No sedan planned for next Neon; five-door Dodge Caliber Geneva concept signals new direction
RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
Posted Date: 3/1/05
Dodge has no plan for a sedan version of the Neon replacement.
The Dodge Caliber concept debuting this week at the Geneva auto show reveals the styling theme for the five-door vehicle that will replace the Neon next year. The car will be assembled in Belvidere, Ill., for sale in North America and Europe.
The current-generation Neon is a four-door sedan only. The previous generation also offered a two-door model.
While the Neon replacement will have five doors, Dodge will resist calling the vehicle a hatchback or station wagon. Marketing and advertising messages will focus on styling, performance, features and interior flexibility.
Chrysler group CEO Dieter Zetsche said the automaker will offer a five-door model in place of a four-door for two reasons.
"One is that, at least financially, neither the first- nor the second-generation Neon was extremely successful, so there was no need to repeat this experience," Zetsche said.
Second, he said, this is a way "to set ourselves apart and to clearly lead the way in styling" and offer "a tremendous amount of utility -- so you will have all this functionality."
Zetsche was interviewed here on Feb. 20 before the start of the Daytona 500 race.
Chrysler executives said Caliber is the likely name for the new vehicle.
The strategy of avoiding labeling the vehicle as a hatchback or wagon is a response to the disappointing launch of the Chrysler Pacifica in 2003. The automaker tried to explain in marketing and advertising that the Pacifica was a blend of sedan, minivan and SUV. The result was confusing to potential buyers, and that contributed to the vehicle's disappointing sales, said Joe Eberhardt, Chrysler group executive vice president of global sales and marketing.
With the Pacifica, he said, Chrysler spent too much time explaining "what segment it fits in and what you call it. I don't think we told people enough what the product actually can do and what it is all about."
Eberhardt said that for the Neon replacement the automaker will "communicate product benefits and why-buys" and not spend time explaining what it is.
The Neon replacement is being developed from the next-generation Mitsubishi front-drive Lancer platform. Industry sources say at least two other vehicles are expected to be produced off that platform and assembled in Belvidere.
