(Opinion Article)
Some interesting news for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) for the 2020 year is they are bringing back the Voyager nameplate. Dusting off the old 1990's era minivan name, it will once again be utilized for a more modern minivan, but this time, it will be under the Chrysler brand versus the now defunct Plymouth brandname.
Personally, I think bringing back the Voyager is a great idea, basically creating a base-equipped version of the highly successful Chrysler Pacifica, the Voyager will seemingly replace the aging Dodge Caravan. Utilizing the upgraded suspension, frame, and 3.6L Pentastar V6 powerplant, the Voyager will essentially provide Dodge Caravan customers the much needed upgrades they have been longing for.
So what is the future for the Dodge Caravan? No one officially knows, but I would assume since the Dodge brand has very closely aligned with SRT and is focusing on performance based vehicles such as the Dodge Charger, Challenger, and Durango, this will be FCA's way to finally remove the Dodge Caravan from the Dodge lineup and leave the minivans to the Chrysler brand.
So this brings up an interesting perspective to consider. Chrysler's available vehicles has slowly been shrinking, only having 2 available vehicles in 2019: The Chrysler Pacifica and the Chrysler 300. Having little rebates and incentives on the Chrysler 300, it has become more of a livery or fleet vehicle in terms of new car sales, leaving the Chrysler Pacifica the only major retail vehicle in the Chrysler lineup. Bringing in the Voyager in 2020 brings that number up to three.
So my question is, since the Chrysler market is seemingly dwindling, and FCA being highly invested in high-performance muscle, why not dust off the Plymouth brand. By doing so, they can bring back other vehicles from Mopar past to compete with Ford and Chevrolet. The Pacifica, Voyager, and even 300 can be rebranded under the Plymouth name, while giving the FCA more flexibility to bring back other performance cars to revitalize the Chrysler line.
Bringing back other vehicles from the past could include anything from the Fury, Valiant, Barracuda / Cuda, Satellite, GTX, Roadrunner, Duster, and more. My point is, the Chrysler brandname is limiting the FCA's ability to capitalize on a high-performance SRT market. The Challenger hasn't changed a whole lot in body style since it was intially brought back in 2008. Having other highly popular retro-designed Mopars available to "remake" would be highly accepted by current Mopar muscle enthusiests. Replacing the Chrysler brand with Plymouth would allow the FCA to expand it's vehicle car lineup, while still having a place for the family cars many people have come to expect from Chrysler and Plymouth brands. It may sound crazy, but I think bringing back Plymouth would be a great idea for the FCA.
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