Chrysler kills rebadge of Dodge Journey to work on small car
Click above for a high-res gallery of the 2009 Dodge Journey
Making a step towards a more fuel-efficient vehicle lineup, and reducing the number of overlapping vehicles between its brands, the plug has been pulled on a Chrysler-branded version of the 2009 Dodge Journey. Chrysler LLC will instead focus the resources on a Nissan-manufactured compact car.
While the automaker currently captures the bulk of its sales from light trucks and SUVs, Chrysler is trying to pare down its lineup significantly to cut costs. So far, they have cut four models. Moving forward, the Jeep Commander SUV is expected to be dropped next year, and the company has already said they were canceling the PT Cruiser Convertible. While the 2009 Dodge lineup gains the aforementioned Journey, Dodge Challenger, and a redesigned Dodge Ram pickup, Chrysler's product lineup for the next twelve months looks particularly bleak with nothing significantly new in the pipeline. Company officials are holding their breath for 2010, when the new Nissan-built compact, new Jeep Grand Cherokee, and redesigned Chrysler 300 sedans arrive.
Gallery: 2009 Dodge Journey
[Source: Bloomberg]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Matt 2:35PM (5/13/2008)
I like the Journey. Exterior looks FAR better than the silly looking Edge. However, the interior of the Journey needs A TON of work.
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Xcountryflyer 2:44PM (5/13/2008)
Smart move not to rebrand it with some Chrylser badges. The Journey does need further interior work. C&D mag said that was a negative. Supposedly Chrysler improved the Journey interior last minute before introduction. I would hate to see what it looked like before! Probably on par with the Caliber.
EVan 2:50PM (5/13/2008)
I completely disagree.
The interior of the Journey is what sets it apart entirely from the rest of the vehicles in its class. The storage capacity in the thing is incredible, there are compartments everywhere! There's even a removable cooler. The two tone look is modern and the materials are on par with their competitors, finally.
It's been cliche to blindly criticize Chrysler family products for crummy interiors for a while now, but they really did step it up with the Journey.
Chris 3:24PM (5/13/2008)
The interior may have a ton of storage spaces, but the materials and design are worse than the Caliber - which is at the bottom of it's class already.
Gregg 3:27PM (5/13/2008)
Both the Edge and the Journey look like stereotypic, standard issue modern CUVs. Side profiles are very similar. Really comes down to which grill and what equipment you like better. Nothing "silly" or daring about either one.
Judy Zik 3:29PM (5/13/2008)
I have to agree having sat inside a few. I was impressed with the Dodge Journey overall especially the competitive price but the quality of the interior materials was disappointing and for me would be a deal breaker. For the price point it is still good value but it would have taken more than a new badge to move it upmarket.
Looks like 2010 is going to be Chrysler's make it or break it year. They appear to be putting all the eggs into that basket and hoping for another company saving new product. I really hope the current management pulls it off.
friko 3:48PM (5/13/2008)
Chris, have you been in a Journey? I've been in a rented Caliber and it is no comparison to the Journey. The materials' quality, look and more noticeably, feel, is very good. Much better than any recent offering by Chrysler.
Brad 4:14PM (5/13/2008)
friko, you are correct. I have a Journey for a company vehicle and the interior quality is considerably better than the Caliber.
Tool 4:25PM (5/13/2008)
I actually think it is a fairly credible offering, too. But it could have been executed much better, especially in the interior area.
In hindsight, it would have been smart to make the Journey the Chrysler Pacifica replacement. Hopefully once the New New Chrysler gets its branding and product portfolio rationalized it will have better positioned vehicles.
slider912 2:36PM (5/13/2008)
It's not exactly rocket science to realize that in a time of gas at $4/gallon, it might be useful to offer consumers something weighing less 2,966 lbs. Yep - nearly 3000 pounds - thats how much a base, $14,900 5MT Caliber SE weighs...
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Torrent 2:37PM (5/13/2008)
Well Chrysler better work HARD on a small car, because IMO, they've never had a small car worth looking at, except the Caliber SRT4, but that's different, it's an SRT.
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Parkerman 5:24PM (5/13/2008)
The Neon had a damn nice run. Then they came out with the POS Caliber.
1337 11:28PM (5/13/2008)
A rebadged Nissan Versa wouldn't be a bad. At least it'd be better than the caliber. It's ironic that they dump one badge engineering project (rebadging a Journey) to do an other badge engineering project (rebadging a Nissan).
Guenther 2:39PM (5/13/2008)
The Journey share development with the Outlander, no? Not even rolling out the Chrysler counterpart is a much better plan than recalling duplicates that are bought and paid for (so to speak).
I didn't know the WK was already due for replacement. New interior maybe, but all new???
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Brad 4:20PM (5/13/2008)
Yeah the WK came out for the 2005 model year so the timing would be right.
Jrejre 2:41PM (5/13/2008)
If chrysler doesn't come out with some new cars soon they will have nothing but the 300, sebring, and sebring convertible.
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Rick 3:35PM (5/13/2008)
Is that was the Pacifica was?
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ChopperDave 2:48PM (5/13/2008)
And in other news, large herds of pigs were seen flying over several major metropolitan areas this afternoon ...
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Jim 2:49PM (5/13/2008)
This is news? They've been saying this since they announced the death of the Pacifica and Magnum.
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MemphisNET 3:37PM (5/13/2008)
It wasn't until recently they put the axe down and said ''No Chrysler clone''. One was always anticipated and expected because of the PT leaving the stable.
The others have been known for a while, yes.
Good to see Chrysler free of the nickle & daimler era. Too bad it will take a few years to see the results.