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Despite an effort to consolidate SRT vehicles under the Dodge brand, the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT will stick around for the immediate future.
Automotive News is reporting that dealers can order an SRT version of the Grand Cherokee for the 2015 model year. Beyond that, the vehicle will likely be renamed the “Trackhawk”.
And while the Chrysler 300 SRT is slated to be axed in North America, right-hand drive prototypes have been spied undergoing testing, suggesting the vehicle will live on for export markets. Australia is SRT’s biggest global market outside the United States, and with the death of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, the 300 SRT will be the last rear drive V8 muscle sedan available in Australia.
23 Comments on “Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT, Chrysler 300 SRT Get Stay Of Execution...”
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Well I guess if the goal is to kill off name recognition then congrats. I dont know why they feel a need to do this when everyone knows they are killing off Dodge..lol…
If I may ask, where did you hear that they were killing off Dodge? I’ve heard nothing of the kind, especially considering that they’re still building vehicles under that brand.
If I may ask, where did you hear that they were killing off Dodge? I’ve heard nothing of the kind, especially in light of their decision to integrate SRT into the Dodge brand and the fact they’re still making cars under the Dodge brand.
Watching their brand strategy, it looks like they’re moving away from full-line brands, and having each brand stand for something.
Dodge: aggressive/sporty
Chrysler: basically respectable
Jeep: 4x4s of all types
Ram: Pickups and commercial
Put it all together, add in economies of scale/scope (a Pentastar under every hood, shared supply chains, get all of the engineers on the same team), and you might have a competitive full-line automaker.
If this is close to the framework they’re using, then they will keep and invest in the Dodge brand. But this would also mean that they cancel models that don’t match the brand’s aggressive stance – like the Grand Caravan. SRTs are aggressive/sporty. Minivans are not aggressive/sporty.
So, with that as context, the article says that FCA really likes the profit that comes from selling Grand Cherokee SRTs and 300 SRTs, so they’re going to keep doing it – even though it’s not perfectly aligned with their brand strategy.
P.S. I think they’re making the right moves for their situation. I’m interested to see what happens next!
This story is just click bait to see if BSTR is still alive right?
+1…I Lol’ed.
Seriously though, monickers like SRT, SVT, AMG, etc conjure images of skunkworks techs working in a secret warehouse somewhere developing cool go-fast cars.
While names like “Trackhawk” sound like a cheesy new super hero with feathers.
I’m monitoring this one precisely to see if it lures BTSR back…
I won’t claim to miss the guy, but I did read the article to see if he was going to have a mopargasm….
I’ll own it. I miss him.
We all KNOW nobody will ever REPLACE his ATTITUDE AND CHRYSLER knowledge. He also stated MANY “fact(S).”
So, they’re just going to rename the SRT the “Trackhawk”?…
…you’d have to actually kill the SRT completely to get BSTR to freak-out
Chrysler is really over-thinking this.
That’s what big companies do.
I overthink how Chrysler should do a RWD luxury coupe based on the Challenger platform, which is already ready to go, and plenty large for a large personal lux coupe.
Do the Imperial Coupe!
At least the new name will have some congruity with the Trailhawk. Is Trailhawk what replaced Trail-Rated, or do they still use that term as well?
Of course, we all pine for the days when no Jeep had to be “Trail-Rated”–because it just was by dint of being a Jeep.
TRACKHAWK DOWN!!!
Every time I see Blackhawk brand tools..,
Sounds oddly familiar to the Cadillac edict, “from now on, all vehicles will be known by the AXTCS alphabet soup… except for the only one that sells and has name recognition. We’ll be keeping that one.”
I get that a coherent naming strategy across your range can be successful – i.e. the BMW numbering series – and you’ve got to start somewhere. But, I think Jeep has one of the strongest brand names in North America. Why mess with a good thing?
The alphabet soup names are supposed to be confusing.
They want it to be easier to think and talk about the vehicre as a Cadillac, rather than an ATV-S, or whatever the f— random unterminated string they chose to assign the model.
Does it work? I don’t know. But all of the aspiring luxury brands do it.
SRT is (or at least was) supposed to be similar to AMG, BMW’s M, Chevy’s Z-designation and the like, i.e. an add-on performance trim level to an existing nameplate.
I don’t see why this requires so much drama from Marchionne. Just stick an SRT designation at the end of the appropriate vehicles, and be done with it. The shuffling between being a brand to not is just confusing for the customer.
Weren’t they trying to turn SRT into a separate brand for a while, like they sort-of did with Ram?
I think it IS a separate brand, currently.
Petition to renaname from trackhawk to best edition.