Screw Everyone Else!

Is there something to be said for Dodge here? Sure, everyone is thinking green and efficient and hybrid, and they're unloading a truck that's lucky to get 8 miles per gallon. But what if Dodge is right?

There are a LOT of brands competing for space out there in the automotive world. Dr. Z has hurt Dodge, and Daimler Chrysler in general, by blurring the brands. He's also tried to take some very American brands, like Dodge, and push them as cars with German engineering.

Dodge knows big engines and big trucks. Dodge has spent far more, per truck sold, than Ford or GM in the past few years, making "Hemi" a household name again.

While at first glance, the new Ram may seem counter-intuitive, let's look at the whole industry and where dodge fits.

Dodge does NOT have fuel-efficient little urban cars for the college age crowd - Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Scion and Kia have that.

Dodge does NOT have big, cushy luxury American cars - Buick, Lincoln, Mercury and Chrysler have those (why does Mercury exist? Different conversation...)

Dodge does NOT have high-performance sports cars the way that BMW, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche do

Dodge does NOT have the family friendly cars like the Honda Odyssey, the Chrysler Town and Country line, some of the GM trucks

Dodge DOES have big engines and mean looking trucks. Perhaps in putting out a vehicle that can actually claim to be Al Gore's nemesis, Dodge is only acknowledging that they know their role, and that they're comfortable there.

Marketers often talk about creating a niche, not keeping up with others. Dodge may very well be creating their own niche of bad-ass-trucks and, lest we forget, mean-looking-station-wagons.