It's time to consider the possibility of MOPAR getting back into the muscle car business...and since the 'Cuda seems to be hot topic.......

1. Should Daimler-Chrysler sell a reborn Barracuda as a "Chrysler?" How do you like the sound of a "Chrysler HEMI 'Cuda?"

2. Is it too late to relaunch the Plymouth brand?

3. Could a 'Cuda be sold through Chrysler dealerships as a sort of semi-separate, stand-alone brand? I'm asking you to think in terms of Toyota's Scion brand - not a GM-style "division" like Saturn.

Consider the potential of a compact, rear wheel drive MOPAR muscle car that could sell at Mustang price points ($20K+) and volumes (up to 200K/year). Could a reasonably priced, high volume 'Cuda coupe serve as the foundation of an entire "entry level brand?"

 

and this poll would be where??

In any case, I'm very much against resurrecting old names; even one with as much equity as the 'Cuda name....

 

Uhh....a little technical issue.


Keep in mind that this CamaroZ28.com. Plenty of people like "old names" around here - especially names that begin with the letter C.

I mean seriously, would you permanently sideline a name with "as much equity" as Camaro?

 

Seems Chrysler lost the rights to the "Cuda" or "Barracuda" name some time ago. It does however still own the Challenger name.

Ford came very very close to losing the Cobra name back in '93, and they hastily cobbled together the Mustang Cobra. Ford did lose the name to Futura (here in the US, it's still a model name in Australia) and intend to use Fairlane on an upcoming model.

There will be no Chrysler model with the "Cuda" or "Barracuda" name.

 

"Camaro" has only been down for 3 years, bringing it back is no different than Nissan letting the Z car go on hiatus... When was the last 'Cuda made?

Now, I also think they could (and probably will) do it with much success perhaps in the form of a Dodge "Challenger" or a Chrysler 'Cuda. Though the idea of a spinoff brand sounds intriguing, I'd guess that it would be too costly, though, this is just me spouting off the top of my head....

So, I would bet on them doing it, I just wont like it....at first.

 

What's the story there? Just curious...

 

Plymouth is dead, it died a nasty death and failed miserably with the prowler. Theres no chance of bringing it back.

 

The issue of nameplate ownership all comes down to money.

In the case of Futura nameplate, Ford just wasn't willing to shell out the cash. Why? The Futura moniker had last been used on the horrible Ford Fairmont. The name Futura didn't really carry any cache. The name Futura really wasn't worth much of anything.

There was also the recent issue of the GT-40 nameplate. Since the "Ford GT" was a low volume pet project, it's easy to see why Ford wasn't willing to spend big money just to add two meaningless digits to the name. After all, the "40" in "GT-40" originally stood for the height of the race car. The current Ford GT is more than 40 inches tall. So what?

The big question in the case of the 'Cuda name is who currently owns the trademark?

An even bigger question is how much is it worth?

 

The prowler was in no way a failure. It was a limited production car and sold for what it was. It did not contribute to Plymouts demise at all.

 

You have so many years to let a name lay dormant before it becomes open for anyone else to use. Ford (again) had that issue when they wanted to name their sports car the GT40.

Redzed is right that once someone lays claim to a "abandoned" name, you'd have to buy it back. Ford refused to buy back Futura from Pep Boys, and refused to buy GT40 from the aftermarket company that owned it. It's probally a very safe bet that Chrysler won't buy back "Barracuda" or "Cuda", or even "HemiCuda", although you can put almost any name you want on a concept car because you aren't making a profit on it.

However, Chrysler can come up with some other bastardization of the name and use it if no one else owns it.

GM's trademark on Camaro and Firebird is still good. GM also renewed the trademark on the "Chevelle" name not too long ago.


BTW:
1. "Cuda" is owned by the Cuda Corperation, a parts washer business. http://www.cudausa.com/

2. "HemiCuda" is a racing company.
http://www.hemicudaracing.com/

3. "Barracuda" is a hip magazine, dealing with custom culture.
http://www.barracudamagazine.com/

You won't see any of these companies willing to sell their names to Chrysler for cheap. Therefore, you almost certainly won't see these names on any production Chrysler.

 

As falchulk said, the Prowler was actually a success, and had absolutlely, positively, ZERO to do with Plymouth's demise.

When Daimler took over Chrysler's operations, they saw no need for a budget brand to be sold in the same showroom as an upscale brand. Plymouth was the bargin basement brand of the Chrysler Corperation, and simply sold the same cars that sat in Dodge showrooms.

Daimler decided to save marketing costs and clarify the Chrysler network by killing off Plymouth, which had seen years of decline anyway.

You are right that Plymouth has about zero chance of coming back, but you're wrong elsewhere.

 

FYI

DCX (DaimlerChrysler) will be coming out with a concept 2-door Charger soon at COBO. If the car generates buzz then DCX will most definitely take it into heavy consideration to produce a 2-door version of the Charger. And I heard this straight from Ralph Gilles, Lead Director for DCX himself, and no I'm not BSing, I work for DaimlerChrysler.

Also, DCX is planning to cut down their Architectures to 4, then to 2 and expand on their line of cars. If I remember correctly the Jeep brand will have approximately 13 different models by 2008 and I do believe the Neon is on its way out to be replaced by the Dodge Caliber.

 

if you work for them then when do you refer to them in third person?

 

I didn't know it went all the way across product types like that. So if I want to create a hiking magazine called "Ram" I have to pay DCX. That sucks.

 

Cobalt....Caliber.....Cobalt......Caliber....hmmm. Caliber is actually a decent non recycled name for a car is it not? Two new car names that aren't completely retarded, jesus. That must be some kind of record.