Through the 1990s, Chrysler had a flair for new product introductions. One of those more memorable roll-out occurred in the 1991 Detroit Auto Show when they sent their Jeep Grand Cherokee (significantly their first new SUV designed under Chrysler’s guidance) through a wall of glass. Equally as important during this era of flash were the vehicles introduced through what was Chrysler Corporation’s last, great renaissance. As Chrysler struggles to rebuild from their major restructuring, the auto company is working diligently to promote themselves among the living.
Chrysler’s Dodge division has shown some real life recently staging the unveiling of the revitalization of the 2011 Dodge Durango. Expressing a desire to wet vehicle buyers’ appetites to the new Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV), Dodge has been strategically feeding snippets of the upcoming Durango. Starting this past Sunday, the release of web video gave the first peek to Dodge’s new truck-like product. Showing only an isolated set of design features belonging to the 2011 SUV, some still images were released a few days later providing little more than to decrypt the appearance.
Assembling the provided still and motion images as an unfinished puzzle, we’ll see the 2011 Dodge Durango wearing a more mature look. Cleat lens front headlamps and a large chrome grille are styled to resemble the Ram pickup line even featuring the distinct hood lip overhang. Obtaining its platform from the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee and the new Mercedes-Benz ML-Class, we should expect the latest Durango to supply a considerably refined ride. Unlike the Grand Cherokee, the 2011 Dodge Durango will feature third row seating allowing a larger family to take stock in the comfortable stride on and off-road.
As many of us would know, Dodge’s popularly on Youtube has reached a fever pitch recently. Dodge removed a trained chimpanzee from their latest sales advertisement on the protest of PETA. Replacing Suzie the chimpanzee with a so-called ‘invisible monkey’, the original ad is still present on the video posting website with over 200,000 views. Being Sensitive to animal rights groups and the claims of abuse against trained monkeys, Dodge released release Tuesday saying in part “Dodge is firmly committed to never using great apes in our advertisements again”. Dodge also added “We released a new commercial. The footage is identical, only this time you won’t see Suzie. There’s a twist you won’t miss. Make no mistake – we’re not making light of the issue.”
Dodge plans to continue this media taste-testing session through the next few weeks until the complete 2011 Dodge Durango is finally pieced together.
Information and Photo Source: Chrysler Group
