Dodge has
targeted its image trucks and special packages with deadly accuracy in
the past few years. The Ram
SRT-10 blew away the Ford Lightning in spectacular fashion with its
world-record speed runs. Dodge didn’t flinch when it came time to
offering its most powerful engine in a regular cab and equip it only with
a 6-speed manual. This configuration took guts because the marketing department
must have balked at the thought of such a narrow customer base. But Dodge
has also hit the bull’s eye with the Quad Cab SRT-10. The family-hauling,
trailer-towing approach is a perfect stablemate to the speedy and powerful
regular cab model. This strategy should be a lesson to all manufacturers
who wish to offer a special edition: If you want to broaden the appeal
to serve a larger market, then build two models so you don’t dilute
either one.
And the
new Power Wagon took even more backbone. The real truckers at Dodge didn’t
let the accounting department overrule the pricey package. If a truck
is worth building, and the goal is to build the best off-road pickup,
then let the engineers do their job. The consumer will recognize quality
and buy it when it’s the best.
I can’t wait to see what special packages or editions will be
coming from the just-introduced Dakota line. It seems natural that the
Hemi engine will fit in somewhere. Just think of rocket-ship possibilities;
a supercharged SRT-8, perhaps? Maybe that will make up for the embarrassment
the Hemi is getting in the Rumble Bee.
There isn’t a pickup in any showroom with a more ridiculous name
than the Dodge Ram Rumble Bee. It’s a woefully misdirected attempt
to draw on the proud history of the ‘60s musclecar era when Dodge
had the exciting but affordable Super Bee midsize coupe. If you’re
going to bring back a name, then bring back the original. What is a Rumble
Bee? If change is necessary, how about Killer Bee? I’d rather see
a truck just for girls called Queen Bee. Or one for seniors called Aunt
Bee.
Dodge is
promoting the Rumble Bee around the famed bumble bee stripes looping around
the rear of the cargo box, but then they paste this silly name on those
iconic graphics. In a real slap at the musclecar heritage, the package
is being offered on 4x4 pickups. That’s how I can tell that no one
was serious about building solid credentials for this truck. It appears
to me as nothing more than a marketing exercise led by an uninspired committee
of MBA interns who probably never drove a Super Bee, Challenger T/A or
Hemi-powered Charger and have absolutely no understanding of the excitement,
passion and impact those vehicles had on psyche of American performance
enthusiasts in the ‘60s.
But the name isn’t all that’s wrong with this truck. It’s
an expensive, cheesy cosmetic makeover that Dodge is trying to pass off
as being collectible, promoting the overused and often undeserved “limited
edition” label. In a show of mercy, only 3700 units will be produced.
Hopefully all the owners will think of them as a collectible and lock
them in the garage, keeping the streets safe from this rolling tribute
to schlock.
