• Dodge CEO Matt McAlear believes there's room in the market for an affordable sports car under $30,000 USD.
To survive, Dodge will have to find solutions, models that will appeal to enthusiasts, models that will sell. At present, the brand offers the Hornet SUV, which attracts very few buyers, as well as the new all-electric Charger Daytona and the Durango mid-size SUV.
In the past, the brand could count on Ram pickup trucks, but since those have been grouped together under the Ram division, things have been leaner at Dodge.
The company is working on a gas-powered counterpart to the Charger Daytona, and that should help a brand the buyers of which are all over that type of powertrain. But it's going to take more than that to reverse the trend.
Could it take the form of a more affordable sports car, say under $30,000 USD? Brand CEO Matt McAlear recently told The Drive he believes there’s a market for a sports car under the 30 grand mark. In his view, not everyone can fork out more than $100,000 for a sports car.
“I think there's a market for people who just want to have that weekend car again, he said, adding that in his view, sometimes buyers don't necessarily want all the expensive technology. Refreshing words, we have to say.
Obviously, there's no indication that Dodge is preparing such a product, but the mere mention of interest on the part of the company’s CEO means it’s not impossible. McAlear also said the brand's future cars will have to be original and distinctive. According to his vision, if the company were to come up with something, it will have to be unique.
It will be interesting to see what decisions Dodge makes. Traditionally, it's the V8-powered models that have made Dodge a success, while 4-cylinder offerings like the Caliber SRT-4 and Neon SRT-4 haven't left the best impressions.
As we know, buyers have long memories.