Dodge umbrella, Kuniskis didn’t give the impression that was going to happen anytime soon.
“They’re all in the same company. Yeah, we could do it,” Kuniskis said. “And quite frankly, if we did it, nobody would care.”
“I think we get more excitement out of saying we got 10,000 orders on Hemis than we would from saying it’s Dodge Ram again,” Kuniskis said. “Because everyone would say, ‘What do you mean? I thought it already was.’ It would be a non-issue.”
In fact, during this year’s Stellantis Investor Day presentation, Kuniskis made it clear that the House of Brands idea is alive and well as he revealed several new models coming to all four lineups, including new compact and midsize Ram pickups.
Perhaps this new generation of models will meet a new generation of customers who aren’t old enough to remember Ram being part of Dodge and the identity crisis will finally work itself out of the system. Then again, legacies can be valuable assets. At least another member of the House of Brands thinks so.
When Jeep launched the new Cherokee this year, it did it with a heavy helping of nostalgia for the originals from the 1970s and 1980s that included a line of merchandise featuring the logo of American Motors, which was the owner of the brand until Chrysler bought it in 1987.
That won’t confuse anyone, right?
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