Chrysler to retire the "Hemi" name again
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,398
From: Fairfax Station, VA. Formally Long Island :(
Chrysler to retire the "Hemi" name again
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=18971
I think it is a silly thing to do. I am not a Mopar fan really, but everybody knows what a Hemi is, along with its heritage.
The V8 formerly known as Hemi will continue as the 5.7-liter V8
In the heyday of the muscle car era, the Hemi in the Plymouth and other Mopar muscle cars was one of the most desired power plants on the car market. As the fuel crisis of the 70's heated up, the Hemi eventually died out with the other gas guzzling power plants of the late 60's and very early 70's.
When Chrysler decided to revamp its image and appeal to buyers who wanted more power (and remembered the Mopar Hemi engine from the muscle car era), the automaker brought the Hemi back to the market. Many will recall the commercial featuring the pair of rednecks asking, "That thing got a Hemi?" that helped cars and trucks packing the engine to sell very well for Chrysler.
The problem today with the image of the Hemi is that many consumers and automakers are now starting to focus on green vehicles with better fuel economy and less focus on performance and power. With the entire image of the Hemi built on power and performance, Chrysler is now reportedly retiring the Hemi moniker again.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some dealers have stated that the Hemi name is being retired, but the 5.7-liter V8 engine that bears the name will live on in cars and trucks. Rather than the vehicles wearing the Hemi badge and marketing, the vehicles will simply be sold with a 5.7-liter V8.
The WSJ reports that the retirement of the Hemi name is a reflection of the changes being made under the new management from Fiat with more focus on fuel economy and features making the vehicles using the V8 easier on the wallet and environment. One of the features that will be touted is displacement reduction that can turn off cylinders when not needed to improve fuel economy.
Unlike Chrysler, Ford is reviving its famous performance name “5.0” for its new 2011 Mustang. The new Mustang GT gets a potent 5.0-liter V8 engine with 412 hp and very impressive fuel economy offering power and green features in one package while the new V6 packs in V8 levels of performance while sipping fuel.
In the heyday of the muscle car era, the Hemi in the Plymouth and other Mopar muscle cars was one of the most desired power plants on the car market. As the fuel crisis of the 70's heated up, the Hemi eventually died out with the other gas guzzling power plants of the late 60's and very early 70's.
When Chrysler decided to revamp its image and appeal to buyers who wanted more power (and remembered the Mopar Hemi engine from the muscle car era), the automaker brought the Hemi back to the market. Many will recall the commercial featuring the pair of rednecks asking, "That thing got a Hemi?" that helped cars and trucks packing the engine to sell very well for Chrysler.
The problem today with the image of the Hemi is that many consumers and automakers are now starting to focus on green vehicles with better fuel economy and less focus on performance and power. With the entire image of the Hemi built on power and performance, Chrysler is now reportedly retiring the Hemi moniker again.
The Wall Street Journal reports that some dealers have stated that the Hemi name is being retired, but the 5.7-liter V8 engine that bears the name will live on in cars and trucks. Rather than the vehicles wearing the Hemi badge and marketing, the vehicles will simply be sold with a 5.7-liter V8.
The WSJ reports that the retirement of the Hemi name is a reflection of the changes being made under the new management from Fiat with more focus on fuel economy and features making the vehicles using the V8 easier on the wallet and environment. One of the features that will be touted is displacement reduction that can turn off cylinders when not needed to improve fuel economy.
Unlike Chrysler, Ford is reviving its famous performance name “5.0” for its new 2011 Mustang. The new Mustang GT gets a potent 5.0-liter V8 engine with 412 hp and very impressive fuel economy offering power and green features in one package while the new V6 packs in V8 levels of performance while sipping fuel.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 1,215
From: Coppell, Texas
People who would honestly shop for a Hemi powered vehicle can't be too concerned with fuel economy. Stupid dumb move. You have so much equity built up in a brand and then you just **** it away depending on which way the wind is blowing. Why do automakers constantly pull this crap only to comeback and regret it?
Sounds like they're just doing this for the 5.7L. It would be insane to call the new 6.4 anything but a Hemi..... and I know that neither engine has true hemi heads.
Sounds like they're just doing this for the 5.7L. It would be insane to call the new 6.4 anything but a Hemi..... and I know that neither engine has true hemi heads.
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,398
From: Fairfax Station, VA. Formally Long Island :(
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 8,504
From: Ohio
Building brand recognition of their MOTOR LINE was a great move... how many people were saying "That thing got a HEMI?!?!" for how long? Non-auto people actually know the name of a MOTOR, let alone a car.
This brand recognition spanned all divisions, sine the HEMI was used by Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep.
Walking away from this brand equity which is one of the (argueably) few things Chrysler has gotten right in recent memory is downright terrible.
Nothing wrong with trying to cash-in on the green-theme of today just as everyone else is, but instead of killing something good that you actually already have, how about making and building a similar brand reputation for a "Eco-HEMI" of sorts, and ride both waves?
This brand recognition spanned all divisions, sine the HEMI was used by Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep.
Walking away from this brand equity which is one of the (argueably) few things Chrysler has gotten right in recent memory is downright terrible.
Nothing wrong with trying to cash-in on the green-theme of today just as everyone else is, but instead of killing something good that you actually already have, how about making and building a similar brand reputation for a "Eco-HEMI" of sorts, and ride both waves?
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 10,285
From: Albany, NY
But only in advertising and marketing for the 300 and Jeep. I've heard all the Dodges will still call it Hemi. Engine covers will still say Hemi too, although I guess that is something that could be changed on a moments notice. They think 5.7L V8 sounds more classy and up scale than Hemi. Maybe, but i doubt it will get them anymore sales.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,463
From: SoCal
Well despite HEMI on the fender of my Charger people still ask if I have a V6 or V8. However not a question I get after they have rode in the car. 
Hemi is just a marketing ploy anyway as the engines are really are not hemispherical head design and share nothing with the origional Chrysler Hemi. That's not to say I'm not in favor of the HEMI marketing and I hope that the 6.4L HEMI keeps the name going. It's an amazing engine in many ways.
Hemi is just a marketing ploy anyway as the engines are really are not hemispherical head design and share nothing with the origional Chrysler Hemi. That's not to say I'm not in favor of the HEMI marketing and I hope that the 6.4L HEMI keeps the name going. It's an amazing engine in many ways.
Registered User
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,018
I'm a believer that the name "Hemi" should have lived and died with the original motor.
If I ever see a V8 that has nothing to do with the original "LS1" and GM Is marketing whatever this new motor is as an "LS1" --I'm gonna be annoyed.
If I ever see a V8 that has nothing to do with the original "LS1" and GM Is marketing whatever this new motor is as an "LS1" --I'm gonna be annoyed.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 2,712
From: Ontario
As to the heads, yeah okay they do have these little tangs that prevent them from being truly hemispherical. But one could argue the hole for the spark plugs and the flat surface of the valves also prevent the heads from representing a perfectly hemispherical shape too, even in the original Hemi. How pedantic do you wish to get?
But IMO that's not the essence of "hemi-ness" anyhow. After all, tons of engines have a similar combustion chamber shape. What defines a Hemi is its unique overhead valve layout that puts the pushrods up the middle and the rockers splayed out to either side, basically allowing the cross-flow geometry of a SOHC head but using OHV. To me that's the defining characteristic of a Hemi, and in that respect the new one definitely follows in the original's footsteps. There's no doubt in my mind the new engine deserves its "Hemi" nomenclature.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,977
From: SeVa
Thank the great engineering gods for that, hemi's were great on airflow and the central plug location was nice, but thats about it. The lack of quench in the motor really made for poor combustion. If Chrysler would have carried the pure hemi design forward it would have been about as dumb as say Ford basing all thier 2v engines on the big port clevelands (speaking hypotheticaly of course). Maybe great in thier day but time and technology has rendered them incompetent.
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,463
From: SoCal
All I'm saying is that original Hemi was a hemispherical head and for better (racing) or worse (street) it was marketing promoting a real engineering development. Just like Fuel injection, IRS or ABS etc. The current Hemi is all marketing to draw upon the hallowed memories of the original which we agree it shares nothing with besides being a Chrysler V8. So if Chrysler wants to stop marketing the 5.7L V8 as a Hemi I don't see it as a big deal because this Hemi was all marketing to begin with.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,173
The Geo Metro came with an LS3.