Autoblog

REPORT: Dodges to be rebranded as Alfa Romeos in Europe

Chris Shunk — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Europe, Dodge, Earnings/Financials, Alfa Romeo

With the ink still wet on the Fiat/Chrysler deal, many auto sites (including Autoblog) have had a bit of fun prognosticating which Fiat/Alfa models would be rebadged as Chrysler products. U.K. site Autocar is reporting that Fiat is exploring bringing in Dodge models to Europe to be rebadged at Alfa Romeos. CEO Sergio Marchionne is said to be considering the move, saying that the two brands share the same core identity.

Autocar quotes Marchionne as saying that Dodge is the muscle car of the U.S. while Alfa is the muscle car of Europe, the latter being an interesting bit of positioning that we Statesiders don't normally associate with the brand. If the right Dodge-branded products were to make their way to Europe, the theory is that the Auburn Hills marque could actually bolster the products already offered by Alfa. The problem is, though, that there are few (if any) Dodge models that could reasonably be expected to perform well in Europe. The only models that are likely to be of interest are the Charger, Viper and Challenger, and the there is a chance that the Viper could soon find itself outside of the Chrysler portfolio altogether. The Charger and Challenger are likely too big for Europe as well, and would probably only sell in small numbers.

Marchionne also tells Autocar that the Chrysler group is still losing money, but the rate has slowed due to production and labor cuts.

[Source: Autocar]

REPORT: Dodges to be rebranded as Alfa Romeos in Europe originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars

John Neff — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:34:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Buick, GM

Click above for high-res gallery of the Buick Invicta Concept

GM Vice Chairman Bob "Maximum" Lutz published a new post today on the corporate GM Fastlane Blog that addresses the automaker's newest concept that debuted recently at Auto China 2008 in Beijing: the Invicta. The concept heavily hints at what the next-generation Buick LaCrosse will look like, but Bob points out that the global architecture underpinning the vehicle will be the basis of new cars for Chevy, Saab, Opel/Vauxhall and more. In the past, we would've expected those accompanying models to be rebadged versions with different grilles, headlights and taillights, but Bob explains how GM's new global platform sharing process is different than the rebadging of old. In a nutshell, he says that the money saved from sharing common platforms see will be put into making everything that customer's will see - exterior and interior design, specifically - completely different. While it's great to hear Bob talk about how GM finally "gets it" when it comes to producing common products across an empire of brands, it's something that other automakers like VW/Audi have been doing for years while the General kept feeding us "triplets" of every model it made. So kudos to GM for finally getting it, but it took 'em long enough.

Gallery: Buick Invicta Concept

[Source: GM FastLane blog]

Maximum Bob talks about Invicta and how not to rebadge cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 01 May 2008 12:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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USA Today discovers the poseur art of rebadging

Alex Nunez — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:34:00 EST

Filed under: Trends, Etc.

In his article entitled "Car owners can fake it with add-on luxury emblems," USA Today's Chris Woodyard tells us all about how people will buy items like AMG or M badges to try and pass off their cars as something they're not. Now, before jumping all over Chris for reporting news that we already know, keep in mind that the average USA Today reader sitting down with his complimentary paper as he digs into the free continental breakfast at the Day's Inn is probably not as attuned to the trends as we enthusiast-types are.

Sadly, this business of highlighting your inferiority complex by trying to pimp your vehicle as a better model than it is is really nothing new. Over the years, I'm certain that I've seen more standard-issue BMW's wearing the M badge than actual bona-fide M cars. And it's not just BMW. It happens with everything -- AMG badges on stock Benzes, 5.0 badges on 4-banger Mustangs -- the list goes on (and on and on). I've even seen a GT-R badge off a Skyline on a 1st-gen Altima. it was very jarring.

One of my favorite repositories for this kind of thing is the BMW Nightmare page, where the host, Jimmy540i, captures some particularly horrifying examples of rebadging and posts them for the world to see.

I always had more respect for the debadgers, myself. These are the people who would (usually) buy a lower-end version of a car -- a 320SL, for example -- and then remove the identifying badges completely, eliminating their identity concerns without sacrificing the classiness of the vehicle itself.

As for those who try to transform their car into a completely different vehicle, well, you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

{Source: Chris Woodyard, USA Today via Luxist]

USA Today discovers the poseur art of rebadging originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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