Dodge to abandon cross-hair grille for new family face
Dodge will abandon its four-piece cross-hair grille for future models as it aims to differentiate the passenger vehicle brand from the Ram truck marque.
Dodge CEO and chief designer, Ralph Gilles, told Automotive News the brand needed to establish its own styling direction separate from Ram.
“We did as much as we could with the split cross-hair grille,” Mr Gilles said.
He did not put a timeline on the revisions or give any indication of what to expect from the iconic American brand’s new design language. He said the decision was made not to rush the changes for the 2011 model year, but to take time with the design to get it right.
“We had to be careful because the cooling work was pretty much done when we decided to rebrand the vehicles. That will continue evolving over time,” Mr Gilles said.
He confirmed the cross-hair grille would remain an integral part of the Ram brand truck design.
The three Dodge vehicles currently sold in Australia – Caliber, Journey and Nitro – all feature the cross-hair grille.